In our computer dependent world, we are all the time on the guard for the next "big thing". Often times it has been a new microprocessor from Intel or Amd. However, in modern years, the microprocessor is often not the limiting factor with computer performance.

While hard-drive memory capacities have increased significantly in modern years, the entrance speed has remained relatively constant. It's an issue/problem underlying to the technology. The hard-drive is mechanical, and efforts to enhance speed have been receiving diminishing returns.

Drives

A technology that is contentious with the accepted hard-drive (Hdd) is the solid-state drive (Ssd). An Ssd is not mechanical, it is based on "flash memory", the same computer chip technology used to store pictures with your digital camera. An Ssd drive was a novelty only 3 years ago, but no longer.

An Ssd can outperform accepted mechanical hard drives because it is 4X smaller and lighter, is up to 50X faster, is more dependable because there are no consuming parts, produces less heat, and uses less power. Ssd drive memory capacity has improved and 250 gigabyte Ssd drives are now available. Currently, the drawback is price.

Ssd Drives are still more expensive than accepted Hdd. An Ssd Drive now costs about per gigabyte while a Hdd drive costs less than per gigabyte. The price of an Ssd continues to enhance (Ssd drives once sold for more than per gigabyte), and with manufacturing volumes anticipated, the price incompatibility should be further reduced.

Flash memory is capable of a finite amount of rewrites to each memory cell (as are accepted hard drives). Valuable improvements in the technology have been made in modern years. In addition, Intel developed "load leveling". This technique ensures that all of the memory cells on the Ssd receive a similar workload. Most Ssd manufacturers now apply comparable techniques. An Ssd should last 10 years or more for the average user.

The primary conjecture for the rosy future of Ssd is entrance speed. A fast accepted Hdd has entrance times equal to about 5 milliseconds. It sounds fast, but when the microprocessor is capable of millions of instructions per second (Mips), 5 milliseconds is a bottleneck. Ssd can have as diminutive as 100 microsecond entrance time (50X faster).

An foremost issue when trying to apply this Ssd speed quality is the inherent bottleneck caused by the interface. There are 3 base interfaces used today with Ssd drives.

The Sata interface is currently the most base interface used for accepted Hdd, but a Sata interface has been diminutive in total throughput, both send and receive, to about 3 Gbps. This can be too slow for Ssd, causing doing disruptions. Some Ssd drives are capable of over 5 Gbps throughput.

Seagate Technology, in conjunction with Amd, recently announced the Serial Ata 6-Gbps storage interface, also called Sata correction 3.0, a next-generation technology that is capable of twice the speed of the fastest Sata interface available today. This technology was demonstrated for accepted hard drives, but has safe bet application to the Ssd market.

Sas (Serial Attached Scsi) is an additional one interface alternative. Sas is a point-to-point technology with at least four channels. Each channel is capable of throughput of 3 Gbps in each direction (a total of 6 Gbps per channel).

A third alternative is to implement the Ssd with a Pci Express interface. A Pci Express interface has unidirectional data paths, one send and one receive, each at 2.5 Gbps for a throughput of 5 Gbps.

It is inherent to maximize the doing advantage of the Ssd technology with faithful choice of the acceptable interface.

Sun Microsystems Endorses Ssd

Sun Microsystems, a foremost maker of engineering workstations (very high doing computers), is predictably committing strongly to Ssd technology. Sun can be seen as a bellwether for the Pc industry. If Sun endorses the technology at the current price, as the prices reduce, the technology would logically be utilized by the mainstream Pc user. This pattern of adoption has been seen for other new technologies.

Sun has said it is adding Ssd technology to its systems to growth their doing for I/O intensive applications. Late last year, Sun introduced Ssd in its Amber Road stock line. Amber Road is Sun's new line of data storage system. The Amber Road products are selling exceptionally well.

Raymond Austin, group boss for senior stock administration at Sun said:

Ssd technology helps customers perform up to 65 times faster response times, up to eight times best throughput and up to 38 percent less power consumption than servers with primary spinning hard disk drives.

An Ssd drive will be more tolerant for harsh operating environments and will be more reliable. Computers utilizing Ssd drives will perceive faster application load times and best total performance. An Ssd drive can emulate a primary mechanical hard disk drive (Hdd). This makes replacing the primary Hdd for an Ssd in your current system less complicated. A Ssd is probably in your future, the only ask is when.

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