FORTASA BLOG

Industrial SSD or Flash Cards - Most Reliable Storage Choice for Embedded Storage

Friends frequently ask me, "What is an Industrial SSD, and how does it differ from the one I buy on Amazon and Ebay ?".  This question is quite loaded. From the first look, the Industrial and what I call "Consumer" versions of SSDs or Flash cards seem to be rather similar. Both made of semiconductors and Flash memory, both have similar capacity and the performance of the "Consumer" devices oftentimes is better than that of the "Industrial" type. On top of that, the "Industrial" SSDs typically cost more than twice than the "Consumer" ones. So what is the difference ??????

The answer is, however, quite elaborate. Industrial SSDs and Flash Cards are manufactured with the sole focus of providing superior reliability. This focus drives every facet of product development, from design considerations, component selection, test methodology, product tracking and Failure Analysis. Lets have a more detailed understanding:

Design Considerations

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Industrial SSD or Flash Cards - Most Reliable Storage Choice for Embedded Storage

Friends frequently ask me, "What is an Industrial SSD, and how does it differ from the one I buy on Amazon and Ebay ?".  This question is quite loaded. From the first look, the Industrial and what I call "Consumer" versions of SSDs or Flash cards seem to be rather similar. Both made of semiconductors and Flash memory, both have similar capacity and the performance of the "Consumer" devices oftentimes is better than that of the "Industrial" type. On top of that, the "Industrial" SSDs typically cost more than twice than the "Consumer" ones. So what is the difference ??????

The answer is, however, quite elaborate. Industrial SSDs and Flash Cards are manufactured with the sole focus of providing superior reliability. This focus drives every facet of product development, from design considerations, component selection, test methodology, product tracking and Failure Analysis. Lets have a more detailed understanding:

Design Considerations

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Best Algorithm to Improve Flash SSD Life Expectancy - Static Data Wear Leveling

Unlike Dynamic Data Wear Leveling, Static Wear Leveling algorithm not only rotates the dynamic blocks, but also the blocks that store a static data partition. In many embedded applications, a significant portion of memory space is actually used by a large static partition such as OS or Application program files. Typically these files are written once and read multiple times as on the device power-up sequence. The large static data block leaves only a small memory space for file updates or data recording. Due to such unbalanced usage,  the dynamic memory area gets extensive wear. Once any of these high usage blocks approach the endurance limit, and begin to lose data, the whole drive would fail. To avoid this situation, a Static Wear leveling algorithm was implemented.

When the device is in a standby (non-active) mode, the algorithm drives the Flash controller to re-write the static partition from the less used blocks to the dynamic partition of the higher used blocks. By readjusting the block usage, the memory wear will be evenly spread between the static and dynamic memory partitions. The algorithm defines a usage threshold which when reached by any one memory block initiates a static partition rotation, or swapping, of the highest usage blocks for the lowest usage ones.  This process typically occurs in the background while the Flash controller is in a stand-by or non-active mode.

While the Static Data Wear Leveling algorithm can slow down Flash Drive operation during the swapping sequence and also increases the overall block usage due to the rotation overhead, it is nonetheless the best method to maximize the SSD life.

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Best Algorithm to Improve Flash SSD Life Expectancy - Static Data Wear Leveling

Unlike Dynamic Data Wear Leveling, Static Wear Leveling algorithm not only rotates the dynamic blocks, but also the blocks that store a static data partition. In many embedded applications, a significant portion of memory space is actually used by a large static partition such as OS or Application program files. Typically these files are written once and read multiple times as on the device power-up sequence. The large static data block leaves only a small memory space for file updates or data recording. Due to such unbalanced usage,  the dynamic memory area gets extensive wear. Once any of these high usage blocks approach the endurance limit, and begin to lose data, the whole drive would fail. To avoid this situation, a Static Wear leveling algorithm was implemented.

When the device is in a standby (non-active) mode, the algorithm drives the Flash controller to re-write the static partition from the less used blocks to the dynamic partition of the higher used blocks. By readjusting the block usage, the memory wear will be evenly spread between the static and dynamic memory partitions. The algorithm defines a usage threshold which when reached by any one memory block initiates a static partition rotation, or swapping, of the highest usage blocks for the lowest usage ones.  This process typically occurs in the background while the Flash controller is in a stand-by or non-active mode.

While the Static Data Wear Leveling algorithm can slow down Flash Drive operation during the swapping sequence and also increases the overall block usage due to the rotation overhead, it is nonetheless the best method to maximize the SSD life.

READ MORE