FORTASA BLOG

OVERCOMiNG WRITE AMPLIFICATION IN SSDs

Embedded computing systems are designed to be highly efficient and effective, allowing them to perform specific tasks such as rapidly writing data to storage media quickly and accurately. While hard disk drives (HDDs) remain a viable storage option, especially where large amounts of data need to be written, their mechanical components can be vulnerable to damage from environmental influences such as shock and vibration in industrial settings, resulting in higher error rates. Consequently, Solid State Drives (SSDs) are most often preferred in rugged industrial storage settings because they lack moving parts and can withstand environmental impact much better than HDDs.

However, the biggest drawback of using Flash Memory Based Storage Solutions or SSDs is that flash memory storage has a finite lifespan based on the number of program and erase cycles written to the media. And write amplification can significantly shorten this lifespan.

Write amplification is a phenomenon the occurs when flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs) store more data than was originally intended, leading to an more write/erase cycles that compromise the device's lifespan and performance. To measure write amplification, it is necessary to compare the amount of data written to the flash memory with the amount intended to be stored by the application's host system. When compared to HDDs, SSDs are more susceptible to write amplification, as they require data to be erased before new data can be written, whereas HDDs permit new data to be written over old data. To understand why and how write amplification occurs in SSDs, it is essential to understand how they store data.

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Flash Memory Controller - Heart of the Industrial Storage System

Frequently we receive customer inquiries about our Industrial Storage products where they don't understand the difference between an Industrial and Consumer solution and how the technology and product quality differs.

While my colleague addressed this question from the point of view of product manufacturing, I would like to address it from the point of view of technology and specifically about the Industrial Flash Controller that transparently manages the host system interface to NAND Flash media.

As part of the NAND Flash management algorithm, Flash controller performs the following discrete tasks:

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