Flash memory storage maker SanDisk has introduced Lightning PCI Express (PCIe) Solid State Accelerator (SSA) cards which will enhance the performance of workstations and servers used in data centres, server farms and cloud computing environments.
The new PCIe cards are part of company’s solid state drive (SSD) application portfolio which provide access to the frequently used data and applications in order to manage heavy workloads.
They can be added to workstations and servers to provide balanced, predictable performance for enterprise applications.
Lightning PCIe SSAs come with company’s SSD technology and features an advanced controller using a parallel processing architecture to manage essential data protection and input/output (I/O) functions.
The new release also includes a caching option for Windows operating systems by using SanDisk FlashSoft data caching software.
Data centres can combine the Lightning PCIe SSA as an additional storage tier in conjunction with SanDisk FlashSoft data caching software to support large server workloads.
It is based on the new PCIe 2.0 interface and can be installed to any four lane (x4) or greater PCIe slot. They offer 245 microsecond average response times and sub-30 millisecond maximum response times, deliver 50 microsecond sustained read and write latency and require just 15 watts of power.
The cards incorporate an advanced SanDisk controller, consuming less power as well as offer a two million hour MTBF (mean time between failures) rate.
SanDisk Lightning PCIe SSAs are available in 200 gigabyte (GB)1 and 400GB capacities and upto five cards may be installed into a single system to provide up to two terabytes (TB)1 of capacity.
The SanDisk PCIe SSAs are bootable devices which support multiple Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) and includes industry-standard drivers that are integrated for use with major Microsoft Windows, Linux and VMWare ESX environments.
