Samsung 840 White Paper
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Samsung 840 White Paper

Samsung solid state drive white paper
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Samsung
Solid State Drive
White Paper
© 2013 Samsung Electronics Co.

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Summary of Contents for Samsung 840

  • Page 1 Samsung Solid State Drive White Paper © 2013 Samsung Electronics Co.
  • Page 2 This content is designed to help facilitate a general to moderate understanding of SSD technology as well as Samsung’s industry leadership and unique product offerings. Much of the content requires at least a basic understanding of SSDs. Thus, it may help to review the glossary and familiarize yourself with some fundamental SSD terminology before delving into this material.
  • Page 3 – while rotating disks must wait for spindles motors, heads, and arms to physically locate data locations, SSDs can access any location with lightning speed. 2.5” SATA HDD 840 SSD (500GB) Category Difference...
  • Page 4 200x improvement in IOPS over a traditional HDD (results may vary based on HDD model). For this reason, Samsung put a heavy focus on random performance when designing its SSD lineup, offering users industry leading Random Performance of up to 100,000 IOPS.

  • Page 5: Bringing It All Together

    Samsung has been the number one supplier of SSDs in the preinstalled storage business for more than 6 years. No one has more experience with SSDs or a better track record for reliability. You can trust that Samsung will continue to lead the...
  • Page 6 Understanding SSD System Requirements SATA Interface Basics SATA is the name of the interface standard that allows a storage device, in this case an SSD, to communicate with a host system, in this case a PC or laptop. It facilitates the functioning of all storage features, from basic input/output (or read/write) requests to advanced AHCI-enabled features like Native Command Queuing (NCQ), hot-swapping, power management, and RAID.
  • Page 7 In fact, an 840 Series SSD will outperform any SATA 3Gb/s SSD on the market on the same system setup. An investment in an 840 Series SSD is, therefore, future-proof in that an upgrade now will benefit a SATA 3Gb/s system, but the SSD will also be ready to offer even better performance in the event that one decides to upgrade to a SATA 6Gb/s system in the future.
  • Page 8 After some predetermined period of inactivity, either the host or the device can signal the PHY to enter its reduced power state. Samsung’s 840 and 840 Pro Series SSDs make aggressive use of DIPM to put...

  • Page 9: Hot Plugging

    AHCI Wrap-up Enabling AHCI is crucial to get the most performance out of your Samsung SSD. If you notice that performance is lower than expected, one of the first things to check is whether or not AHCI is properly configured. Samsung’s latest Magician 4.0 software can assist in determining if AHCI is supported and/or enabled.

  • Page 10: Raid Levels

    Enhancing SATA Performance with RAID Today’s SSDs are maximizing the performance potential of the current SATA 3.0 interface generation. One way to increase performance beyond standard single drive SATA configurations is to pair 2 or more drives together using SATA’s native RAID support.
  • Page 11 It cannot protect against user error (e.g. inadvertently deleting files) or data corruption. Why Samsung Samsung, as the largest supplier of SSDs to the preinstalled market, must qualify its SSDs on an endless variety of hardware configurations, including all current and legacy SATA interfaces. Its SSDs are designed to outperform the competition on all SATA implementations, making a Samsung SSD the smartest choice for any PC upgrade, regardless of whether it is an aging or a state-of-the-art system.
  • Page 12 NAND Basics Understanding the Technology Behind Your SSD Although it may all look the same, all NAND is not created equal: SLC, 2-bit MLC, 3-bit MLC (also called TLC), synchronous, asynchronous, ONFI 1.0, ONFI 2.0, Toggle 1.0, Toggle 2.0. To the uninitiated, all of this looks like nonsense. As the SSD market gets more complex, however, so does your buying decision.
  • Page 13 Manufacturers have made massive strides in managing the limitations of NAND technology. Sophisticated “bin sorting” algorithms allow 1 -tier manufacturers like Samsung to select only the highest-quality NAND chips for use in SSD devices. Advanced wear-leveling code ensures that NAND cells wear out evenly (to prevent early drive failure and maintain consistent performance), while garbage collection algorithms preemptively prepare fresh storage space (to improve write performance).
  • Page 14 Samsung has taken the first step by introducing 3-bit MLC NAND to the SSD market with its 840 Series SSD, made possible by its fully integrated design approach, proprietary controller architecture and firmware algorithms, and superior NAND quality. As mentioned previously, increased SSD capacity leads to increased performance and endurance, so SSDs using this technology will only improve as densities grow.
  • Page 15 The advent of DDR NAND was a key breakthrough in increasing NAND speed. Traditional NAND, also known as “Single Data Rate (SDR)” NAND, was only capable of processing data on “one edge” of its regulatory signal. ONFI 1.0 and pre-Toggle Samsung and Toshiba NAND belong to this category. The figure below shows a Read operation for illustrative purposes. Signal...
  • Page 16 SSD. While generic controller manufacturers must optimize their chips to work with both ONFI and Toggle NAND, Samsung can focus all of its design efforts on making Toggle NAND work perfectly with its proprietary controller technology. The end result is product characterized by awesome performance...
  • Page 17 Understanding SSDs A Peek Behind the Curtain While an SSD might look like a simple device on the surface, there is a great deal of complexity behind the scenes. In order to ensure that your SSD stays in prime working condition, the SSD controller must manage complex performance and lifetime optimization algorithms.

  • Page 18: Garbage Collection

    The chart below shows what happens to performance when an SSD is hammered with a non- stop data flow for 6 hours. The 840 and 840 PRO Series SSDs level out at a significantly higher performance level, and the 840 PRO is able to hold on to its peak performance longer, than many other drives.

  • Page 19: Wear Leveling

    TRIM functionality. On PCs, TRIM is supported in Windows 7 or later. On Macs, TRIM is only supported for Apple’s OEM SSDs and is not supported for Samsung’s (or any other manufacturers’) aftermarket SSDs.
  • Page 20 SSD Performance and Endurance. Historically, Samsung has not implemented mandatory OP on any of its SSDs. With the introduction of the 840 Series and the reality of increasingly complex NAND fabrication processes, however, Samsung has chosen to implement a minimum amount of OP in its mainstream drives (the 840 PRO will not feature mandatory OP).
  • Page 21 NAND industry continues to shrink chips to save on cost, increase efficiency, and expand capacities. Samsung sets a lower value for its mandatory OP on the 840 Series than any other competitor, a feat that is possible because of its top-tier NAND chips and superior maintenance algorithms.

  • Page 22: Protect Your Privacy

    Protect Your Privacy Security & Encryption Basics In today’s mobile world, security is a major concern for both individuals and businesses. With the 840 and 840 Pro Series SSDs, Samsung is adding peace-of-mind through the implementation of hardware-based AES Full Drive Encryption.

  • Page 23: Enabling Aes Encryption

    Someone who wants to manage a personal machine or an SMB that depends on its employees to handle most of their own IT support, however, will find that the SED feature of Samsung’s 840 and 840 Pro Series SSDs is well-suited to their needs.

  • Page 24: Technology Overview

    HDDs. As a result, some attributes are used with modified meaning by SSD vendors since their names are not applicable to SSD technology. Below are the SMART Attributes associated with the Samsung 840 and 840 PRO Series SSDs, which are displayed in decimal format.
  • Page 25 DIPM (Device Initiated Power Management) feature. Thus, with this feature enabled, this attribute excludes any time the device spends in a “sleep” state. With DIPM off, the recorded value will include all three device power states: active, idle, and sleep. ID # 12 Power-On Count The raw value of this attribute reports the cumulative number of power on/off cycles.
  • Page 26 CDM, which Samsung uses when measuring the sequential performance of its SSDs, reports the maximum sequential and random read/write performance in Megabytes per second (MB/s). Random performance is reported for three separate workloads: 512KB data, 4KB data at a Queue Depth (QD) of 1, and 4KB data at a QD of 32.
  • Page 27 Iometer, also freely available via the web, is another popular synthetic benchmarking tool. It is commonly used to measure IOPS (random performance) and is the program Samsung uses to measure the random speeds of its SSDs. Its interface is significantly more complex than CDM, but it offers more control over the testing scenarios. Users can...
  • Page 28 (e.g. JPEG photos, digital audio or video files, zipped files, etc.). Because everyday home and office PC users have and use a considerable amount of this type of data in real-world usage scenarios, Samsung chooses not to use compression technology in any of its current SSDs in favor of delivering industry-leading read and write performance with all data...
  • Page 29 Samsung could have designed its SSD to have a similar performance profile. Instead, it chose to focus on real-world users as its baseline rather than topping a particular benchmark. That’s not to say the 840 Series won’t top the charts (it will) –...
  • Page 30 NAND characteristics, semiconductor process technologies, and controller characteristics must go hand-in-hand. Samsung represents one of the few manufacturers that designs all of these components in-house; and, among those who do, Samsung enjoys the most experience (with over 6 years as the number one supplier in the preinstalled SSD market).
  • Page 31 Having full control over the NAND, controller and firmware has major implications both for performance and reliability. Samsung has intimate knowledge of every nuance of these components and can tweak them along each step in the development process to ensure that they work perfectly together. Generic SSD controllers have to worry about supporting multiple NAND specifications (from varying manufacturers who each have different manufacturing processes), while Samsung’s proprietary SSD controller is engineered solely to work with its own NAND –...
  • Page 32 As a fully integrated manufacturer that controls its own NAND fabrication lines and produces a wide range of memory products, Samsung has the luxury of choosing only the best quality NAND to use in its SSD lineup. A NAND wafer does not contain NAND chips of uniform quality.
  • Page 33 SSDs are among the best performing and most reliable on the market. With great technology, a proven history of performance and reliability, and a strong commitment to putting it all together in a simple package, Samsung is the SSD brand you can trust for your next PC upgrade.
  • Page 34 Long-lasting, reliable SSDs mean reduced downtime and lower repair costs Samsung has been a number one player in the semiconductor industry for over 20 years. For 6 of those years, it has been the largest supplier of SSDs to the preinstalled PC business. Designing an SSD is no trivial task – experience matters.
  • Page 35 Samsung has a long track record of excellence in the memory industry. With new business-friendly features, redesigned disk management software, and next-generation performance capable of extending the life of aging hardware, Samsung’s 840 and 840 Pro Series SSDs represent a solid investment for any business looking to maximize the effectiveness of its IT resources.

  • Page 36: Data Migration

    One of the biggest pain points for new users when upgrading from their Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to their new Solid State Drive (SSD) is the process of moving over all of their existing files and programs. Samsung’s Data Migration software was designed with novice users in mind to simplify this tedious process.
  • Page 37 As simple as that, you’ve completely transformed your PC into a modern marvel of speed and efficiency. In fact, you may not believe it’s the same computer when you see how fast the system boots up. With the help of Samsung’s Data Migration software, you’re now ready to enjoy industry leading speed, endurance, and reliability from the #1 name in...
  • Page 38 OS Optimization Feature Overview Introduction With Magician 4.0, Samsung is introducing a host of improvements designed to enhance user experience and to make Magician’s features more user-friendly and accessible to novices. The totally redesigned User Interface (UI) features simple, graphical indictors to show SSD health status and Total Bytes Written (TBW) at a glance. Users can now determine SATA and AHCI compatibility and status without consulting their user’s manuals.

  • Page 39: Hibernation Mode

    the fastest possible performance. Features like “Hibernation Mode,” “Virtual Memory,” and “indexing,” which require extra writes to the SSD in order to function, are enabled for added speed. The “Maximum Capacity” profile disables features that require a large amount of extra storage space to function, including “Hibernation Mode,”...
  • Page 40 (NAND chips in the case of SSDs or magnetic platters in the case of HDDs). In order to maximize both system and SSD performance for Client PCs, Samsung recommends enabling this feature. If this feature is disabled, there will be significant decrease in Random Read/Write performance. The use of this feature does not affect the life or capacity of the SSD and is thus enabled for all profiles.

  • Page 41: System Restore Options

    By default, Magician chooses “High Performance” mode for all configuration profiles because SSDs consume considerably less power than their HDD counterparts and because Samsung SSDs support the DIPM feature discussed above, thus offsetting any extra energy consumption. System Restore Options Windows’...
  • Page 42 Contributions Brand Product Marketing Team Sung-Hee Lee, Director Woody Yang, Senior Manager Justin Erfort, Assistant Manager Kyung-Min Lee, Assistant Manager Flash Software Development Team Sungchul Kim, Principal Engineer Jisoo Kim, Senior Engineer Jong Tae Park, Senior Engineer Pilsung Kang, Senior Engineer Application Engineering Group JB-JongBaek Chang, Principal Engineer Jeff...
  • Page 43 www.samsung.com/ssd...

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