Samsung MZ4LB15THMLA-00003 operation manual

Samsung

NGSFF SSD

State-of-the-Art SSD Solutions for Data Center and Enterprise Servers

White Paper

The NGSFF SSD Value Proposition

Executive Summary

As the volume of global data grows dramatically each year, there is also an increasing demand for Solid State Drives (SSDs) that are optimized for data center and enterprise applications equipped with various features including higher density, hot plug support forfront loading , and12V power direct support, among others.

However,existinglegacySSDsolutions,likeU.2-andM.2-basedSSDs,donotsatisfiysuchrequirmentsfromthedatacenterandenterpriseserver industries. The U.2 form factor is still stuck to a 2.5-inch form factor, which originated with the spinning hard disk drive (HDD). Therefore the U.2

SSDisfarfromefficientwhenitcomestospaceusage,anattributethatiscriticalfordatacenterandenterpriseserverapplications.And,sinceM.2- based devices were invented primarily for consumer use, M.2-based solutions do not integrate key enterprise-level features, such as hot-swap, powerloss protection, and highercapacity, even while its form factorcannot support the front drive loading on the server.

In order to solve these issues for the data center and enterprise industries, Samsung invented a new state-of-the-art SSD form factor targeted specificallyforthese applications – Next Generation Small Form Factor(NGSFF)1. This white paperwill describe the key features and advantages of NGSFF SSDs in detail in orderto help systemvendors choose the right data centerand enterprise serversolutions to more efficientlyrun their businesses.

NGSFF SSD's 9 Advantages for Data Center and Enterprise Server Systems

NGSFFSSDisthewayofthefuturefordatacentersandenterpriseapplications.Thedimensionsandkeyfeaturesareoptimizedtofullyutilizethe serverfrontdrivebayareaspace,helpingtoachieveahighdensityandspace-efficientdesign.ThisresultsinthefollowingkeybenefitsforNGSFF

SSDs:

(1)Double/quadruple capacity: NGSFFformfactorsupportstwo-to-fourtimeshighercapacitythantheM.2formfactor.Therefore,byusing NGSFFSSDs,spaceutilizationinregardstodatacenterapplicationscanbesignificantlyimproved.

(2)Universal form factorto support multiple SSD interface protocols, including PCIe, SAS, SATA and Gen-Z.

(3)High Availabilityvia a supporting Dual port: ForPCIe protocols, serversystems can choose eithera Single port x4 lane PCIe orDual port x2 lane PCIe by setting the value of DualPortEn enable pin. This feature allows for multiple paths to the SSD, which is a critical feature for enterprise server systems. Even if one port is blocked due to a system or network issue, SSD data can still be accessed via the other port forcontinuous service.

(4)Hot-insertion/Hot-removal capabilities: NGSFF SSDs can be replaced without a system power-off (i.e. replacing broken SSDs is easier and will not require stopping the serversystem).

(5)Server-front-bay serviceability: With the feature of hot-insertion/hot removal, placing status LEDs in rear part and four screw holes for lockingtotheNGSFFSSDchassismakeeasiermonitoringandsaferinsertion/removalofNGSFFSSDinthefront-bayserver.

(6)12V power supply as the main power source for the SSD: Because NGSFF SSDs can receive12Vvoltage directly, serversystems do not need to convert the voltage to 3.3V as the main powersource of the SSD. The voltage regulatorfrom12V to 3.3V is not needed in the server system (i.e. voltage regulation related hardware and software are removed in the serversystem).

(7)Power reset capability by software: The main power supply of 12V can be disabled while keeping the control signal like 3.3V aux active. This powerdisable capability allows easierremote powerreset of the SSD by software.

(8)Power loss protection: Forsudden powerloss protection,there is enough space forcharge capacitors,whichtransfercached datatothe

SSD. Therefore, the serverhost does not need to worry about losing data when poweris lost.

(9)Visual reporting of detailed SSD status: Two LEDs are included to provide the SSD status. Because these LEDs are placed in rear part of theNGSFFSSD,asystemmaintainercaneasilymonitortheNGSFFSSD’sstatus.

Theremainderofthiswhitepaperwillexplainthese9keyadvantagesofNGSFFSSDsindetail.

1.Thisstate-of-the-artNGSFFSSDformfactordesignwasinventedbySamsungandintroducedattheFlashMemorySummit(FMS)in2016.ThefirstNGSFFSSDproductforusebythedatacenterandenterpriseserver industries was announced at the 2017 FMS.

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Mechanical Outline

Mechanical Outline

and Higher Capacity

Figure1showstheshapeoftheNGSFFSSDformfactor and its dimensions. Its outersize is110.0mm by 30.5mm.

Thetotalthicknessis4.30mmor4.8mm.Theallowable component height forthe top side is 2.0mm maximum, while the allowable component height forthe bottom side is1.50mm or2.0mm maximum. The PCB thickness oftheNGSFFSSDis0.8mmwitha±10%tolerance.

Figure2showsaNGSFFSSDproductdeveloped accordingtotheNGSFFformfactorspecifications showninFigure1.TheNGSFFSSDheightof30.5mmis optimallyutilizingthe1Uheightoftheserver(i.e.50% widerarea than M.2 by increasing the height while not exceeding1UheightallowsNGSFFSSDstocontain more semiconductorcomponents in the same1U Rack).

IncomparisontotheM.2formfactor-basedSSD,NGSFF

SSDs can have at least double the storage capacity because of a biggerPCB area (i.e. when using a JEDEC standardNANDpackage--14x18mm,316BGA--8 NANDpackagescanbemountedontheNGSFFSSD formfactor,whileonlyupto4NANDpackagescanbe mounted on a M.2 form factor).

	2.00mm MAX		TOPSIDE
									4.30mm,
	1.50mm MAX, or2.0mm MAX								or4.80mm
			BOTTOMSIDE
				110.00mm
	JEDEC STD.	JEDEC STD.
	316GA	316GA
	(14x18)	(14x18)
							30.50mm
	JEDEC STD.	JEDEC STD.
	316GA	316GA
	(14x18)	(14x18)

Figure1-NGSFFSSDMechanicalDimensions

Figure2-NGSFFSSD(30.5x110mm)MountingTwoRowsofEightNANDs

(UsingBothSidesofPCB,aTotalof16NANDsAreMounted)

Figure3-M.2SSD(22x110mm)MountingOnlyOneRowofTwoNANDs

(UsingBothSidesofPCB,aMaximum4NANDsAreMounted)

Ifacurrent,widely-used,smallersizeNANDPackage(12.7x13.1mm)isused(asshowninFigure2),atotalof16NANDpackagescanbemounted onaNGSFFSSD.UsingaNGSFFSSDcanprovide4timeshigherstoragecapacitythananM.2-basedserversystem.Thisreducestherackspaceof adatacenterdramatically.Forexample,onerackofaNGSFFSSDcanreplacefourracksofanM.2-basedSSDinadatacenterwhileprovidingthe same total storage capacitywith less powerconsumption.

AsshowninFigure4,each1Urackunitcaneasilyfit36NGSFFSSDs.Forinstance,ifSamsung’sPM98316TBNGSFFNVMeSSDisused,then 576TBofsystemcapacityisprovidedusingonlya1Userver.

Figure4:36NGSFFSSDs--Samsung’sPM98316TBNGSFFNVMeSSD--CanFitIntoaCurrent1UServer;576TBofSystemCapacityCanBeProvidedPerOne1URackUnit

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Server-Front-Bay Serviceability

Simplifying Maintenance Via Server-Front-Bay Serviceability

The NGSFF form factoris designed with features like hot insertion, hot removal, activity and status indicatorLEDs. Collectively, these features enable the NGSFF SSD to be usable and serviceable from the front bay of standard1U servers. The following figure shows the insertion of an NGSFFSSDtoa1Userverdrivebay.

1 of 36 Hot-swap NGSFF Drives

Figure5:ServerFront-BayServiceabilityofNGSFFSSD

Universal Form Factor to Support PCIe, SAS and SATA Interfaces

The NGSFF form factoris designed to support multiple bus interfaces, including PCIe2, SATA 3 and SAS 4. In cases where the interface detect signal (IfDET, Pin 69) is GND, NGSFF SSDswill followthe SAS orSATAprotocol. If the interface detect signal (IfDET, Pin 69) is high in conjunction with a platform located pull-up resistor, the device protocol is PCIe. In the case of PCIe interface type, if DualPortEn# value is set High by system, thenthe devicewill operate in Single port 4 lanes PCIe protocol. Otherwise,the PCIe interface isworking as Dual port 2 lanes PCIe protocol (see

Table1).

SSD Interface Type	IfDET(Pin 69, Output)	DualPortEn# (Pin46, Input)
SATA orSAS	GND	Open
PCIe (Single port)	Open	High (by system)
PCIe (Dual port)	Open	Low (by system)
Table1:ProtocolTypeIdentification

2.PCIe:PCIExpressinterfaceprotocol,whichisdefinedbyPCISIG(http://pcisig.com/).

3.SATA:SATA(SerialATA)isacomputerbusinterfaceusedformassstoragedevicessuchasHDDsanddefinedbytheSerialATAinternationalorganization(http://www.serialata.org/).

4.SAS:SAS(SerialAttachedSCSI)isabusinterfaceusedformassstoragedevicessuchasHDDsanddefinedbytheT10technicalcommittee(http://www.t10.org/).

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