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Solid State Drives: A Closer Look
Report No. FI-NFL-SSD-1008, October 2008
In its first comprehensive report on solid state drives, Forward
Insights predicts that SSDs based on 3-bit per cell NAND flash
technology will be introduced in 2011. Three-bit per cell technology
offers the promise of reduced costs but suffers from much reduced
performance and endurance compared to SLC and MLC technology and
there are concerns regarding the suitability of the technology for
SSDs. Nevertheless, Forward Insights believes that with
architectural innovations, 3-bit per cell technology can find a
place in SSDs for certain workloads.
Solid State Drives: A Closer Look provides a detailed
overview of the technology, architecture and reliability of SSDs as
well as techniques for improving the performance and endurance of
SSDs. The report also describes measures to increase the endurance
of NAND flash on the device level such as in the ultra high
endurance server-grade NAND flash from Samsung.
Currently, there is a wide range of SSD performance and quality from
various suppliers. An overview of SSD-related patents reveals which
companies may have a long-term competitive advantage in this nascent
market.
The report also includes a comparison of SSDs in the enterprise,
low cost mobile notebook PC, notebook PC and desktop PC segments as
well as a workload analysis of applications in the enterprise space.
Detailed revenue, unit and price forecasts are provided for all
segments.
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