Client Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification Released by SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative

August 9, 2011. San Francisco, CA. The Solid State Storage Initiative (SSSI) of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced that the Client Solid State Storage (SSS) Performance Test Specification (PTS) has been released to the public. The Calient PTS (http://www.snia.org/pts) defines a suite of tests and test methodologies necessary to enable comparative testing of individual SSS client device performance. Over 50 individuals from 25 companies have collaborated on the development and release of the SSS PTS. These companies represent industry–leading SSS manufacturers, SSS controller makers, test labs, and computer system OEMs.

In this context, a Client SSD is defined as one implemented in a single user non-shared environment, such as a personal computer or desktop workstation. In contrast, typical environments for Enterprise SSDs are multi–user servers and other shared implementations. The Enterprise SSS Performance Test Specification (http://www.snia.org/pts) was released in May 2011.

“The Client SSS Performance Test Specification brings standardized performance testing to SSDs in single user environments,” said Paul Wassenberg, chair of the SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative. “The reports generated by the Client SSS PTS clearly show the performance of SSDs under various conditions, allowing users to objectively compare products from different manufacturers.”

“The solid state storage market has so far lacked a meaningful way to express SSD performance,” said Jim Handy, Chief Analyst at Objective Analysis. “Bandwidth and IOPS measurements, while satisfactory for hard disk drives (HDDs) are sorely lacking with this new technology. The SNIA Client PTS borrows from the lessons learned with SNIA’s Enterprise PTS to provide an unbiased means of comparing real&nda'world performance between different SSDs in a lifelike working environment.”

“Designers and users of client computers and consumer devices, such as individual personal computers and tablets, will benefit greatly by standards for real–world performance testing for SSDs,” said Tom Coughlin, President of Coughlin Associates. “Ideally SSD manufacturers or reviewers will use these client PTS standards to help educate the public on useful relative comparisons between candidate storage devices.”

“There are significant differences in the demand on storage devices between enterprise and single user environments. With the application of the SNIA Client PTS, the performance of those devices designed for personal applications may now be fairly evaluated and compared,” said Chuck Paridon, Storage Performance Architect, Storage Works Division of HP.

“This Client PTS represents another significant effort by the SNIA to establish industry wide standards for solid state storage performance testing. Calypso continues to support the SNIA and SSSI by implementing the Enterprise and Client PTS in industry wide test of solid state storage devices for OEMs, vendors and customers,” said Eden Kim, CEO Calypso Systems, Inc.

Testing SSS Devices
When executed in a specific hardware/software environment, the SSS PTS provides performance metrics that can be fairly compared to other SSS products measured in the same manner in the same environment. A typical SSS device taken “fresh out of the box” and exposed to a workload demonstrates a brief period of elevated performance, followed by a period of transition to a performance level called “Steady State” which should be representative of the device’s performance during its working life. The SSS PTS prescribes preparation methodologies and defines Steady State so that performance measurements can be taken in the Steady State performance region.

The SSS PTS itself is test hardware and software agnostic. Individual testers can run the SSS PTS on their particular platform to compare the relative performance of SSS devices. However, in order for SSS PTS results to be compared on a true “apples–to–apples” basis across multiple testers, a consistent test platform must be used. To solve this problem, the SSS PTS includes a Reference Test Platform (RTP) that describes the test hardware, software, and tools used by the SNIA SSS Technical Work Group (TWG) to perform the research and validate the specification. The RTP is not required to run the SSS PTS tests; it is merely an example of a platform that has been confirmed to meet the SSS PTS platform requirements.

How to Get Involved
Any company interested in participating in the ongoing development of the SSS Performance Test Specifications (both Client and Enterprise) and promoting SSS technology is encouraged to join SNIA, SSSI, and the SSS TWG. Status on updates to the specification, related white papers, and industry articles can be found at www.snia.org/forums/sssi.

About the SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative
The SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative (SSSI) fosters the growth and success of the market for solid state storage in both enterprise and client environments. Members of the SSSI work together to promote the development of technical standards and tools, educate the IT communities about solid state storage, perform market outreach that highlights the virtues of solid state storage, and collaborate with other industry associations on solid state storage technical work. SSSI member companies represent a variety of segments in the IT industry; the membership list can be found at http://www.snia.org/forums/sssi/about/members/. For more information on SNIA’s Solid State Storage activities, visit snia.org/forums/sssi and get involved in the conversation at http://twitter.com/SNIASolidState.

About the SNIA Solid State Storage Technical Work Group
The Solid State Storage Technical Work Group (SSS TWG) created and maintains a reference SNIA architecture to facilitate industry–wide adoption of common requirements, methods, and specifications in related standards organizations.

About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not–for–profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA’s mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. To this end, the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education, and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For additional information, visit the SNIA web site at http://www.snia.org.