PCLe SSD Storage Solution

PCIe flash cards have been shipping for over 2 years and there multiple vendors offering various capacities utilizing both SLC and MLC flash technology. When they first arrived, the cards demonstrated performance that was several times faster than existing SSDs. This was largely due to the higher performance of the PCIe interface when compared to other storage interfaces. Users quickly found that the devices could increase their compute intensive applications performance and even reduce their data center space and power requirements. There is a wide range of customer applications that have different requirement needs for storage. While the PCIe SSD can be utilized in most applications, there are tradeoffs that must be made when compared to other available alternatives. A user’s requirements and goals for a storage solution must be evaluated to determine if PCIe SSD storage is the right option. The solid-state storage industry has many new arriving technologies that will extend the benefits of memory used as storage devices. These technologies cover non-volatile memories, memory interfaces, SSS controllers and many others. In addition, there are new and upcoming standards, covering form factors, connectors and interfaces that will increase the serviceability, compatibility and usability of PCIe storage.

Learning Objectives

The motivations and benefits for using PCIe SSD storage.
Tradeoffs for using PCIe SSD storage versus other options available today
Enabling technologies and standards that support as well as reinforce this initiative