SandForce SSD Controllers Up to 500MB/s for Sequential R/W

SandForce, Inc. announced the availability of its second-generation SF-2200 and SF-2100 SSD processors optimized for SSDs deployed in client computing applications.

The SF-2200 processors feature a 6 Gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA host interface, a sustained sequential read/write performance of up to 500 Megabytes per second (MB/s), and DuraClass’ technology. The SF-2100 processors feature a 3 Gb/s SATA host interface, read/write performance up to 250 MB/s, and the same DuraClass Technology. In addition to leading-edge performance, the SF-2200 and SF-2100 Client products support high-speed ONFi2 and Toggle flash interfaces in single-level and multi-level cell (SLC & MLC) NAND flash families from all major suppliers.

"With high profile products now incorporating SSDs as standard storage media and most other system vendors offering them as options, the market for client SSD applications is poised for growth as SSD prices decline," said Joseph Unsworth, Research Director, NAND Flash & SSD at Gartner. "SSD controllers that can deliver superior performance and reliability without the dependence on DRAM will have a compelling value proposition across a wide range of client applications."

The SF-2200 and SF-2100 Client SSD Processors address the needs of cost-sensitive client storage markets with enterprise-class features. These devices feature the SandForce DuraClass Technology including RAISE’ and patented and patent-pending DuraWrite’ features to deliver performance, endurance, reliability, and power management.

Additionally, SF-2200 and SF-2100
Client SSD Processors feature:

• Support for advanced 30nm- and 20nm-class NAND flash from leading flash vendors with Asynch/ONFi1/ONFi2/Toggle interfaces with data transfer rates up to 166 Mega Transfers per second
• Trusted Computing Group (TCG) OPAL security with 256-bit AES encryption and automatic, line-rate double encryption with a drive-level password
• Advanced ECC engine correcting up to 55 bits per 512-byte sector to assure high data integrity and support for future generations of flash memory
• Power and performance optimization and tuning features to maximize mobile battery life
• Single-chip ‘DRAM-less’ solution enabling highly compact and flexible designs

"As with our first-generation product, the new SF-2200 and SF-2100 Client SSD Processors break new ground in terms of reliability, performance, and affordability by optimizing access to the most advanced NAND flash technologies," said Michael Raam, President and CEO for SandForce. "Manufacturers building client SSDs can now introduce even higher performance products that further optimize the computing user experience and enhance overall productivity which will continue to accelerate mainstream laptop and PC market adoption of SSDs."

SSD manufacturers and system OEMs will demonstrate their SandForce Driven’ SF-2200 and SF-2100 products at the CeBit show in Hanover, Germany, on March 1-5, 2011.