🚀 go-pugleaf

uli, there is a company in kansas(wichita i think) called
newer technologies. we tested their scsi solid state drive
on our svr4 unix. it was a REAL screamer.  start up and shut down
as well as install time was amazing.

that was 2 years ago. i'm sorry i have lost the contact; 
perhaps someone else on the net knows them?

jack...
=============================================================================
 Jack Craig  Microport         SVR4 408-438-UNIX   uunet!mport.com!jack
             Software Horizons SVR3 408-684-1375   uunet!sco.com!blznrzn!jack
=============================================================================

We are showing the following products at COMDEX next week.  We also
announced today the EF5x family of DSSI SSDs for Digital's VAX and ALPHA AXP 
systems.  Please contact me or visit us at the Digital's OEM booth on the Comdex
floor for more information on our latest SSDs.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
FACT SHEET

PRODUCT NAME:   ESP500 SCSI-2 Solid State Disk

OVERVIEW:

The ESP500 is a new family of SCSI-2 Solid State Disks (SSDs)
offering standard, easy-to-implement, lightning-fast I/O for
applications where consistently fast access to large, expanding
databases is a competitive necessity.  As Digital's first open
systems offering in the Solid State Disk category, the ESP500 is
attractively positioned for volume business with generous storage
capacity, a standard 5 1/4-inch form factor, and below-market
pricing that puts the tremendous speed of SSD technology within
reach of most distributed computing and server environments.

The ESP500 Models 510 and 530 provide up to 100 times faster
access to data and up to 10 times greater transaction throughput
than magnetic disks.  The near-instantaneous access time of
0.25ms is achieved by eliminating the latency associated with
magnetic disk rotation and head seek.  Not only do ESP500 SSD
perform at semiconductor speed, they are predictable as well,
because the constraint of data locality associated with magnetic
media does not affect SSDs.

ESP500 SSDs plug and play just like magnetic disks.  As SCSI-2
disk devices, they conform to the same rules and are the same
physical size as 5.25" magnetic disks so they fit into standard
storage slots.  ESP500 SSDs can be mirrored, striped, and bound
in volumes like magnetics disks, and data is placed on them using
the same SCSI-2 commands.  The Model ESP530 offers 267 MB of
capacity, while the Model ESP510 offers 107 MB and an integrated
Data Retention System, which combines power sensing logic,
batteries, and an integrated hard disk to back up data in the
event of a power failure.

KEY FEATURES:                                   BENEFITS:

o Lightning fast I/O.                   o Provides up to 100x faster
                                          access to data than
                                          conventional magnetic disks.

o Standard 5 1/4-inch form factor.      o Plug and play operation.
                                          Slides into standard
                                          storage slots. Fits into
                                          system and storage cabinets.

o SCSI-2 device.                        o Provides instant benefits
                                          regardless of hardware
                                          platform. Uses same
                                          commands as magnetic
                                          disk. Boosts performance
                                          of existing applications
                                          up to 10x without recoding
                                          the application, operating
                                          system, or device driver.

o Data Retention System.                o Ensures non-volatility.
  (ESP510 model)                          Provides the same data
                                          permanence of a magnetic
                                          disk in the event of a
                                          power failure.

o Breakthrough pricing only from        o Offers Solid State Disk
   Digital.                               technology at an attractive
                                          price-point for today and
                                          future systems, servers,
                                          and high-end workstations.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY:

Evaluation units are available in Q1, 1993.  Volume shipments of
the ESP500 commence in Q3, 1993.

The price point of $13.5 K for ESP500 SSD evaluation units is
significantly below the rest of the industry.  Volume pricing
will be even more aggressive.

For Further Information:

Madeline Flynn
OEM Solid State Disk Products
(508) 841-3399
(508) 841-3738 (Fax)

=============================================================================
"Good things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy and footsy
as you." - Dr. Seuss
=============================================================================
Charlie Cassidy                        Internet: cassidy@memory.enet.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation          Amateur Radio: charlie@n1hlr.ampr.org
Memory Products Group - SHR1-4/O11
333 South Street                       This posting reflects the opinion of 
Shrewsbury, MA 01545                   the author, not Digital Equipment Corp
=============================================================================

In article <1992Nov9.203919.9793@nntpd.lkg.dec.com>, cassidy@esd55.enet.dec.com (Charlie Cassidy) writes:
|> 
|> We are showing the following products at COMDEX next week.  We also
|> announced today the EF5x family of DSSI SSDs for Digital's VAX and ALPHA AXP 
|> systems.  Please contact me or visit us at the Digital's OEM booth on the Comdex


I guess this seems like an excessively "Commercial" posting for
this newsgroup.  I think it belongs on biz.dec.announce, or
comp.newprod, etc.  Since it is here, however, I have a few
questions:


|> The ESP500 Models 510 and 530 provide up to 100 times faster
|> access to data and up to 10 times greater transaction throughput
|> than magnetic disks.  The near-instantaneous access time of
|> 0.25ms is achieved by eliminating the latency associated with
|> magnetic disk rotation and head seek.  Not only do ESP500 SSD
|> perform at semiconductor speed, they are predictable as well,
|> because the constraint of data locality associated with magnetic
|> media does not affect SSDs.


What is the transfer rate?  May I assume that it is 10MB/sec?

What is the measured latency through a real SCSI-2 controller?

For example, what is the latency I can expect on a DECsystem 5500?

Measured the way DEC usually measures these things, how many QIO's/sec
can the device handle at the usual delay points?  Can the existing
controllers, such as the one on the DECsystem 5500, saturate it?


-- 
  Hugh LaMaster, M/S 233-9,     UUCP:      ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center     Internet:  lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000  Or:        lamaster@george.arc.nasa.gov 
  Phone:  415/604-1056                     #include <usenet/std_disclaimer.h> 

In article <1992Nov10.021022.14711@news.arc.nasa.gov>,
lamaster@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster) writes:

|>In article <1992Nov9.203919.9793@nntpd.lkg.dec.com>,
|>cassidy@esd55.enet.dec.com (Charlie Cassidy) writes:
|>|> 
|>|> We are showing the following products at COMDEX next week.  We also
|>|> announced today the EF5x family of DSSI SSDs for Digital's VAX and ALPHA AXP 
|>|> systems.  Please contact me or visit us at the Digital's OEM booth
|>on the Comdex
|>
|>
|>I guess this seems like an excessively "Commercial" posting for
|>this newsgroup.  I think it belongs on biz.dec.announce, or
|>comp.newprod, etc.  Since it is here, however, I have a few
|>questions:
|>

Sorry about the commercial.  It was easier to grab the text file that
the marketing folks had handy than to retype in the details.  I wouldn't have
done it except that it was an answer to the query.  At least I didn't post the 
press release :-).

I'll answer the questions as best I can - but realize that the SCSI firmware is
still being worked on (we did the DSSI FW first).  In some cases, I'll give the
answer for the DSSI version if it makes sense.

|>
|>What is the transfer rate?  May I assume that it is 10MB/sec?

Peak rate over the wire is 10 MB/s.  Sustainable data rate will be less.  
Theoretical max sustained (based on the HW design) is about 5 MB/s -
limited by the error correction engine.  It'll be less than that - probably 
about 2-3 MB/s.  The EF51R does 2 MB/s sustained over DSSI.  

|>What is the measured latency through a real SCSI-2 controller?
|>
|>For example, what is the latency I can expect on a DECsystem 5500?
|>
TBD - should have an answer in late January.  On DSSI, we've measured 4 ms at 
the application level - which includes QIO processing, driver overhead (both
disk and DSSI port), device access, data transfer and I/O post processing (both
interrupt and fork level).

|>Measured the way DEC usually measures these things, how many QIO's/sec
|>can the device handle at the usual delay points?  Can the existing
|>controllers, such as the one on the DECsystem 5500, saturate it?
|>
TBD - The EF51R does about 850 QIO/s on a VAX 4000-600 through the
embedded DSSI adapter, which is rated at 1200 QIO/s.  I would expect similar 
throughput for the ESP510 through a decent SCSI-2 adapter.  We've got a 
DECsystem 5500 in the lab as one of the systems we'll use to initially debug
the firmware, so I should have an exact number in late January.

--
=============================================================================
"Good things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy and footsy
as you." - Dr. Seuss
=============================================================================
Charlie Cassidy                        Internet: cassidy@memory.enet.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation          Amateur Radio: charlie@n1hlr.ampr.org
Memory Products Group - SHR1-4/O11
333 South Street                       This posting reflects the opinion of 
Shrewsbury, MA 01545                   the author, not Digital Equipment Corp
=============================================================================

In article <1992Nov10.021022.14711@news.arc.nasa.gov> lamaster@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster) writes:
>In article <1992Nov9.203919.9793@nntpd.lkg.dec.com>, cassidy@esd55.enet.dec.com (Charlie Cassidy) writes:
>|> 
>|> We are showing the following products at COMDEX next week.  We also
>|> announced today the EF5x family of DSSI SSDs for Digital's VAX and ALPHA AXP 
>|> systems.  Please contact me or visit us at the Digital's OEM booth on the Comdex
>
>
>I guess this seems like an excessively "Commercial" posting for
>this newsgroup.  I think it belongs on biz.dec.announce, or

Perhaps, But Someone asked last week about who made SSD's so give 'em a
teensie break this time

So what is the average COST/MB on these guys, and where does it start?
-- 
Keith Smith          uunet!ksmith!keith            5719 Archer Rd.
Digital Designs      BBS 1-919-423-4216            Hope Mills, NC 28348-2201
Somewhere in the Styx of North Carolina ...