14 DAY TRIAL // The so-called solid-state drives that Greenliant Systems is now shipping are quite different from the normal crop, and even PCI Express models might look ordinary compared to them.
Indeed, while Greenliant calls them embedded solid-state drives, they look more like single chip storage solutions.
For comparison, normal SSDs use a 2.5-inch rectangular form factor, similar to HDDs, and PCI Express drives look like add-in cards. The new ones resemble the chips the latter's PCBs are riddled with, and which the former type of drives stack together.
Still, they do what they are meant to do, namely act as storage media for small electronics or commercial and industrial applications.
They use 2-bits-per-cell (MLC) NAND flash memory and the industrial temperature (I-temp) SATA and PATA interfaces.
"SATA and PATA NANDrive have been used in a multitude of embedded system designs to provide long life, small form factor and low power data storage," said Arthur Kroyan, vice president, business development and marketing, Greenliant Systems.
"The addition of industrial temperature MLC NANDrive gives Greenliant customers more flexibility to select a rugged and reliable SSD that will meet their specific application needs, especially in the automotive, industrial and networking segments."
The NANDrive operate between -40 and +85 degrees Celsius. They also have highly efficient wear leveling technology (maximum SSD lifespan) and measures to ensure data integrity and reliability in case of power failures (power interrupt data protection).
Then, there is mention of configurable security (user-selectable protection zones and military-grade "instant" erase commands).
Furthermore, Greenliant implemented a NANDrive Health Monitor, which estimates lifespan and proactively prevents data loss.
Prices haven't been mentioned, but that is expected, as enterprises and industrial companies will have to contact Greenliant themselves and negotiate deals. There will be an exhibition at Embedded World 2013, Nuremberg, Germany, February 26–28, where they will be shown.