Startup builds enterprise class SSDs

Two to four times faster than an already fast thing.

Pliant Technology has introduced its first line of Enterprise Flash Drives (EFDs), solid state disk (SSD) products specifically designed for servers and high-performance computing applications, according to the firm.

Available later this month, Pliant's Lightning EFDs are available in 2.5in (LB) and 3.5in (LS) form factors, and come with a Serial Attached SCSI interface in order to fit into existing server and storage systems.

The new drives integrate a proprietary controller design and advanced software to dramatically improve performance and reliability. Pliant said that its drives have a performance two to four times higher than existing SSDs, while being 10 times more reliable.

Pliant claims that its 3.5in drives are capable of up to 160,000 input/output operations per second (IOPs), and up to 120,000 for the 2.5in models. This compares with a quoted speed of up to 35,000 IOPs for Intel's X25-E SSDs.

The drives are capable of unlimited writes, according to the firm, and feature a cache-less design to eliminate data loss on power interruptions.

Data protection and reliability features include Background Patrol Read to detect defects, extended Error Correcting Code (ECC), and triple-redundant ECC protected metadata, plus support for the T10 data integrity field standard.

"The exceptional performance and reliability features of Lightning EFDs allow IT managers to address the most significant challenges they are facing today, namely keeping up with continually increasing storage demands with fixed budgets, limited datacentre floor space and the ever growing cost of power," said Pliant chief executive Amyl Ahola.

The new drives are available in capacities of 300GB and 150GB (Lightning LS300 and LS150), while the 2.5in LB is currently available at 150GB only (Lightning LB150). Prices for the drives have yet to be disclosed.