AS Benchmarks for RealSSD C300

We received a couple requests to show the AS benchmark results for the new drive. So we asked Todd to provide a couple screen shots of the results–and here they are.

Of course, our immediate goal is to get these in the hands of independent reviewers. You should see third-party tests coming out in the next month or so as we ramp to production and get drives sent out. Stay tuned–we’ll call out results both here and through our @RealSSD Twitter feed.

AS SSD Benchmark: 3G Empty

AS SSD Benchmark: 6G Empty

You asked for it: RealSSD C300 random IOPs

A lot of people are excited about the C300 demos we posted last week, and a number of you asked to see the random read/write IOPs numbers for the new drives. So I’ve asked one of our Apps guys, Todd, to shoot a video of the C300 running through the Iometer test. These are 4K transfers on 100% random read/write tests  with a queue depth of 32.

We’re using the same Intel Core2Duo system, equipped with our 256GB RealSSD C300 drive and a 6 Gb/s SATA host bus adapter. We also test it at SATA 3 Gb/s to show how it will perform in those systems. I think you’re going to like the results.

RealSSD C300 goes head-to-head with a hard drive in everyday tasks

By now you’ve seen our SSD vs SSD benchmarks, but to show you how that speed translates to the real world, we pitted our 256GB C300 SSD against a standard issue 7200rpm HDD in identical systems. We then tackled a handful of everyday tasks—boot up, file copy, and opening large files in Adobe® Photoshop®.

System Details
MoBo: Intel® X48 chipset based
Processor: Intel Core2Duo E8500
Memory: Micron® 2GB DDR3 1066 (PC3-8500)
OS: Windows® 7 Pro 64-b

Overprovisioning: Give a little, get a lot.

Suppose I told you that the local car dealership was selling a car that offered double the gas mileage of standard models (or double the top speed for you daredevils).  You’d probably say something like “Sure, but what is it going to cost me?”  Suppose I told you that the models were identical, but the performance version had just one less seat.  In order to double the gas mileage or top speed, all you had to do was give up a single seat.  Would you buy it?

If you used you car as a vanpool, and if you were loaded to the gills already, probably not.  But what if I also told you that this rule applied to their larger vehicles too—you could get a massive 18-passenger maxi-van with double the typical gas mileage if you  were willing to order one with 13 seats instead.  Suppose I also told you that this trick worked on every car they made.

What about now?  Would you do it? For those of you that think I’ve lost it there is a computer analogy coming (you knew there would be, right?). Suppose I told you that you could  as much as double the performance of your solid state drive (SSD) if you gave up 25% of the capacity.  Would you do it?  Suppose I also told you that the drive will last longer as a bonus.  How about now?

You can do all this. How? Overprovisioning.

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XP or Vista…which one’s better for SSDs?

We’re pretty passionate around here about engineering SSDs that get the highest performance possible.   Part of that engineering effort is within the devices themselves—ensuring that our SSDs live up to the potential that our NAND flash offers.  That said, there are many variables outside of the SSD that impact performance—like the operating system or hardware interface.  After all, many of today’s SSDs are being asked to live in a world designed for HDDs.

The SSD group at Micron has done extensive research into the behavior of Windows XP and Windows Vista under different conditions.  To gather data, the SATA interface was analyzed and data captured while installing, booting, shutting down, and running Office productivity applications on both operating systems.

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IOP/s Like You’ve Never Seen

This is exciting stuff.  I took some time–and a handy-dandy flipcam–on my recent trip out to the MAST Center to film Joe Jeddeloh’s demonstration of our enterprise PCI-e prototype. It’s really cool to prove (on hardware) what was thought-to-be-possible on paper.  Come on into the lab and see the kind of IOP/s we’re hitting with this thing for yourself.

Carpet Wear & Pizza Boxes: SSD Performance & Endurance

So Micron is a co-chair on the task group within JEDEC that’s working to better define SSD standards.  We work with others in the industry to define the future standards that will apply to SSD products with the goal of  defining a shared language for building, testing, and measuring solid state storage products.  So because we’re so heavily involved in driving these new standards, I always enjoy hearing new claims of SSD performance and endurance.  Sometimes I’m impressed … oftentimes it’s just good to see others catch-up…

In order to help folks better understand some of the claims out there, I thought I’d provide a quick overview on managing NAND on an SSD as well as some background on wear-leveling concepts.

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HDD & SSD Counseling: “Prunes are Great!”

Unlike an SSD that has a measured and graceful life span–with time to coordinate a retirement, HDDs often die with absolutely no warning. And this traumatic event often takes our most valuable information to the grave. Our fifth “Counseling Session” video allows us to lament with poor HDD, as he mourns the nature of his mortality and worries about his own impending, and unpredictable, demise.

HDD & SSD Counseling: “Need a Woobie?”

Due to their sensitivities to heat, movement, and pressure, HDDs need stable, well-controlled operating conditions. They need a certain level of coddling. And, if you offset this delicate balance, prepare for disaster. In our fourth “Counseling Session” parody, we learn more about HDD’s fragile nature and the potential consequences of upsetting his carefully managed state of equilibrium.

HDD & SSD Counseling: “I like calling it nappy-time …”

HDDs crash. We’ve all experienced it. In fact, in the largest study of its kind, Google found that HDDs crash even more often than their manufacturers predict … and once an HDD has demonstrated an error, it’s likely to fail again–soon. In this third installment of our ”Counseling Sessions“ videos, we continue to have a bit of fun at HDD’s expense and learn how devastating an HDD crash can be.