Although solid-state drives (SSDs) have improved in both performance and reliability in recent years, the cost has remained a drawback for these devices. However, as prices continue to fall and capacities increase, it is becoming much easier and feasible for OEMs, data center managers, and IT professionals to adopt faster, quieter, more reliable, and less power-consuming SSDs, thus driving more efficient appliance deployment.
With falling cost improved reliability, greater capacity, reduced power consumption and higher speeds, SSDs are gaining more traction in both personal and professional computing. And they are ready to compete with traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) in these applications, as discussed in a recent blog post from NEI (News - Alert).
In fact, according to NEI, the recent price industry drops by companies like Intel are making SSDs increasingly competitive in the marketplace, providing the potential impetus for companies to make the switch.
In addition to their enhanced reliability and greater simplicity due to fewer moving parts, SSDs also offer the advantage of a reduction in power usage of up to 200 percent when compared to their HDD counterparts, as demonstrated by NEI’s analysis. Consequently, by converting to SSDs based on recent pricing, NEI predicts that data centers can see a much faster return on investment (ROI) because of a significant reduction in heat load due to significantly lower power consumption.
Plus, thanks to their increased speed for handling data – 200 to 500 MBps compared to 50 to 120 MBps for HDDs - the total number of SSDs required for processing data will be less than the current number of HDDs presently installed, improving energy consumption even further.
In comparison to HDDs, SSDs are now offering more features with internal processors enhancing data handling capability within the drive, as well as encryption and protection from the effects of magnetism from stray electrical currents. In addition, SSDs offer the advantage of non-volatile memory, ensuring no loss of data due to power failure.
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Edited by Jamie Epstein