Smart Storage Lauching Optimus Ultra SAS SSD

SMART Storage Systems announced the Optimus Ultra SAS SSD.

A combination of performance, capacity, reliability and endurance, it Ultra is designed to meet enterprise storage application needs, facilitating broad SSD adoption in enterprise environments.

Designed for the enterprise environment, the Optimus Ultra SAS SSD delivers read/write performance of 100K/60K IOPS and a sustained transfer rate of 1GB/s in wide port operation, while achieving 25 full random drive writes per day for a period of five years with consumer-grade MLC NAND flash. This combination of performance and endurance addresses the storage requirements of the most demanding enterprise customers. The Optimus Ultra SSD is available in useable capacities ranging from 150GB to 1.2TB, meaning enterprise organizations and OEMs no longer need to sacrifice capacity to realize the performance gains of solid-state storage.

"Enterprise organizations and IT shops are flocking to solid-state storage because of the quantum leap in system performance that this technology engenders," said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst, Taneja Group. "Vendors that can deliver SLC-like performance and endurance at MLC-like prices will clearly command a lot of respect as system designers try to make SSD-based storage pervasive."

The Optimus Ultra SSD leverages the Guardian Technology Platform to provide the endurance and feature set required for enterprise environments. A suite of proprietary features, the Guardian Technology Platform is comprised of FlashGuard, EverGuard, and DataGuard technologies. FlashGuard, a combination of Aggregated Flash Management and Advanced Signal Processing technologies, enables commercial MLC flash to achieve higher endurance levels, making it suitable for the enterprise environment. DataGuard and EverGuard technologies ensure data integrity and drive reliability are not compromised, satisfying the demanding reliability requirements of Tier-1 enterprise storage applications.

"Enterprise organizations see the value in SSD technology; however, drive endurance outweighs the performance gains for many companies evaluating SSD solutions," said Joseph Unsworth, Research Director, NAND Flash and SSD, Gartner. "A product that achieves the performance, capacity, reliability and endurance balance required by enterprise organizations would fundamentally alter the storage landscape and spur significant enterprise adoption."

"The Optimus Ultra takes SSD technology to new heights," said John Scaramuzzo, president at SMART Storage Systems. "By taking cost-effective MLC flash and optimizing endurance at the cell level with our Guardian Technology Platform, Optimus Ultra SSDs deliver the endurance, performance, reliability and capacity enterprise organizations and Tier-1 OEMs require at a more attractive price point. The Optimus Ultra makes solid-state storage a viable option at the most critical storage tiers."

The Optimus Ultra will begin sampling with select customers in Q2 2012.