IBM

Flash Systems
Turn Data
into Dollars

Interview with
Michael Kuhn (right),
VP & Business Line Executive
and Kevin Powell (left),
Program Director
IBM Flash Systems

Deep Machine Learning and the Google Brain

DeepCover Secure Authenticators
July 28, 2014

Issue

126

Join Today

eeweb.com/register

CONTENTS

PULSE

FEATURED PRODUCTS
This week's latest products
from EEWeb

on what is called

hine learning is the

uters take in massive

ck qualities out of

imilar to each other.

e can then decide on

d on what data it has

et out to create a

t can accomplish this

TECH ARTICLE

This required Google

m with 16,000 central

ores and run millions of

hese CPUs. The CPUs

more than 1 billion

mulates the brain by

Deep Machine Learning and the Google Brain

Artificilal Intelligence Thinks Big and Pushes the Limits

al networks.

ks are systems in which

ing platforms mix

terconnected neurons
es from inputs. Humans

10

eurons in the brain.

have the capacity to

onal human brain, but

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SHA-256 algorithms can be implemented in

16

ualities of a brain.

Figure 1. Biological neural network.

TECH ARTICLE

Maxim DeepCover Secure

Authenticators

software on both the host and peripheral, but

software implementations can be tricky to
implement and have obvious vulnerabilities.

authenticity is ensured. As long as the private data

elements remain secure, SHA-256 authentication
provides a very high level of certainty that a
peripherals MAC is indeed authentic.

A hacker who is able to break the controller

protections and decompile the code will have
access to the secrets used in the authentication
process. A hardware-based SHA-256 secure

s
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AS-STYLE TECHNOLOGY
her approach
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the
systems was to invest in tiering software.
te flash team saw that the
automated progression or
idaIBMs
ned2010,
s of flashth
were
at
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tipping
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demotion of data across different
e to in consumer technology.
uvancements
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ications
transaction processing
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media. This
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uch
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rc
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would be
cheaper for
in terms
disk according
to performance
need
high-performance
NAND
and created
al-cost of ownership, Walls remarked.
o
and capacity
requirements.
the Enterprise NAND class
for data
centers and
a flash-based enterprise system finally
on
riatithe
flash
team explored acquisition applications. Today the benefits of
vnareach,
cloud-computing
tthem to Texas Memory
ns, which
led
a
th
d
te
NAND are apparent in high-speed data
ms (TMS). As Enterprise
flash technology started

Conclusion

ZLOAD

highMany
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How to GaN: Stable and Efficient ZVS

Class D Wireless Energy Transfer at 6.78MHz

ne
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lting

class
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(left) w

ith sim

plified

COVER INTERVIEW
IBM

Systems
IBM FlashFlash
Systems Turn
Data into Dollars
Michael Kuhn and
Kevin Powell, IBM into
Flash Systems
Turn

DATA

DOLLARS

streaming and Internet access. Wong is confident

ring and more suppliers were providing

the flash team knew IBM could provide

r,that in the future, Toshiba will continue to anticipate

rectifie needs and develop more NAND solutions.
t) with
atic (lef
ware and had n
in system built from
w a storage
m schem
shoaround
aosbottom
NAND Flash. This brought
er-syste
ce
sf
n
an
a
tr
d
pe
to theim
The acquisition allowed us
eless
le table.
g
s D wir
x their technology with our storage stack
ode clas
. This Janick explained. With
torage
ltage-m
ght)knowledge,
IBM FlashSystem products use flash memory
ri
ZVS vo
s
2.
re
.
we could deliver
a
much
better,
much
lower
cu
u
not only to store data, but also to keep it available.
Fig
y to fo
s (right)
ocygsolution
than if wen
just
put SSDs into our
eform
g
av
w
ti
l
As
the amount of data rises, IBM FlashSystems
ra
ea
e
id
us opinfrastructure.
ringostorage

ased performance and decreased latency

y owned the flash controller hardware and

Watch Video

24

TECH ARTICLE

MAC, presumably with the same input. Then the

host would compare its own MAC to that of the
peripheral, and if they match, then the peripherals

FEATURED ARTICLE

IBMs Enterprise Flash Calms Sea of Data

for Next-Generation Data Centers
make enterprise data accessible, enabling real-time
business decisions.

Kevin Powell
Michael Kuhn
To watch
a video overview and demonstration
of the
Program Director
VP & Business
Line Executive
IBM Flash
Systems
IBM Flash Systems
Toshiba
Enterprise
NAND,IBM
click
the image below:
FlashSystem V840

EEWeb spoke with Michael Kuhn, vice president

and business line executive at IBM Flash Systems,
as well as Kevin Powell, program director,
also at IBM. In addition to differences in
storage systems, Kuhn and Powell
also discussed changes in the data storage
market and expectations for the future of
flash-based storage.

TECH TREND

IBM FlashSystem V840

High-Performance Enterprise NAND

Memory Solutions

32
38
44

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PULSE
Multioutput WLED/RGB Backlight Driver
The A8516 is Allegros multi-output WLED/RGB LED driver IC released since 2010. This
LED driver is intended for backlighting LCD monitors and televisions. It incorporates
a boost controller to drive external MOSFET and six internal current sinks. It features a
fixed frequency current mode control with integrated gate driver. The LED sink current is set by an external R_ISET resistor. More than one LED sinks can be combined
together to achieve even higher current per LED string...Read More

TASKING ISO 26262 Support Program

Automotive systems safety issues compound when numerous systems must
interoperate, while providing passenger comfort and features. Embedded
software forms a critical path in systems such as Driver Assistance, Propulsion, I
n-Vehicle Dynamics, and Active and Passive Safety Devices. To mitigate the
compounding safety risks associated with these embedded systems, the ISO 26262
standard provides guidance along with requirements and processes for testing
and certifying automotive embedded software and development tools for safety...
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450 W DIN Rail-Mount Power Supply

The PMK450S-12D is DIN rail mount power supply packaged in an enclosed
construction. This supply is capable of delivering up to 450 W of rated power and
possess a power factor correction (PFC) function. Output characteristics of the
device includes a voltage output of 12 V and current output of 37.5 A. Efficiency of
the model reaches up to 85% with a guaranteed effective operation at the extended temperature range of -40 to +85C. The PMK450S-12D is equipped with over
current, over temperature, over voltage and short circuit protection...Read More

MMF Transceiver with Digital Diagnostic

Avagos AFBR-57J7APZ optical transceiver supports high speed serial links over
multimode optical fiber at signaling rates up to 7.4 Gb/s for wireless base station
applications involving the OBSAI or CPRI protocols, as well as related applications.
The transceiver is compliant with Small Form Pluggable (SFP) multi-source agreements INF8074 and SFF-8472 for mechanical and electrical specifcations and
FOCIS/IEC specifications for optical duplex LC connectors...Read More

192 kHz Digital Audio Transmitter

The CS8406 is a digital audio interface transmitter with featuring complete EIAJ
CP1201, IEC-60958, AES3 S/PDIF-compatible transmitter. It has on-chip channel status
and flexible 3-wire serial digital audio input port. With frame rates up to 192 kHz and
an on-chip differential line driver.
The CS8406 is a digital audio transmitter that enables consumer and professional
audio products to exchange 192 kHz S/PDIF and AES/EBU audio data. The CS8406
accepts and encodes audio and digital data, which is then multiplexed, encoded
and driven onto a cable/optical transmission interface....Read More

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RFID Transponder Coils
The 4312 Series are RFID transponder coils for RFID applications at 125 kHz. It is
designed to withstand the harshest mechanical shock and high temperatures and
developed for tire pressure monitoring systems.
The coil is wound on a plastic base, providing great durability and allowing this part
to withstand physical shock. With operating temperature range to 125C, these parts
pass AEC-200 Grade 1 (-40C to +125C) qualification and are ideal for use in a wide
range of automotive applications. The uniquely shaped termination provides
excellent board adhesion...Read More

Development Tools for Embedded Processors

Digi-Key Corporation announced a global distribution agreement with Sauris GmBH.
Sauris GmBH manufactures development kits and tools of C2000/5000/6000, DaVinci,
Sitara, OMAP, and ARM processors from Texas Instruments. It offers low cost and
reliable platforms that leverages Texas Instruments processors and provides a
promising addition to their broad product offering.
Sauris GmbH, based in Munich, Germany, designs, develops, and manufactures
hardware development tools for digital signal processors and microcontrollers and
application specific devices...Read More

High-Voltage SPICE Models Launched

In the past, high voltage (HV) discrete device and product development consisted
of a long, serial approach where technologies were developed in TCAD*, physical
parts fabricated and packaged, measurements performed and an iterative calibration cycle launched.
As designers simulate application circuits with SPICE and not TCAD, application simulations are often performed and calibrated very late in the technology development
process when the silicon-based SPICE model is finally available...Read More

166 MHz Coral Q Device

The MB86293 Coral Q features display resolutions up to 1024768 and 6-layers of
overlay display (windows) and geometry processors. It has and RGB digital and
analog output with built-in alpha blending, anti-aliasing and Chroma keying.
The new Coral device family offers an increased internal operating frequency of
166MHz, a 64-bit memory bus, support for six independent layers, advanced
alpha-blending features and enhanced video input facilities...Read More

New Voltage Options for Rad Hard Family

Intersil Corporation has expanded its line of radiation hardened (rad hard) voltage
references with the addition of four new devices, the ISL71091SEH10, 20, 33 and 40.
These new devices offer better overall accuracy for 11-bit and 12-bit ADC resolution
applications. The ISL71091SEH family features industrys best output voltage noise
and a reference voltage that is stable over time, temperature and ionizing radiation, providing increased precision in satellite data acquisition, signal processing and
power management applications...Read More

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PULSE
4V Output Solar Cell
The CPC1824 is a 4-V output solar cell providing wireless power and features
replacement of discrete components. It is wave solderable and does not generate
EMI/RFI interferences.
The CPC1824 is a monolithic photovoltaic string of solar cells on Silicon-On-Insulator
(SOI). This patented design allows for higher voltage solar cells in a compact
package. When operating in sunlight or a bright artificial light environment the
optical energy will activate the cell array, and generate a voltage at the output...
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Quartz-Filled Two-Part Epoxy System

The EP30QF is two-part quartz filled epoxy system designed for high performance
bonding, sealing, coating and casting. This material is formulated to cure at room
temperature or more rapidly at elevated temperatures with a 4-to-1 mix ratio by
weight. The suggested cure schedule for this system is overnight at room temperature and followed by one to two hours at 150-200 F to achieve optimization of its
properties. This adhesive is 100% reactive and does not contain any solvents or other
volatiles. It is especially recommended where high tensile modulus, outstanding
compressive strength and superior dimensional stability are important requirements.
Linear shrinkage after cure is exceptionally low. A lower viscosity version called
EP30QFLV is also available...Read More

ISDB-T 1-Segment Tuner

The MAX2163 is an ISDB-T tuner that has a supply voltage range of 2.4 VDC to 3.47
VDC, and incorporating a 2-wire serial I2C digital input with clock frequency of 400
kHz. The device main signal path performance includes a maximum voltage gain of
96 dB and a noise figure of 3.2 dB to 5.3 dB.
The MAX2163 low-IF tuner IC is designed for use in 1-segment ISDB-T applications.
The MAX2163 directly converts UHF band signals to a low-IF using a broadband I/Q
downconverter. The operating frequency range covers the UHF band from 470MHz
to 806MHz...Read More

868/915 MHz ASK Transmitter

The TH72032 is an 868-/915-MHz ASK transmitter integrated circuit featuring a fully
integrated PLL-stabilized VCO and a single-ended RF output. It features a very low
standby current and over-all frequency accuracy.
The TH72032 ASK transmitter IC is designed for applications in the European 868 MHz
industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) band, according to the EN 300 220 telecommunications standard. It can also be used for any other system with carrier frequencies
ranging from 850 MHz to 930 MHz (e.g. for applications in the US 902 to 928 MHz ISM
band)...Read More

Zero Drift Instrumentation Amplifier

Microchip Technology expanded its portfolio for instrumentation amplifiers with
the addition of its new zero-drift MCP6N16. This device has a self-correcting
architecture that extends DC performance by enabling ultra-low offset, low-offset
drift, and superior common-mode and power-supply rejection, while eliminating the
adverse effects of 1/f noise, resulting to a very high accuracy across both time and
temperature...Read More

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FEATURED PRODUCTS
Compact Constant Current DC/DC LED Drivers
The LD24-xx-xxx is a series of Wide Input DC/DC Constant Current LED Drivers that
offers six models available now on the market. These has an input voltage range
of 7.0 ~ 30.0 Vdc and output voltage range of 2.0 ~ 28.0 Vdc. With an output
current accuracy of 6.0 %, the devices have efficiency of 95 %. All models in the
series comes up with PWM and analog dimming control. Operating Temperature
range of the device is from -40 to +85 degrees Celscius...Read More

NUC Atom E3815 Board & Kit

Mouser Electronics, Inc. announced the availability of the next unit of computing
with the Intel Atom E3815 Processor with board features of fanless design and an
internal support for 2.5 HDD or SSD. It has built-in wireless antenna and dual back
panel USB 2.0 ports.
The Intel NUC with Intel Atom processor E3815 Board and Kit available from Mouser
Electronics is a portable yet powerful computer system that is about the size of a
paperback novel. It features a fanless design and is expandable to up to 8GBytes of
DDR3L SO-DIMM RAM...Read More

Radial Lead Shield Inductors

Murata Power Solutions introduces 1200RS, a series of through hole radial lead
shielded inductors that effectively operates at temperature range of -40C to +85C.
The series maximum dc current is at the range of 0.44-4.6 A and maximum dc
resistance is as low as possible at the range of 23-1500 m. There are thirteen (13)
models under this family of inductors...Read More

High-Performance HDMI/DVI Level Shifter

The PTN3360A is a High-Definition Multimedia Interface or Digital Visual Interface
(HDMI/DVI) level shifter with inverting Hot Plug Detect (HPD). This device features
multiple level shifting such as high speed Transition-minimized Differential Signaling
(TMDS) level shifting, Display Data Channel (DDC) level shifting, and Hot Plug Detect
(HPD) level shifting...Read More

Low-Voltage Single Comparator

The NCX2202 is a low voltage single comparator with an open drain output that
consumes very low power. This device features an internal hysteresis, ESD protection,
rail-to-rail input/output performance, and operate at a temperature range from -40
C to +85 C. The NCX2202 has a very low supply current of 6 A and is guaranteed
to operate at a low voltage of 1.3 V and is fully operational up to 5.5 V. These
characteristics make the device convenient for use in both 3.0 V and 5.0 V systems...
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PULSE
2-Channel Plug-and-Play Driver
The 2SP0435 is a two-channel plug-and-play driver based on SCALE-2
technology from CONCEPT intended for 130 mm x 140mm dual IGBT
modules. This compact, high performance plug-and-play driver
features an electrical or fiber optic interface with an integrated
DC-DC power supply. The 2SP0435T uses an electrical interface while
the 2SP0435V uses the fiber optic interface...Read More

Wide Input 1100 W DC/DC Power Supply

The PFE1100-12-054ND is one of the models of Power-Ones PFE series
which is a family of excellent Platinum-level 80-PLUS efficiency power
supplies that features Power Factor Correction and a small 54mm form
factor, with a wide input voltage range. The product requires an input
voltage at the range of 40 VDC to 72 VDC...Read More

Quadruple Comparators
The HA17901A series are quadruple comparators featuring wide powersupply voltage range and very low supply current. It features low input
bias current and low input offset current. It has common mode input
voltage range and output voltages compatible with CMOS logic systems.
The HA17901A series products are comparators designed for general
purpose, especially for power control systems. These ICs operate from a
single power supply voltage over a wide range of voltages, and features
a reduced power supply current since the supply current is independent
of the supply voltage...Read More

Accurate Arbitrary Waveform Function Generators

The DG1022 is an arbitrary waveform generator that outputs maximum
frequency of 20 MHz (5 MHz square wave). With an addition of 10 nonvolatile memories, the instrument can store and edit more waves. It also
supports all kinds of modulation which makes it helpful for educational and
testing purposes. The device can be operated in both auto mode and
manual mode...Read More

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FEATURED PRODUCTS
High-Reliability Serial EEPROMs
The BR24G01FVT-3A is a serial EEPROM with high reliability when it comes
to speed since the device has more than 1 million write cycles. This IC
has 1Kbit density and comes with an I2C bus (2-Wire) interface. The
product is offered in a TSSOP-B8 package and is guaranteed to operate
effectively at the extended temperature range of -40C to +85C....
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Push/Pull Thermal Circuit Breaker

The W23 Series is a thermal circuit breaker with a push/pull actuator
that combines on/off switching with circuit protection in a single unit.
This series of circuit breaker features 0.5 A to 50 A ratings used as on/off
switch and has a visible trip indicator band. The W23 Series is approved
under UL 1077 standard recognized as supplementary protector...
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Digital Output Sensor Signal Conditioner

The ZSC31014 is a Digital Output Sensor Signal Conditioner featuring
high accuracy and fast power-up data output response. It has digital
compensation of sensor offset and internal temperature compensation.
The ZSC31014 is a CMOS integrated circuit for highly accurate amplification and analog-to-digital conversion of differential and half-bridge input
signals. The ZSC31014 can compensate the measured signal for offset, 1st
and 2nd order span and 1st and 2nd order temperature (Tco and Tcg). It
is well suited for sensor-specific correction of bridge sensors...Read More

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PULSE

Deep Machine
Learning and the
GooGle Brain

Artificial Intelligence Thinks Big and Pushes the Limits

By Rob Riemen, Computer Engineer, PREMIER System Integrators

he Google corporation has grown up, maturing into a multibillion dollar

company by the early age of 16. As the premier search engine, Google is
easier to use and more popular than all others. But, rise to giant stature
requires a company continue to innovate, increase in desirability, and become
more marketable. And its better that a search engine not be the only feature
of a companys business model. So Google took some business classes and
decided that it needed more technology products.
Since the early days of the company, Google has had a handful of products
in development. Some succeeded, some failed. In 2006, Google began
discontinuing less promising products while retaining the best and those
with the most progressive technology. With their exhaustive research, Google
developed the Google Driverless Car, Google Glass, Chromecast, and Google
maps. These innovations, combined with Googless main line of products,
have earned the company annual revenue of $59,825 billion, which allows
them to be at the forefront of technology.

10

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TECH ARTICLE

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11

PULSE

AMBITIOUS BRAINIAC
One of Googles more ambitious projects
is Google Brain, which entails research into
deep learning by computers. Deep learning
in computing is accomplished by modeling
high-level abstractions in data using a set of
advanced algorithms. These algorithms use
architectures composed of multiple, nonlinear
transformations. Deep learning has become
popular because computer scientists want to
crack the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI).
There are several issues in artificial intelligence
that Google Brain is addressing. One problem
that may arise is software which works on one

12

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architecture but not another. The software

lacks the ability to adapt to various hardware in
the way that people can adapt to environment.
Another challenge with artificial intelligence
is the extreme difficulty of getting software to
play games the way a person does. Some tests
contain AI playing a game of chess against a
human. The AI in chess uses deep-search trees
in order to pick out the correct move based
on the positions of all pieces. In spite of this
(or possibly because of it), the AI still does not
grasp the feel of playing against a real person
in a chess game. By developing Google Brain,
Google hopes to solve these puzzles of artificial
intelligence and push technology to the limits.

TECH ARTICLE

Google Brain functions on what is called

machine learning. Machine learning is the
process in which computers take in massive
amounts of data and pick qualities out of
the data that are very similar to each other.
From here the machine can then decide on
a course of action based on what data it has
gathered. Google has set out to create a
computing system that can accomplish this
task in multiple cases. This required Google
to build a computer farm with 16,000 central
processing unit (CPU) cores and run millions of
computations across these CPUs. The CPUs
simulated models with more than 1 billion
connections, which simulates the brain by
creating artificial neural networks.
Artificial neural networks are systems in which
many different computing platforms mix
together to simulate interconnected neurons
that can compute values from inputs. Humans
have over 100 billion neurons in the brain.
Google does not quite have the capacity to
simulate a fully functional human brain, but
it has been able to build a system that can
replicate some of the qualities of a brain.
Figure 1. Biological neural network.

eep learning in computing is accomplished

by modeling high-level abstractions in data
using a set of advanced algorithms.

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13

PULSE

CAT AND THE MACHINE

Google has spent millions of dollars trying to
replicate a biological brain. However, Googles
efforts may be in vain. In order to validate the
correct functionality, a series of complicated
tests must be performed. This can benchmark
the actual functionality of the system. Google
conducted a test to determine if the system
could be a very small-scale newborn brain.
This was accomplished by allowing the system
to analyze YouTube video stills for a week.
One artificial neuron was able to distinguish
pictures of cats after running through the
countless video stills. The system had no
idea what a cat was nor was any image that it
viewed labeled as a cat, and yet was able to
learn what a cat was and what it looked like.
This is a huge step forward in developing a
system that can learn on its own.

14

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ne artificial
neuron
was able to
distinguish
pictures of cats
after running
through the
countless video
stills.

TECH ARTICLE
As fascinating as cats may be, Google is not
using its brain device just to look at cat pictures
on the Internet. Rather, the corporation is
using the brain to help advance other Google
systems. Google owns massive data centers
that take in and regurgitate all of the data that
flows in and out of the Google family of products.
Google is using their artificial brain to
analyze how data centers behave. With
this information, data centers can adjust
accordingly and function more efficiently.
Some of the information collected details
energy consumption at the data center
facilities. The brain mixes this with data
involving environmental temperature
and the amount of water used in cooling
computer hardware. Google can use this
data to streamline energy use across
temperature platforms in each of their data

centers, thereby reducing energy waste. If

this experiment produces quality results for
Google in the energy-efficiency field, then the
possibilities of the technology are endless.
ARTIFICIAL FUTURE
Because of the challenges of artificial
intelligence, technology in this field has
progressed very slowly. With technology
doubling in size every 18 months (according
to Moores Law), however, it has become
more feasible to contemplate solutions,
especially considering Googles involvement
in the quest. Powered by 16,000 CPUs, and
many more to come, Google is well inside
the arena of machine learning. Although,
the technology hasnt been perfected yet,
gigantic strides indicate that with age,
Google and their brain will just get smarter
and smarter.

oogle is using their

artificial brain to
analyze how data
centers behave.

Figure 2. A functioning data center.

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16

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TECH ARTICLE

Maxim

DeepCover

Secure Authenticators

evice authentication is used to protect end

users and original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) from the use of counterfeit peripherals,
sensors, consumables, or other devices. It is a
method that verifies to the host system that an
attached device is genuine and can be trusted.

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PULSE

s the world and its many devices become more

interconnected, the medical, industrial, and
defense sectors in particular have become increasingly
aware of the impact of counterfeit devices.

DEVICE AUTHENTICATION

AUTHENTICATION METHODS

A counterfeit device could simply be a cheap

clone of the original. For instance, a medical
sensor that plugs into a control module may be
carefully manufactured to look and act the same,
but the quality of the device and the accuracy
of the data would likely fall short of the OEM
device. In this case, the sensor data would be
questionable, possibly leading to a misdiagnosis
and incorrect treatment. Clearly, device
authentication provides protection to patients
and their wellbeing, and ensures that health
care providers arent exposed to the liability of a
misdiagnosis because of counterfeit devices.

Less secure authentication methods work

much like an ID, in that as long as the host
system is provided with the correct ID data, the
peripheral device is assumed to be authentic.
This is one level of security that is used in certain
applications, but the problem is that the ID is
exposed during communication from slave to
host and is then accessible to the attacker. This
scheme is easily bypassed through recording
or replaying the ID data and then acting as an
authentic device.

As the world and its many devices become

more interconnected, the medical, industrial,
and defense sectors in particular have become
increasingly aware of the impact of counterfeit
devices. In turn, OEMs are implementing
various levels of security to prevent the use of
counterfeit devices. One of the primary methods
of providing this security is through the use of a
secure authentication scheme.

18

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One method that has been shown to be very

robust is the use of a one-way hash function.
A one-way hash is easy to generate, given the
algorithm and all of its elements, but is nearly
impossible to invert to discover the input
elements. SHA-256 is one such hash function.
Maxim uses SHA-256 functions to calculate
a message authentication code (MAC) based
on multiple public and private data elements.
A peripheral authentication integrated circuit
(IC) would calculate a MAC, send it to the host

TECH ARTICLE

system, and the host would calculate its own

MAC, presumably with the same input. Then the
host would compare its own MAC to that of the
peripheral, and if they match, then the peripherals
authenticity is ensured. As long as the private data
elements remain secure, SHA-256 authentication
provides a very high level of certainty that a
peripherals MAC is indeed authentic.

SHA-256 algorithms can be implemented in

software on both the host and peripheral, but
software implementations can be tricky to
implement and have obvious vulnerabilities.
A hacker who is able to break the controller
protections and decompile the code will have
access to the secrets used in the authentication
process. A hardware-based SHA-256 secure

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19

PULSE

authentication system using a secure

authentication IC is more secure; it provides
the benefits of a one-way hash function and
the security of hardware-based cryptography.
Data elements, such as the secret, can be
stored in protected memory that can be used
as an input to the algorithm but not read out.
Countermeasures are implemented on the
hardware-authentication ICs to make it nearly
impossible to extract the secret or create a workaround by physical examination of the device.
To protect the host-side secret in a SHA-256 scheme,
a secure coprocessor can be used. The coprocessor
holds the host secret in protected memory and
performs SHA-256 computations for the host side.
Alternatively, to avoid needing to protect a hostside secret, public key-based algorithms like ECDSA
do not use a host-side secret. Rather, a private key
is securely stored in a secure authentication IC,
and a public key is used by the host to verify the
authenticity of the peripheral IC.

20

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recommended
example of
hardware-based
secure authentication
is Maxim Integrateds
DeepCover family of
products, which utilizes
a host coprocessor and
peripheral authenticator
architecture.

A hardware-based approach provides a more

attack-resistant secure authentication platform,
and it also reduces the time and cost spent on
developing this within the host and peripherals.

TECH ARTICLE
MAXIM DEEPCOVER
SECURE AUTHENTICATORS
A recommended example of hardware-based secure authentication
is Maxim Integrateds DeepCover family of products, which utilizes
a host coprocessor and peripheral authenticator architecture.
For SHA-256 implementations, the coprocessor stores the hostside secret securely and performs the SHA-256 computations.
The microcontroller unit (MCU) sends a random challenge to
the coprocessor and authenticator over the I2C interface, and
the MCU collects the MAC responses from the coprocessor and
authenticator for comparison. For Maxim ECDSA implementations,
the coprocessor doesnt need to protect the host-side public key,
but it does perform the computation-intensive ECDSA computing
and reports the result back to the MCU.
Implementation of the DeepCover family is simple, with options to
use Maxims 1-Wire interface to communicate between coprocessor
and authenticator. The coprocessor has an integrated I2C to 1-Wire
bridge. 1-Wire authenticators are powered parasitically over the I/O
pin to further simplify integration on the peripheral side. The 1-Wire
interface supports multidrop so that multiple 1-Wire authenticators
can be used on the same I/O bus if the application requires it.

Maxim Integrated is an American,

publicly traded company that designs,
manufactures, and sells analog and
mixed-signal semiconductor products.
A Fortune 1000 company, Maxim
Integrated develops integrated circuits
(ICs) for the industrial, communications,
consumer, and computing markets.
The company, which is headquartered
in San Jose, California, has design
centers, manufacturing facilities, and
sales offices throughout the world.
The company celebrated its 30th
anniversary in 2013.
www.maximintegrated.com/en/deepcover-security

For a discussion of how potential counterfeit

SUMMARY
Secure authentication of peripheral devices is important to protect
customers and OEMs from the use of counterfeit devices. Many
authentication methods exist, but they fail to provide the level of
security needed for medical, industrial, and defense applications.
Hardware-based secure authentication provides the right balance
between security, bill-of-materials cost, and ease of integration
into new and existing designs.

medical devices can impact health care see

Tremlet, Christophe, Hardware Security ICs Offer
Large Security Returns at a Low Cost, Electronic
Products, 08/20/13, http://www.electronicproducts.
com/Software/EDA_Software_and_Hardware/
Hardware_Security_ICs_Offer_Large_Security_
Returns_at_a_Low_Cost.aspx#.U7wlp0A-eSo; also
available as Maxim Integrated application note 5716
at http://www.maximintegrated.com/AN5716.
Learn more about the ECDSA concept, its
mathematical background, and how the method
can be successfully deployed in practice. Using
the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm
effectively, by Bernhard Linke http://www.

Click the icon to watch a video product overview

of the Maxim DeepCover Secure Authenticators.

maximintegrated.com/en/app-notes/index.mvp/
id/5767 .

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21

P WERING
INFRASTRUCTURE
The increased amount of data and video

The ISL85003/3A are the industrys most

being transmitted via the cloud has placed

efficient 3A synchronous buck regulators.

huge bandwidth and power demands on the

infrastructure market. Designers a need a power
partner with the expertise to improve system
efficiency and simplify the design process.

Intersils new technology delivers the

industrys lowest RDS(ON) performance.
Integrated high-side, low-side FETs
Input voltage range 4.5V to 18V
Output voltage adjustable from 0.8V, 1%
Efficiency up to 95%

See Intersils leadership

power technologies at
intersil.com/infrastructure
Power Modules
Digital Power
Integrated FET Regulators
Switching Regulators
FPGA Power
Hot Plug
Voltage Monitors
Power Sequencers

Go to Intersil.com/power-management
Download Datasheet
Read App Note
Order Demo Board
Watch Video

intersil.com

PULSE

24

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TECH ARTICLE

Alex Lidow

CEO of Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

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25

PULSE

Previously in this series, the

advantages of eGaN FETs
employed in a traditional voltagemode class D and class E wireless
energy transfer were presented.
In this installment a zero-voltageswitching (ZVS) variation of the
voltage-mode class D amplifier will
be presented for highly resonant,
loosely coupled, 6.78MHz ISM band
wireless energy transfer that will
further show how eGaN FETs
enable new topologies with
dramatic improvements in
efficiency and stability.

WIRELESS ENERGY-TRANSFER SYSTEMS

Many wireless energy-transfer topology
solutions have focused on the benefits that a
particular topology offers at a specific operating
point. In reality, wireless energy systems
experience large coupling and load variations
that result in undesirable operating conditions
for some topologies. Many high-frequency,
high-efficiency topologies [1, 2] make use of
resonance to establish soft-switching conditions
for the devices to yield high efficiency. However,
deviations from the ideal operating conditions
for these resonant-based topologies quickly
lead to nonideal operating conditions for the
devices with associated increase in losses. The
class E topology is one that is particularly prone
to load variations as changes in the load lead to
reduced current in the source coil circuit, resulting
in significant losses in the switching device as
it partially loses the zero voltage switchingoperating condition. For the voltage-mode class
D topology, the same condition leads to reduced
current in the amplifier with corresponding
lower losses in the devices. This feature of the
voltage-mode class D makes it a good candidate
for wireless energy systems. However, due to the
output capacitance of the switching devices, it
has traditionally been operated above resonance
[3] to ensure high amplifier efficiency by forcing
it to operate under ZVS rather than zerocurrent-switching (ZCS) conditions. A variation
of the voltage-mode class D is presented that
overcomes this limitation.

Alex Lidow

CEO of Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

To read the previous installment,

click the image above.

26

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To simplify the discussion, the load, rectifier,

coil set with device-side matching, as shown in
figure 1 (left), are simplified to a single impedance
parameter (Zload) shown in figure 1 (right). This
allows the discussion of the topology to focus
of the amplifier itself and how various operating
conditions affect performance.

TECH ARTICLE
INTRODUCING ZVS VOLTAGE-MODE CLASS D TOPOLOGY
The ZVS voltage-mode class D topology is shown in
The reactive component of ZLOAD is tuned out by
figure 2 (left) with ideal waveforms (right).
resonating it with CS to establish a sinusoidal
current for loading the amplifier. The peak of the
Due to the output capacitance (COSS) of the
switching devices, a nonresonant ZVS tank circuit
load current does not coincide with the peak of
(LZVS and CZVS) has been provided to self-commutate
the ZVS current thereby ensuring that the two
the switch node. This part of the circuit operates
components of the circuit operate well together
as a no-load buck converter and ensures lossless
and without significantly increasing deviceswitching for the devices without the need to
conduction losses.
establish resonance for low-loss operation.

ZLOAD

Figure 1. Source coil loop, device coil, and rectifier circuit (left) with simplified
representation (right).

Many highfrequency,
high-efficiency
topologies
make use of
resonance
to establish
soft-switching
conditions for
the devices
to yield high
efficiency.

Figure 2. ZVS voltage-mode class D wireless transfer-system schematic (left) with

ideal waveforms (right).

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27

PULSE
WIRELESS FIGURE OF MERIT (FOM)
AND DEVICE COMPARISON
eGaN FETs have shown superior performance to
MOSFETs in wireless energy-transfer systems
[1, 2, 3], and defining a wireless power figure
of merit will simplify the comparison between
various devices and technologies [4]. In this case
the voltage-transition portion of the switching
event can be ignored due to the ZVS nature of
the amplifiereven when operating conditions
deviate from the idealand can be expressed
mathematically by equation 1:

FOMWPT = RDS(on) (QG - QGD)

(1)

Where:

RDS(on) = On Resistance of the device [m]

QG = Total gate charge of the device [nC]
QGD = Voltage-transition gate charge of the device [nC]

Better devices have lower values of FOMWPT. A

comparison between various eGaN FETs and
MOSFETs using this FOM is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3. Wireless power figure of merit

comparison for the ZVS class D topology.

28

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EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION
The ZVS class D wireless energy-transfer
system was built for the various devices that
were previously compared using the FOM. The
source coil tuning was fixed using only a series
capacitor prior to all tests. Several tests were
performed on the system. The first test operated
the amplifier under ideal conditions and was used
to determine the peak performance. This allowed
for easy comparison of the devices. The second
test operated the system in a load-regulation
mode by keeping the output voltage constant
and by adjusting the input voltage while the
DC load resistance was varied. This test is more
difficult as it relies on the wireless system for
load regulation.
Results for the peak efficiency test are shown in
figure 4 with the EPC8009 yielding the highest
overall efficiency despite having a higher RDS(on).
The performance of MOSFET 3 was the worst
as it is not a logic-level gate device and required
10V to operate. The test was halted once the
temperature of the gate driver exceeded 95C.
Load regulation results are shown in figure 5
with the EPC8009 again yielding the highest
overall efficiency. In this case operation above
the DC load design point of 23.6 yielded a coil
impedance that was inductive to the amplifier
and shifted operation into the diode conduction
region. This was due to the coil inductance
also contributing to the ZVS current thereby
shortening the transition time. Operation
below the DC load design point resulted in a coil
impedance that was capacitive to the amplifier
and shifted operation into the partial ZVS mode.
This was due to the coil capacitance subtracting
current from the ZVS circuit thereby increasing
the transition time. Losses increase exponentially
as function of decreasing DC load resistance
under these conditions.

TECH ARTICLE

Figure 4. Measured peak efficiency results for the ZVS class D wireless energy-transfer system.

The
temperature
of the eGaN
FETs are
significantly
cooler than
the gate
drivers, which
highlights
the need for
improvements
in gate-driver
technology.

Figure 5. Measured load-regulation performance results for the ZVS class D wireless
energy-transfer system.

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29

PULSE
...eGaN FETs not only improve the efficiency of
wireless energy systems over those realized using MOSFETs,
but further help to drive new topologies
with desirable characteristics.

The thermal performance for each of the

amplifiers operating at maximum power is shown
in figure 6. It can clearly be seen that each of the
eGaN FET-based amplifiers operation is cooler
than any of the MOSFET-based amplifiers. Also
notable is that the temperature of the eGaN FETs
are significantly cooler than the gate drivers,
which highlights the need for improvements
in gate-driver technology. In the case of the
MOSFET 3, only half the power relative to the
other amplifiers could be achieved due to the
high temperature of the gate driver. Only the
eGaN FET-based amplifiers would not require a
heat sink over the full range of load resistance.

SUMMARY
In this column we presented the ZVS voltagemode class D topology operating a highly
resonant, loosely coupled, 6.78MHz wireless
energy-transfer system. This topology clearly
showed that eGaN FETs not only improve the
efficiency of wireless energy systems over those
realized using MOSFETs, but further help to drive
new topologies with desirable characteristics.
The ZVS voltage-mode class D topology yields
a high efficiency over a wide DC load operating
range without the need for additional dead-time
adjustment or active matching and can operated
under all conditions without the need for an
additional heat sink for the devices.

36 W

Figure 6. Thermal performance of the various ZVS class D amplifiers.

30

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TECH ARTICLE

References
1.

A. Lidow, M. A. de Rooij, Performance Evaluation of Enhancement-Mode GaN transistors in

Class-D and Class-E Wireless Power Transfer Systems, Bodo Magazine, May 2014, pg. 56 - 60.

2.

M. A. de Rooij, eGaN FET based Wireless Energy Transfer Topology Performance Comparisons,
International Exhibition and Conference for Power Electronics, Intelligent Motion, Renewable
Energy and Energy Management (PCIM - Europe), May 2014, pg. 610 617.

3.

M. A. de Rooij, J. T. Strydom, eGaN FET- Silicon Shoot-Out Vol. 9: Wireless Power Converters,
Power Electronics Technology, July 2012, pg. 22 27.

4.

D. Reusch, Improving System Performance with eGaN FETs in DC-DC Applications, 46th
International Symposium on Microelectronics, iMAPS 2 October 2013.

5.

S-A. El-Hamamsy, Design of High-Efficiency RF Class-D Power Amplifier, IEEE Transactions on

Power Electronics, Vol. 9, No. 3, May 1994, pg. 297 308.

6.

M. A. De Rooij and J. T. Strydom, Introducing a Family of eGaN FETs for Multi-Megahertz

Hard Switching Applications, Application Note AN015, September 2013, http://epc-co.com/
epc/documents/product-training/AN015%20eGaN%20FETs%20for%20Multi-Megahertz%20
Applications.pdf

7.

M. A. de Rooij, Performance Evaluation of eGaN FETs in Low Power High Frequency Class E
Wireless Energy Converter, International Exhibition and Conference for Power Electronics,
Intelligent Motion, Renewable Energy and Energy Management (PCIM - Asia), June 2014,
pg 19 26.

eGaN FET is a registered trademark of Efficient Power Conversion Corporation.

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31

PULSE

Kevin Powell
Program Director
IBM Flash Systems

32

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Michael Kuhn
VP & Business Line Executive
IBM Flash Systems

INTERVIEW

IBM
Flash Systems

Turn DATA into

DOLLARS
IBM FlashSystem products use flash memory

not only to store data, but also to keep it available.

As the amount of data rises, IBM FlashSystems
make enterprise data accessible, enabling real-time
business decisions.
EEWeb spoke with Michael Kuhn, vice president
and business line executive at IBM Flash Systems,
as well as Kevin Powell, program director,
also at IBM. In addition to differences in
storage systems, Kuhn and Powell
also discussed changes in the data storage
market and expectations for the future of
flash-based storage.

IBM FlashSystem V840

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33

PULSE
How has flash memory changed the
storage landscape for
IBMs enterprise clients?
Around 90 percent of the worlds data has
been created in the last two years; that
number is transforming every industry
and profession. IBM has been at the
forefront of helping our clients unlock
the business value of this flood of data.

With the
IBM FlashSystem, you get
an order of magnitude better
performancewith
no tweaking.

Flash memory has been a key component

of our efforts to help customers derive
greater value at a faster rate from their
data. With the vast amount of data being
created come specific IT challenges
inside data centers. We work to engineer
solutions to these challenges and help
our customers turn their data centers into
profit centers.
Michael Kuhn

What is the true price difference

between flash-based storage
and traditional hard drives?
In the data center, there are always
multiple considerations. Our customers
look at storage capacity, as well as
performance. What we see in terms
of flash adoption inside enterprise
data centers is the importance of
not undervaluing the performance
components of storage.
Many studies show that flash is actually
more economical than spinning disks.
Since our Flash Ahead announcement in
April 2013, we have really seen flash at
the tipping point. There is more than a
30 percent cost reduction by going from

34

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IBM FlashSystem V840

high-speed disks to high-performance

flash in terms of total cost of ownership.
With our new IBM FlashSystem V840,
you can actually get the same capacity
at the same cost as high-speed disk and
gain a five-fold performance increase. We
are seeing flash deployments that come
in lower than high-speed disk in both
acquisition costs and overall cost
of ownership.
Michael Kuhn

INTERVIEW
How are advantages over
high-speed disks achieved?
First, our customers recognize more
than ever that performance matters.
They are tweaking drives to get the
needed performance out of them. This
lowers efficiency and drives up costs.
And they often still cant achieve their
performance targets. When we talk
about IBM FlashSystem, you get an order
of magnitude better performance, with
no tweaking. Secondly, from a general
cost-of-operation standpoint, because
response time with flash is much faster,
thanks to IBM MicroLatencyTM, customer
applications are working so much more
efficiently that you can use fewer servers,
fewer software licenses, and less power
for both processing and cooling. Lastly,
with our IBM FlashSystem V840, we
include data-efficiency technologies
such as IBM Real-time Compression
that reduce active data workloads and
compress the data technology to get
more usable capacity for each terabyte of
deployed flash.
Michael Kuhn

Michael Kuhn

There is
more than a
30 percent cost
reduction by going
from high-speed
disks to
high-performance
flash.

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35

PULSE
IBM has designed its own
flash systems, correct?
Yes, indeed. Only a handful of vendors
in the industry today do what we at IBM
dowe actually buy the NAND flash
chips directly from the manufacturer and
build our system from the ground up.
This enables better performance, data
protection, and density, which translate
into better business value for clients.
Others in the industry take a convenient
and easier approach because they are less
familiar with innovation. They target a
prepackaged solution, a solid-state drive
(SSD), which has the same physical format
as a hard disk drive (HDD). These storage
systems were initially designed for HDDs,
but they are improved by using SSDs.
IBM started work with storage systems
based on SSDs back in 2008. However, we
changed that approach because we knew
that SSD technology would only carry
us so far.
Kevin Powell

Were there specific features that

were missing from the SSDs that
you felt needed to be addressed?
Yes, absolutely. To begin with, there is
performance in which I/Os per second
(IOPS), network speeds, and latency all
matter. Latency is very important in IBM
FlashSystem because it is the amount
of time necessary to navigate through
data traffic from point A to point B.
When you take the easy route with the
prepackaged SSD, you can get the topend speeds, but once you start putting
it behind software, the IOPS drop way
down. We are able to drive latency at
speeds of just under 100 microseconds
while a typical spinning disk runs at
5 milliseconds, 50 times slower. Our
unique design has given us world-class
numbers from IOPS, bandwidth, and
latency, which are critical for the
types of customer workloads we are
seeing today.
Michael Kuhn

Only a handful of vendors in

the industry today do what we at IBM
dowe actually buy the NAND flash chips
directly from the manufacturer and build
our system from the ground up.

36

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INTERVIEW
How is IBM working through
the issues with flash?
Most people understand flash
technology at a high level, but in the
enterprise data center, questions about
pricing and endurance continue. The
difference between our approach and
others is our innovation from the chip
level all the way up. Not only does that
drive better performance, but also better
data protection. With FlashSystem V840,
we are able to put 12 flash modules in a
single system and up to 40 flash chips per
card within each module. We provide IBM
Variable Stripe RAID data protection at
the card level and RAID 5 protection at
the system level. This enables greater
efficiency in handling endurance and data
protection because we are able to isolate
where the cells in a chip might fail.
Kevin Powell

Our unique design

has given us world-class
numbers from IOPS,
bandwidth, and
latency.

In which direction do you

see flash storage making its
next significant evolution?
Flash storage is already accelerating a
wide range of applications, from financial
trading to healthcare. With large retailers,
every item is tracked for reordering
purposes so they can keep the shelves
stockedthats all been supported by
flash technology. The enterprise storage
industry has been divided between raw
capacity to store data and the need
for performance storage to actually
run businesses using that data. Weve
reached the tipping point where flash
offers all of the abovethe capacity, the
performance, and the cost savings. Now
that platforms such as FlashSystem have
achieved this, we are going to see flash
storage change the landscape in every
data center.
Michael Kuhn

Kevin Powell

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37

PULSE

IBMs

Enterprise Flash
Calms Sea of Data for

Next-Generation Data Centers

Flash Storage Systems from IBM Help Deal with Data Surplus
By Alex Maddalena, Contributing Writer

Jan Janick, Vice President

Flash Systems and
Technology
IBM

38

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Andy Wills, IBM Fellow

CTO and Chief Architect
Flash Systems
IBM

FEATURED ARTICLE

nalysts project that the amount

of data people create is around

4.4 trillion gigabytes, 90 percent of it

having been created in the past two
years alone. At this staggering rate,
the projected amount of data created
by 2020 is expected to surpass 44
trillion gigabytes. While the sheer
volume of data is hard to comprehend,
enterprise-storage providers recognize
this exponential growth and are
developing ways to not only store the
endless waves of data, but also make
the information easily retrievable and
protected from unexpected loss.

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39

PULSE

IBM, a longtime storage solutions innovator,

has been developing flash-based storage
solutions for years, long before the demand for
enterprise-class flash storage systems came to
the forefront. In 2007, IBM formed a crossband
group dedicated to bringing flash storage into the
enterprise arena. As a result, IBM is ahead of the
data curve, offering their enterprise customers
up to 100-fold improvement in data-search
response time, significant improvement in realtime compression, a lower cost of ownership,
and a host of other benefits. EEWeb had the
opportunity to speak with two IBM veterans, Andy
Walls and Jan Janick, about the initial challenges
in implementing flash into their storage products
as well as how careful strategy and integration
propelled them years beyond the competition.
FLASH CLASH
Both Walls and Janick have worked for IBM for
33 years, with experience in storage systems and
desktop and PC development as well as System
x server organization. As inventor of the hard disk
drive (HDD), IBM has a unique pedigree of forwardthinking inventions in the storage and server space,
which is why in 2007 IBM decided to form a flash
group for enterprise storage solutions. We saw
that flash, because of consumer use, had dipped
in price, Walls explained. We knew, he added,
that if we could figure out how to get MLC into
the enterprise as the main storage device, then we
could lead in the industry.

40

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The new flash team was aware that the benefits

of solid-state drives (SSD) and flash at that time
involved greatly reducing storage response times
(latency), which benefited all aspects of the
compute environment. We watched processors,
memory buses, and networking all getting faster,
Janick recalled, but the gap between DRAM and
spinning disk just kept getting wider and wider.
Implementing flash technologies easily filled
this gap, but one major problem still needed
attention: flash wore out over time. To solve this
issue, the IBM team worked closely with suppliers,
looking at data management techniques and
unique controller designs to increase the
useful lifespan of flash until it was effective for
enterprise deployment.

IBM is ahead of the

data curve, offering their
enterprise customers up
to 100-fold improvement
in data-search
response time.

FEATURED ARTICLE

TEXAS-STYLE TECHNOLOGY
Another approach to getting more life out of
flash systems was to invest in tiering software.
In late 2010, IBMs flash team saw that the
prices of flash were at a tipping point thanks
to advancements in consumer technology.
Applications like online transaction processing
(OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP)
got such tremendous benefits out of flash that,
combined with data reduction, you could actually
have a system that would be cheaper in terms
of total cost of ownership, Walls remarked.
With a flash-based enterprise system finally
within reach, the flash team explored acquisition
options, which led them to Texas Memory
Systems (TMS). As flash technology started
maturing and more suppliers were providing
SSDs, the flash team knew IBM could provide
increased performance and decreased latency
if they owned the flash controller hardware and
firmware and had a storage system built from
top to bottom around NAND Flash. This brought
TMS to the table. The acquisition allowed us
to mix their technology with our storage stack
and storage knowledge, Janick explained. With
TMS, we could deliver a much better, much lower
latency solution than if we just put SSDs into our
existing storage infrastructure.

iering software is the

automated progression or

demotion of data across different

tiers or types of storage devices
and media. This movement of
data is automatic to the types of
disk according to performance
and capacity requirements.

IBM FlashSystem V840

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BIG BENEFITS
With the flash team energized, IBM quickly
engineered significant advantages over off-theshelf SSDs. With SSDs, which are flash devices
constrained by their shape and legacy storage
interfaces, users experience less than optimal
performance. IBM made it a point to maximize
the performance of their all-flash storage
arrays by removing software layers and focusing
instead on hardware-oriented architectures.
We have latencies around 100 microseconds,
stated Walls. I havent seen an SSD system
come within a factor of 2. he claimed. In
general, IBM can do twice as much as can be
done with other systems.
Storage performance is also dependent upon
workload and bandwidth. Users of SSDs with
light processing workloads can see reasonable
storage performance, but as the loads increase,
SSD performance decreases significantly.
Conversely, IBMs solution can support over a
million input/output operations per second with
the additional benefit of maintaining consistent
storage performance and ultralow latency even
when writes are added to the task and the queue
becomes more saturated. As measured by the
server, Walls explained, we can get down to 250
microseconds of response time. And regardless
of the amount of reads versus writes, the system
is designed to maintain an extremely consistent
performance level.

42

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IBM FlashSystem
already provides
significant benefits over
traditional spinning disks,
advantages that earned
the flash team Gartners
first-place ranking in
the worldwide share
per revenue in
all-flash arrays.
While the significant benefits of flash
technology are achieved in these IBM systems,
flash is still not a widely accepted technology in
the enterprise arena. With massive amounts of
data being generated worldwide, data reduction
technologies such as compression have become
increasingly important. We understand that
we need to optimize data compression by 3:1
or more to close the cost gap between flash
and spinning disks, Janick remarked. He noted
that once the compression shift begins to favor
flash over spinning disks, flash will be more
broadly implemented. For now, continued
Janick, flash systems are the best solution for
application acceleration and optimization of
mission critical workloads.

FEATURED ARTICLE

INSTANT GRATIFICATION
One IBM customer that has directly benefited
from application acceleration is Identity Insights,
a company that focuses on real-time facial
recognition. By replacing their spinning disks
with IBM FlashSystem, Identity Insights was
able to see nearly 100 percent improvement
in search response times. We call it instant
gratification, Janick said, and we offered this
improvement with no changes to the legacy
storage infrastructure and no changes to the
application itself.

IBM FlashSystem V840

The instant gratification crosses over into IBMs

database clients as well. Many database clients
who are unable to cost-effectively power their
ever-growing data centers turn to reducing
the amount of storage. FlashSystem offers a
tremendous decrease in the amount of electricity
needed to power the same performance and
capacity, Walls stated. FlashSystem efficiency
not only decreases power consumption, but also
opens up physical floor space within the data
centers, offering the clients more room to grow
their compute systems. There is substantial
business value that you see almost immediately,
Walls concluded.
IBM FlashSystem already provides significant
benefits over traditional spinning disks,
advantages that earned the flash team Gartners
first-place ranking in the worldwide share per
revenue in all-flash arrays. With innovative
storage systems that leverage the benefits
of flash, IBM helps enterprises of all types
maximize the value they derive from the
ever-rising tide of data.

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PULSE

High-Performance
Enterprise NAND
Memory Solutions

or data center applicationsincluding cloud

computing, caching, data centers, and database
applicationsdata accessibility and speed are
dominant concerns. Take a look inside memory design
issues with Doug Wong, senior member of Toshibas
technical staff for their Memory Business Unit, as he
details the advantages of Enterprise NAND as compared
to standard systems. Really, says Wong, Enterprise
NAND addresses the markets need for high endurance
and high performance.

46

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TECH TRENDS

Enterprise-Grade NAND Flash from Toshiba

Addresses Need for High Endurance and
High Performance

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Key Features
Form Factors
End-use form factors are typically either an SSD or a
card that sits on a bus inside a server. Enterprise NAND
utilization enables much higher performance than the
typical hard-disk drive used in the past.

Toggle-Mode NAND
Enterprise NAND, for Toshiba, is high-performance
Toggle-Mode NAND plus extended endurance, says
Wong. To that end, Toshiba offers two different product
lines, SLC and eMLC. When compared to standard
consumer MLC devices, these Enterprise-NAND devices
bring extended endurance (extended write-erase cycles)
and longer product life.

Innovative Choices
Depending on enterprise requirements, Toshiba offers two
alternatives, the SLC family (64Gb-256Gb) and the eMLC
family (128Gb-1Tb). Toggle-Mode 2.0 DDR NAND supports
interface speeds up to 400Mbps.

48

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TECH TRENDS
Conclusion
Five years ago, Wong reflects, the Enterprise
NAND class didnt even exist, but Toshiba anticipated
the need for high-performance NAND and created
the Enterprise NAND class for data centers and
cloud-computing applications. Today the benefits of
Enterprise NAND are apparent in high-speed data
streaming and Internet access. Wong is confident
that in the future, Toshiba will continue to anticipate
needs and develop more NAND solutions.

Watch Video
To watch a video overview and demonstration of the
Toshiba Enterprise NAND, click the image below:

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Magnet Thief

Memoirs of an Analog Designer

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