The SSD Anthology: Understanding SSDs and New Drives from OCZ
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 18, 2009 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
The Anatomy of an SSD
Let’s meet Mr. N-channel MOSFET again:
Say Hello
This is the building block of NAND-flash; one transistor is required per cell. A single NAND-flash cell can either store one or two bits of data. If it stores one, then it’s called a Single Level Cell (SLC) flash and if it stores two then it’s a Multi Level Cell (MLC) flash. Both are physically made the same way; in fact there’s nothing that separates MLC from SLC flash, it’s just a matter of how the data is stored in and read from the cell.
SLC flash (left) vs. MLC flash (right)
Flash is read from and written to in a guess-and-test fashion. You apply a voltage to the cell and check to see how it responds. You keep increasing the voltage until you get a result.
| SLC NAND flash | MLC NAND flash | |
| Random Read | 25 µs | 50 µs |
| Erase | 2ms per block | 2ms per block |
| Programming | 250 µs | 900 µs |
With four voltage levels to check, MLC flash takes around 3x longer to write to as SLC. On the flip side you get twice the capacity at the same cost. Because of this distinction, and the fact that even MLC flash is more than fast enough for a SSD, you’ll only see MLC used for desktop SSDs while SLC is used for enterprise level server SSDs.
Cells are strung together in arrays as depicted in the image to the right
So a single cell stores either one or two bits of data, but where do we go from there? Groups of cells are organized into pages, the smallest structure that’s readable/writable in a SSD. Today 4KB pages are standard on SSDs.
Pages are grouped together into blocks; today it’s common to have 128 pages in a block (512KB in a block). A block is the smallest structure that can be erased in a NAND-flash device. So while you can read from and write to a page, you can only erase a block (128 pages at a time). This is where many of the SSD’s problems stem from, I’ll repeat this again later because it’s one of the most important parts of understanding SSDs.
Arrays of cells are grouped into a page, arrays of pages are grouped into blocks
Blocks are then grouped into planes, and you’ll find multiple planes on a single NAND-flash die.
The combining doesn’t stop there; you can usually find either one, two or four die per package. While you’ll see a single NAND-flash IC, there may actually be two or four die in that package. You can also stack multiple ICs on top of each other to minimize board real estate usage.
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strikeback03 - Thursday, March 19, 2009 - link
If you get Newegg's specials, one of the codes is for the 30GB for $103 with a $20MIR, so $83 with shipping if the rebate comes through. At the size I would want (~120) the Super Talent undercuts the OCZ slightly.Does anyone know if you can install the firmware of one maker to another maker's SSD? For example, assuming both the Ultradrive ME and the Vertex use the same Indilinx controller, and say Super Talent chose to release it with the firmware which optimizes for higher sequential speeds, would the user be able to choose the firmware which optimizes for less latency?
Testtest - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
Ah, no editing?!A-Data's "300 plus" SSD also uses the Indilinx controller.
vailr - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
"The Anatomy of a SSD" should instead read: "The Anatomy of an SSD"Flunk - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
Yes, because S is a vowel...abudd - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
Assuming SSD = "es-es-dee" then "an SSD" is right. If it *sounds* like a vowel, use "an".JarredWalton - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
Yes, *but* SSD could also be read as "Solid State Drive" instead of "ess ess dee", in which case you would say "a SSD". I tend to read it as "ess ess dee", but Anand thinks of those letters as "Solid State Drive".Potato, potato, tomato, tomato... let's call the whole thing off!
Azsen - Thursday, March 19, 2009 - link
When reading acronyms you're supposed to think of them as the letters, i.e. when you see RAM, you think "ram" straight off not Random Access Memory. When you see "IBM" you think "eye bee emm" not International Business Machines etc etc. It would take ages to read an article if you had to stop and think out all the full wording of acronyms as you're reading them.I'm going with the correction of "Anatomy of an SSD". Correct English fullstop.
JarredWalton - Thursday, March 19, 2009 - link
By your comment, you suggest two different things, and that's really okay. That was my point: when you see "RAM" you probably thing "ram" as in the animal... not "Are A Em". You say "a RAM stick" not "an RAM stick". I'd guess most people think of SATA as "Ess A Tee A", but if you talk to most computer techs that are in the know, it's "say-te" so you would say "a SATA drive".And you know, I'm sure plenty of people will agree with the correct way of saying SATA, and that's perfectly okay. English really is a very flexible thing - particularly in the tech world - and rarely is there an "always right" way of saying things. If Anand wants to say "a SSD" and others want to say "an SSD", I'm not going to try to declare one group or the other correct. They both are, depending on your viewpoint.
"I believe the world is neither black nor white, but only shades of gray."
Pythias - Friday, March 20, 2009 - link
Can't have gray without black and white.7Enigma - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - link
HAHAHA. What a tool. I love it when people critique grammar.....and get it wrong.