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Features

The Hybrid Power Punch

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DQI Bureau
New Update

In a major push towards the hybrid storage drive technology, a

strong group comprising Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate Technology and Toshiba have

formed a Hybrid Storage Alliance. The alliance aims to work towards

communicating the benefits of hybrid storage drive. It plans to show how flash

memory/hard drive technology can expand the capabilities of notebook computers

and also work towards technology's market adoption. According to Joni Clark,

chairperson, Hybrid Storage Alliance, "The hard drive industry is

continuously looking for ways to bring greater value to the systems in which our

technology resides and to those who use them." According to the research

firm IDC, hybrid hard disk drives will comprise 35% of all hard disk drives

shipped with portable PCs by 2010.

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The move appears very encouraging. The alliance claims to

address two crucial problems faced by software vendors in terms of PC

performance-power consumption and speed. The alliance ultimately aims to give

faster users experience that run longer on a battery charge. In a nutshell, the

alliance's efforts are to combine the unmatched capacity and

cost-effectiveness of hard drives with the responsiveness, power-efficiency and

durability of flash memory. It also marks the merging of two competing

technologies as one.

Potential

Benefits of Hybrid Hard Drives

  • Faster Boot-up and

    Resume:     Once a notebook PC with a traditional drive is turned

    on, hard drive's platters must spin up before boot-up can begin.

    Booting straight from a flash     memory chip eliminates this delay.

    Likewise, hybrid drives resume operation from     hibernation faster

    than traditional models, since frequently accessed data is stored in

    the NAND flash before a system goes to sleep.

  • Lower Power

    Consumption:     Hybrid drives curtail platter spin time which

    reduces power draw. This, in turn, extends battery life, especially

    important in notebook PCs and other mobile applications.

  • Higher Reliability:

    Reducing platter spin time extends drive life.

  • Greater Durability:

    Every time data is pulled from the flash memory, the system has

    greater shock tolerance because the drive platter isn't spinning.

  • Ease of

    Installation:     Incorporating flash memory directly onto the hard

    drive greatly simplifies installation and does not require

    additional real estate on the host system. Furthermore, installing

    hybrid drives in Windows Vista systems is as simple as installing

    traditional drives.

  • Data

    Separation/Data Security:     Having flash on the hard drive keeps

    all the system information stored in one location so that security

    or encryption mechanisms can be employed to protect all the data

    centrally. Storing data on the hard drive also helps with data

    recovery in case of a sudden system shutdown.

Source: www.hybridstorage.org

Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system has already

integrated this aspect through its Windows SuperFetch technology. It provides

the benefits of both flash and disk drive technology for PCs. Windows SuperFetch

allows applications and files to load much faster than the Windows XP-based

computers. According to Microsoft, SuperFetch uses an intelligent prioritization

scheme that understands which applications the users use most often, and can

even differentiate the applications that users are likely to use at different

times.

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The hybrid initiative is a significant step but the real test

will come when hybrid products are launched as promised by these top five

vendors and the kind of response it gets from the market place.

Sudesh Prasad





sudeshp@cybermedia.co.in

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