Which is the new bottleneck of SSD(Solid state Disk)?

Question

At present, SSD technology is based on Nand Flash(SLC or MLC).

Which is the new bottleneck of it?
Price per GB? Random write control by firmware and driver? or others

What is the next storage IC? NVRAM, Phase-Change RAM,Spin Torque RAM, or Ferroelectric Nand Flash?

Michael · Accepted Answer

SSD is definitely a technology with a bright prospect, with numbers of advantages such as faster write/read rate, invulnerable to shock, smaller size comparing with conventional hard drive, it is likely to be the next generation of data storage. But, to achieve the goal, there are still many obstructions to overcome, and I guess that would probably take more than 5 years until SSD turns out to be a mature technology. The biggest problem is the maximum write/read times; so far it can only endure 10,000 to 100,000 times of write/read, if we assume that there are 100 times per day, the longest life will be 1000 days, in other words, the service life of SSD is less than 3 years. Obviously it is too short to serve as data storage. The second problem is the price. Currently the price per GB of SSD is awfully higher than that of HD, while the capacity per disk of HD now is up to 640G, and I believe that 1TB is very possible to achieve soon or later with a reasonable price. So there is a long way to go for SSD.

Denny · Answer

In my opinion, the critical bottlenecks are write/read times and the price, which is not acceptable to the public. To handle the problem of write/read times, the common method is to manage the storage units with wear-leveling algorithm. The core of the algorithm is writing data into the seldom used physical blocks in every write operation, so as to retain the balance in the whole SSD storage medium, especially the optimization of algorithm for garbage collection strategy and management method of static files can greatly prolong the service life of SSD. Garbage collection strategy increases the write efficiency on the premise of wear-leveling principle, meanwhile improves the power of the algorithm to manage different types of storage units, consequently achieving a more efficient wear-leveling. Besides, there are manufacturers who are deploying RAM (memory medium) as buffer like the way the conventional HD takes. Taking advantage of the physical features of RAM, the service life of SSD could be prolonged. I believe that SSD will be popular in the market eventually; it is just the matter of time.