SandForce With SSD Processor Firmware in Production

SandForce Inc., in SSD (Solid State Drive) Processors that enable standard NAND Flash deployment in enterprise and client computing applications, is shipping production firmware with its industry-leading SF-1000 SSD Processor family of products.

The silicon and firmware combination has been field-tested by numerous SSD manufacturers, who are now shipping qualified SSDs. Additionally, the company has launched the ‘SandForce Driven‘ program, to help Enterprise server and storage OEMs, and all SSD users easily recognize solid state storage that incorporate the most advanced SSD Processor technology proven to deliver industry-leading reliability and performance.

"Advanced controller technology that provides the endurance, reliability, and performance required for OEMs is a critical factor to enable a cost effective SSD solution," said Jeff Janukowicz, Research Manager Hard Disk Drive Components and Solid State Drives at IDC. "Because of innovative solutions such as the SandForce SF-1000 SSD processor, the adoption of flash SSDs is poised for rapid growth in mainstream storage media and both enterprise and client computing."

The SF-1000 SSD Processor family has set new standards for SSD endurance, reliability, and performance since its debut in April of 2009. The SF-1000 SSD Processor family has garnered numerous design wins from SSD manufacturers world-wide and was recognized with the 2009 Flash Memory Summit’s Best of Show Award. In April 2010, IBM published a TPC-C Online Transaction Processing benchmark demonstrating that SandForce-based MLC flash drives enable an unprecedented 150,000 transactions per minute per CPU core – nearly a 50% improvement in system level processing efficiency as compared to the next highest published result.

With integrated, patent-pending DuraClass Technology, SandForce SSD Processors are the first to enable the practical use of MLC flash memory in enterprise-class storage systems. By eliminating excessive write cycles that limit SSD performance and life span, SandForce SSD Processors enable SSDs with the reliability, performance, power efficiency, and affordability for broad-based deployment in Enterprise servers, storage systems, laptops, and personal computers.

“Our DuraClass technology has now been validated through rigorous field testing, and we are servicing volume demand for our products from a diverse customer base of SSD manufacturers,” said Kent Smith, senior director of product marketing at SandForce. “By enabling MLC flash in Enterprise applications, we are offering a much more affordable solution compared to SLC-based SSDs, as well as farms of high-end enterprise hard disk drives. SandForce is transforming data storage to deliver the ultimate in system level performance, price/performance, and energy efficiency.”

Announcing the ‘SandForce Driven’ Program
The SandForce Driven program enables qualified SSD vendors to differentiate their products as ones that include SandForce SSD Processors. Charter members of the program include AMP, Inc., Corsair, DigiCube, Mach Extreme (MX) Technology, OWC, Patriot Memory, SMART Modular, Soligen, and Viking Modular Solutions.