New SSD Technology by Fusion-io: SMLC

Fusion-io has developed a new engineering technique for managing multi-level cell (MLC) flash technology, that combines the enterprise reliability of single-level cell (SLC) technology with the economical consumer-grade MLC flash. Fusion-io products utilizing this technology, called single mode level cell (SMLC), offer a cost-effective MLC-based solid-state solution with the endurance and performance of SLC at a much lower cost per gigabyte (GB). SMLC-based products from Fusion-io will be available starting this quarter.

The SMLC technology features bandwidth equal to SLC, with comparable endurance and write performance levels, at a cost that is substantially lower than traditional SLC solutions. Fusion-io products utilizing SMLC build on all of the innovation and reliability of the company’s existing enterprise-class solid-state solutions, including its PCI Express-based form factor, chip-level redundancy and RAIDing, global wear leveling, advanced error correction and many other features beyond just performance leadership.

Fusion-io’s SMLC serves as the foundation for an enterprise product line that is tailor-made for customers requiring greater performance or endurance than MLC can provide, at a lower price point than existing SLC solutions.

"Whatever the underlying logic, the fact remains that the straightforward cost of solid state storage is the number one impediment to its faster adoption," says Mark Peters of the Enterprise Strategy Group. "This new SMLC solution from Fusion-io is aimed at attacking that impediment while leaving the many other benefits of solid state untouched, and it extends the company’s out-of-the-box innovative approach to building a next generation of storage."

"A viable MLC solution for enterprise organizations has up-to-now been limited by technical barriers associated with the medium’s write performance, endurance and reliability," said David Flynn, CTO of Fusion-io. "Our SMLC solution overcomes these roadblocks and provides organizations with another avenue for migrating to solid state performance and reliability, while helping mitigate concerns over cost to deploy."

SMLC will be available in both ioDrive and ioDrive Duo product lines supporting 160GB and 320GB, respectively. Other SMLC-based products will follow.