SiliconSystems Launches a Method to Measure SSD Useable Life

SiliconSystems, Inc. developed a comprehensive method to measure solid-state drive (SSD) useable life and answer the pressing industry question, "How long will an SSD last?"

Historically, OEM designers have had to guess at the type and capacity of SSD to use in their products to meet the deployment cycle requirements and varying usage models of their customers. SiliconSystems has developed LifeEST and SiSMART, two advanced storage technologies that accurately measure and calculate how long an SSD will last, to eliminate this guesswork. LifeEST is the industry’s first endurance calculation methodology that is independent of how an SSD is used. SiSMART is SiliconSystems patented technology that actively monitors SSD performance and measures SSD usage in real-time. LifeEST and SiSMART work together to eliminate the guesswork in determining an SSD’s useable life.

"SiliconSystems has taken the life-span speculation out of designing SSDs into Enterprise System OEM applications that require long deployment, multi-year product lifecycles," said Gary Drossel, vice president of product planning at SiliconSystems. "There is a growing trend in the SSD industry to delete endurance specifications in data sheets making it extremely difficult for OEMs to accurately estimate an SSD’s life expectancy. The powerful combination of our LifeEST and SiSMART technologies yields real-world results enabling OEMs to focus on their designs without guessing about SSD endurance specifications."

"The creation of an industry standard endurance specification is an important goal to help mitigate potential concerns among system integrators and end customers regarding the lifespan of SSDs in certain usage scenarios," said Jeff Janukowicz, research manager for solid state drives at IDC, "Initiatives like SiliconSystems’ LifeEST methodology for specifying SSD endurance will be important in achieving this goal."

A SiliconSystems white paper entitled, NAND Evolution and its Effects on Solid-State Drive (SSD) Useable Life provides a comprehensive overview of SiliconSystems’ sophisticated LifeEST calculation and reviews how parameters such as an SSD’s endurance specification, capacity, maximum read/write speed and estimated duty cycle impact an SSD’s projected life span. The white paper also details NAND flash basics, NAND technology trends and advanced SSD reliability techniques.