Fusion-io Develops SMLC SSD Tech For Enterprise

Fusion-io has been breaking down walls and pushing envelopes in the solid state drive arena for as long as we can remember, and just a month after issuing the ioXtreme PCIe SSD, the company is now developing an all new class of enterprise MLC.

Specifically, the oufit has developed a new engineering technique for managing multi-level cell (MLC) flash technology, which combines the enterprise reliability of single-level cell (SLC) technology with the economical consumer-grade MLC flash. Fusion-io products utilizing this technology, called single mode level cell (SMLC), offer a cost-effective MLC-based solid-state solution with the endurance and performance of SLC at a much lower cost per gigabyte.

According to the company, the new SMLC technology features bandwidth equal to SLC, with comparable endurance and write performance levels, at a cost that is substantially lower than traditional SLC solutions. Reportedly, the tech is built specifically for customers requiring greater performance or endurance than MLC can provide, at a lower price point than existing SLC solutions.


Mark Peters of the Enterprise Strategy Group, really hit the nail on the head with his assessment of SSD adoption:

"Whatever the underlying logic, the fact remains that the straightforward cost of solid state storage is the number one impediment to its faster adoption. his new SMLC solution from Fusion-io is aimed at attacking that impediment while leaving the many other benefits of solid state untouched, and it extends the company's out-of-the-box innovative approach to building a next generation of storage."

At least initially, SMLC will be available in both ioDrive and ioDrive Duo product lines supporting 160GB and 320GB, respectively. Fusion-io has promised that more SMLC-based wares will follow, but details on those future devices are still few and far between.