InnoGrit: Tacoma, Rainier and Shasta Family of SSD Controllers

Integrity Corp., a start-up in storage technology to solve the storage and transport challenge in AI and other big data applications, made its introduction to the market and unveiled a portfolio of SSD controller solutions addressing the needs of the data center, enterprise and client markets.

Founded in October 2016 by technology leaders and led by, Zining Wu, former Marvell CTO,  the fabless IC design company delivers performance, low power turn-key flash-based storage solutions that enable businesses across industries to maximize investments in next-gen applications while reducing their capital and operational expenses.

“The last few years have seen the maturation of multiple next-generation applications that hold great promise for businesses of all sizes, in every market sector. To date, however this great promise hasn’t translated into operational success for many organizations because they lack the storage and transport capabilities required to properly fuel the applications they’ve deployed,” said Zining Wu, co-founder and CEO, InnoGrit. “We started InnoGrit and set out to develop IC and storage systems that can overcome this roadblock once and for all so the true power of AI and various other big data applications can meet their potential and drive tremendous value for businesses everywhere.“

Since its inception, the company’s mission has been to unlock the potential of flash storage previously limited by traditional data processing architectures through innovation in system performance, efficiency, reliability, and security. The firm’s flash-based IC and system solutions are enabling a new class of products to consumers, data centers, and enterprises.

Despite making its formal introduction to the market today, the company is already in mass production with its first chip, Shasta, enabling several of their customers to launch their SSD products. The firm has a seasoned team, putting it in position to capatilize on opportunities presented as more and more businesses adopt next-gen applications.

“Next gen application deployments are barely scratching the surface of their potential benefits for most because businesses continue to overlook the importance of storage and transport performance to its success,” said Greg Wong, founder and principal analyst, Forward Insights. “InnoGrit’s focus on advancing storage technologies in terms of performance, power consumption, data security and economics, at this critical stage presents an opportunity for customers in the data center, enterprise and client market segments to quickly close the performance gap and increase value for businesses operationalizing these applications.“

Announcement portfolio of SSD controllers for range of applications

The firm announced a portfolio of SSD controller solutions – Tacoma, Rainier and the Shasta family – aimed at various data center and enterprise, and client segments. The company provides a flexible business model from SDK to turnkey FTK support all the way through reference designs. The Tacoma, Rainier and Shasta SSD controllers are designed with security, power, and performance in mind, and are equipped with advanced LDPC technology, end to end data protection and support for all the key security standards. In addition, the firm’s SSD controllers provide performance and low power capabilities to deliver increased value while reducing costs.

Full specifications for these SSD controllers are as outlined below:

Tacoma (IG5668)

Tacoma is a 16/12nm FinFET high-end data center and enterprise SSD controller with PCIe Gen 4×4 interface, NVMe 1.4, 16 NAND channels and up to 32TB capacity. It can reach up to 7GB/s sequential read and 6.1GB/s sequential write and more than 1.5 million IO/s random read performance. Optimized for low latency storage class memory (SCM), Tacoma is able to achieve 10µs read latency for intensive I/O applications when combined with Toshiba Memory Corp.‘s low latency XL-Flash. It features atomic write and in-storage computation with a learning accelerator for optimized system performance. Additionally, Tacoma supports conventional and Open Channel SSD models to enable customers to fit different deployment scenarios based on their applications. Featured with the firm’s proprietary ECC technology, It ensures data integrity by end-to-end data protection and enhances data reliability throughout the SSD lifespan. It is offered in the small 17x17mm BGA package and can support M.2, U.2, and EDSFF form factors.

Rainier (IG5236)
Rainier is a NVMe controller with PCIe Gen 4×4 interface and NVMe1.4 standard. It utilizes 8 NAND channels and is built with the highest security and data protection in mind to support high-end client and data center solutions. Rainier can reach 7GB/s sequential read and 6.1GB/s sequential write and more than one million IO/s random read performance. Leveraging the firm’s proprietary ECC technology, it enhances the data endurance and retention to deliver reliability and high performance SSD solutions. It provides a data protection scheme through SRAM ECC and end- to-end data path protection. Rainier supports all major 2D and 3D flash memories at the maximum capacity of 16TB.

Shasta family (Shasta-IG5208 and Shasta+-IG5216)

Shasta (IG5208) is a NVMe controller for M.2 and BGA SSD form factors. Utilizing the PCIe Gen3x2 interface and NVMe1.3 standard, it features a DRAM-less architecture with support of the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) function. It delivers up to 1,750MB/s sequential read and 1,500MB/s sequential write and 250.000 IO/s random read performance without the cost burden of expensive DRAM in an SSD. It is available in capacities up to 2TB and supports SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC flash. Equipped with end-to-end data protection, low power capability and its small form factor, Shasta is for IoT and consumer electronics without the complicated thermal solutions.

Shasta+ (IG5216) is the next-gen controller in the Shasta family offering a performance upgrade via a PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe interface, delivering up to 3.2GB/s sequential read and 2.5GB/s sequential write and up to 500,000 IO/s random read performance. Similar to Shasta, it is available with up to 2TB of capacity and features end-to-end data protection, SRAM with ECC protection, Open Channel support, and other similar features. It is targeted at client applications with enhanced QLC performance and flexible packaging support for M.2, U.2, and BGA SSD.

The firm’s Tacoma, Rainier and Shasta family of SSD controllers are currently sampling.

About InnoGrit

It is a fabless IC design company founded in October of 2016 by technology leaders in Silicon Valley. The company’s performance, low power full turn-key SSD controller solutions enable businesses across industries to maximize their investments in next-gen applications while reducing capital and operational expense. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, InnoGrit is focused on advancing storage technology to solve the storage and data transport problem in AI and other big data applications through IC and system solutions.

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by Jean Jacques Maleval | 05 April 5, 2018 | News