New SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative Project to Provide Education on SSD Performance

San Francisco, CA (January 6, 2012) – The Solid State Storage Initiative (SSSI) of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced a project to educate users on how to use the recently published Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification (SSS PTS) to compare the performance of Solid State Drives (SSDs).

The public can now visit a webpage at www.snia.org/forums/sssi/pts, which shows SSS PTS-compliant performance data from actual enterprise and client SSDs and advice on how to interpret the results of the individual tests. The webpage will also provide a venue for SSD manufacturers to post SSS PTS compliant test results for their products.

In support of the project, members of the SNIA Solid State Storage Technical Work Group – the team that created the SSS PTS – collaborated on an accompanying white paper entitled "Understanding SSD Performance Using the SNIA SSS Performance Test Specification," which may be downloaded at www.snia.org/forums/sssi/knowledge/education.

"The white paper and website provide a way for readers to get an overall understanding of solid state drive performance by evaluating all of the PTS tests in a summary fashion," said Eden Kim, chair of the SSS Technical Work Group and CEO of Calypso Systems. "Taken together, the various PTS SSD tests allow the reader to more precisely understand the innate performance of SSDs at the device level while choosing test parameters that are similar to the user’s workload of interest."

"The Understanding SSD Performance project is intended to give users sufficient information to make intelligent decisions about SSD performance," said Paul Wassenberg, chair of the SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative. "SSSI intends to establish an industry-wide database of performance results, and encourages SSD manufacturers to contribute SSS PTS results for their products."

The SSSI will exhibit at the Storage Visions Conference on January 8-9, 2012 at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV in booth #3. Experts will be on hand to discuss the Understanding SSD Performance project, and booth visitors will be able to watch a demonstration of a SSS PTS compliant test system from Calypso Systems. Also on display will be examples of SSD products from SSSI members Fusion–io, Micron, Smart Modular, and Violin Memory showing the wide variety of SSD form factors available today.

"The 2012 Storage Visions Conference is glad to have the SNIA SSSI participate and showcase the progress they have made in their PTS project," said Tom Coughlin, Storage Visions Organizer and Program Chairman. "The Understanding SSD Performance project is a crucial step in enabling the performance test methods defined within the SSS PTS to be more broadly used by industry vendors and systems designers."

About the Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification
The SSS PTS (http://www.snia.org/pts) defines a suite of tests and test methodologies necessary to enable comparative testing of individual Enterprise and Client SSD performance. Over 50 individuals from 25 companies have collaborated on the development and release of the SSS PTS. These companies represent industry-leading SSD manufacturers, SSD controller makers, test labs, and computer system OEMs.

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 the 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. ###