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SanDisk SSD X100 is designed to improve the mobile computing user experience with leading
performance, high reliability and power efficiency in SATA standard 2.5” and mSATA small form
factor.
SanDisk X100 with 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512 gigabyte1 (GB) flash memory, support performance
optimizations such as “Multi Stream” support, performance throttling, and move/copy megafiles in high performance.
With a state of the art and an evolutionary controller design, SanDisk SSD provides more than
fast sequential read/write performance and provides significant improved random I/O
performance and multi stream capabilities enabling SanDisk SSD to work much faster.
SanDisk, the industry leader in flash storage, is uniquely positioned to drive the paradigm shift in
mobile computing to SSDs Inside enterprise and consumers computers, such as the thin & light
laptops and transportable laptops.
This manual describes the functional, mechanical and interface specifications for the following
SanDisk SSD X100 model drives: SATA 2.5” 7.0mm, SATA 2.5” 9.5mm and SATA mSATA.
1
1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some of the listed capacity is used
for formatting and other functions, and thus is not available for data storage.
 SATA 2.5” 7.0mm case, complies with SFF-8223 and SFF-8201
 SATA 2.5” 9.5mm case, complies with SFF-8223 and SFF-8201
 Standard mSATA form factor with a Mini-PCIe edge connector, complies to
JEDEC MO-300B standard
 Interface to host:
 SATA 6Gb/s (Revision 3.0) compliant
 Backwards compliant to SATA 3Gb/s & SATA 1.5Gb/s
 ATA 8 Command Set ACS-2
 NCQ support up to queue depth = 32
 SMART support
 High performance
 Maximum Host transfer rate: 6Gb/s
 Sustained Sequential Read: 500 MB/s
 Sustained Sequential Write: 430 MB/s
 4K Random Write: 43,000 IOPS
 4K Random Read: 76,000 IOPS
 Write Latency: 65µs
 Read Latency: 55µs
 Low power consumption:
 Typical read/write
 Slumber power mode
2
:
3
:
4
: 120mW to 150mW
5
: 70mW to 100mW
2
The logical capacity of the drive conforms to the IDEMA HDD Specification. See www.idema.org for details. Some of
the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions, and thus is not available for data storage. 1 megabyte
(MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.
3
Performance for 256GB product on SATA 6Gb/s host, Queue Depth = 32. Based on internal testing; performance
may vary.
4
Average (typical) power while running MobileMarkTM 2007. X100 is configured with Device Initiated Power
Management (DIPM) enabled and Host Initiated Power Management (HIPM) enabled. 120mW for form factors with
input power of 3.3V ; 150mW for 2.5” standard SATA (5V).
5
With DIPM enabled. 70mW-75mW for form factors with input power of 3.3V ; 100mW for 2.5” standard SATA (5V).
The SSD X100 contains a high-level, intelligent storage subsystem with powerful capabilities.
These capabilities include the following:
 Supports multi stream – improves user experience in multitasking systems
 Support for Trim command
 Minimal write amplification – increases endurance and performance
 Tiered caching – Volatile and non-volatile cache
 Supports ATA register and command set (ATA-8 / ACS2 standard)
 S.M.A.R.T. feature supported
 Host independence from details of erasing and programming flash memory
 Sophisticated system for error recovery including a powerful error correction code (ECC)
 Sophisticated system for managing defects
 Advanced power management for low power operation
 Implementation of dynamic and static wear-leveling to extend SSD X100 life
SSD X100 contains a sophisticated defect and error management system that is similar to the
systems found in magnetic disk drives, and in many cases, offers enhancements. If necessary,
the SSD device will rewrite data from a defective block to a good block. This action is completely
transparent to the host and does not consume any user data space.
The SSD soft error rate specification is much better than the magnetic disk drive specification. In
the extremely rare case that a read error does occur, the SSD X100 products have innovative
algorithms to recover the data by using error detection code and error correction code
(EDC/ECC). These defect and error management systems, coupled with the solid state
construction, give SSD X100 unparalleled reliability.
1.4.2 Wear Leveling
Wear leveling is an intrinsic part of the erase pooling functionality of SSDs using NAND memory.
Advanced features of dynamic and static wear-leveling, and automatic block management are
used to ensure an even distribution of write/erase cycles throughout the entire device,
regardless of how dynamic or static the data written is. This guarantees high data reliability and
maximizes flash life expectancy.
1.4.3 Bad Block Management
Bad blocks are occasionally created during the life cycle of a flash component, in a phenomenon
called dynamic bad-block accumulation. These bad blocks must be marked and replaced
dynamically in order to prevent read/write failures. When a bad block is detected, the
embedded Bad Block Mapping algorithm maps out the block, which will remove the block from
future use.
The SSD X100 supports a unique feature to improve random write performance and ensure very
positive user experience. Studies show that modern operating systems mostly access the
storage device using small access blocks, with the majority being 4KB access blocks.
The small logical access blocks conflict with the physical block structure (>1MB) for the newer
generation flash memory technology. Therefore, to bridge this difference, SSD X100 employs
three storage layers:
 Volatile cache - DDR DRAM cache
 nCache™ - A non-volatile flash write cache
 Mass storage – MLC NAND flash
The nCache™ is used to accumulate small writes (called segments) at high speed and then flush
& consolidate them to larger MLC section of the NAND Flash memory array.
SSD X100 supports an advanced power management system that includes both Host Initiated
Power Management (HIPM) and Device Initiated Power Management (DIPM).
1.5.1 Slumber SATA low power mode
The SanDisk SSD x100 supports entering into Slumber SATA low power mode through DIPM
(Device Initiated Power Management) as well as HIPM (Host Initiated Power Management).
Upon completion of any command, in case of DIPM, the SSD will request the host to enter into
Slumber power.
1.6 Background Garbage Collection
Once the SSD X100 detects idle time, the flash management firmware can utilize the time the
device is idle in order to perform internal house-keeping operations. These internal housekeeping activities include freeing up the space in the nCache by flushing and consolidating to the
MLC storage and rearranging the data in MLC array. Performing internal house-keeping activities
in background will significantly improve performance of the device, providing swift user
experience. These operations are executed internally and are transparent to the host. Any time
a new command is received from the host the internal operations will be terminated and the
host command will be serviced with minimal delay.
1.7 Performance Throttling
In order to protect the integrity of the data and prevent excessive heat dissipation, the SSD X100
utilizes an on-board/on-chip thermal sensor to monitor the SSD’s critical component junction
temperature. If the temperature rises above the allowable limit, the performance will be
reduced until the temperature decreases to an allowable level. This performance throttling
technique acts as a safety measure.
The SSD X100 interface complies with the Serial ATA standard published by ANSI. The device
complies with the SATA 6Gb/s, Revision 3.0 specifications and supports ATA-8 Command Set
ACS-2.
For more information, refer to the American National Standard X3.221: AT Attachment for
Interface for Disk Drives document. Documentation can be ordered from IHS by calling 1-800854-7179 or accessing their Web site: http://global.ihs.com
By default, most Operating Systems operate with Host Write Cache ’enabled,’ which more
accurately means there can be data residing in the X100 that hasn’t been succesfully
programmed into flash memory (this is a feature of ATA and not specific to SanDisk SSD
products). To ensure this data is properly committed to flash memory, the X100 requires a Flush
Cache command followed by a Standby Immediate command prior to power being removed.
This command sequence allows the X100 to complete the programming of all data in its volatile
data cache into flash memory, returning ’good’ status to the host only after successful
completion. This command sequence is handled transparently by most OS’s during a standard
shutdown sequence (e.g., hibernation, shutdown, standby, etc).
However, it is possible that in some applications (e.g., embedded systems without a typical userinterface providing graceful power-down options), power to the X100 could be removed,
without warning, precluding the possibility of a graceful shutdown – resulting in the possibility
of data loss and/or longer power on time.
Average power consumption is defined as the blended read/write/idle power used by the SSD
X100 while it is operating with a typical OS installed. The power consumption is being measured
while running MobileMark™ 2007 with Device Initiated Power Management (DIPM) enabled
(allowing the SSD X100 to enter low power modes during host idle time). MobileMark™ 2007
simulates the usage of standard user applications in the Windows environment, providing a
reproducible test platform for measuring average power consumption.
Table 3-2: SanDisk SSD X100 Average Power Consumption
Operating power consumption is measured while the X100 is continuously processing sequential
read and write commands (tested separately) with a transfer size of 256 sectors per command
(128KB). Sampling interval is 1 second. Measurement of operating power consumption is meant
to demonstrate the worst-case continuous power required by the SSD X100 during long read or
write command sequences.
Table 3-3: SanDisk SSD X100 Active Power Consumption
Non-recoverable error rate is 1 error per 1016 bits read.
6.2 MTTF (Mean-Time-To-Failure)
The reliability figure of merit most often used for electronic equipment is Mean-Time-To-Failure
(MTTF). SanDisk estimates MTTF using a prediction methodology based in accordance with the
Telcordia Special Report SR-332. The prediction is based on a Parts Stress Analysis.
Quality levels were defined as industrial grade (I) for all of the components. The detailed
prediction for the system was performed at a temperature of 25°C in a GB environment.
The following table summarizes the estimated MTTF results for each capacity.
92h Download (without offsets) and save microcode.
07h
Execute Device Diagnostic
M
90h
Flush Cache
M
E7h
Flush Cache Ext
O
EAh
Identify Device
M
Ech
Idle M E3h
Idle Immediate
M
E1h
Initialize Drive Parameters
Obs
91h
NOP
O
00h
Read Buffer
O
E4h
Read DMA
M
C8h
Read DMA Ext
O
25h
Read DMA w/o Retry
Obs
C9h
Read FPDMA Queued
O
60h
Read Log Ext
O
2Fh
Read Multiple
M
C4h
Read Multiple Ext
O
29h
8. Supported ATA Commands
8.1 Commands set
The following table defines some of the common ATA commands supported by the SSD X100.
Specifics of each ATA command’s operation can be found in the ATA/ATAPI Command Set ACS-2
document.
The following table defines the list of supported Log Pages accessible through SMART Write Log,
SMART Read Log, Read Log Ext and Write Log Ext commands.