Updated on May 18, 2018
The embedded storage market has many storage devices which are considered as “industrial grade” while many are actually consumer-grade devices. They are then repackaged and marketed as industrial embedded SSDs even though they lack most of what the devices should have.
Essential Features
There are many features that are required to meet the enhanced reliability needed by industrial-embedded systems that consumer-grade devices simply don’t have. Some essential features to look for are:
- Support of advanced flash management.
- Integration of power-fail corruption mitigation technologies.
- Backed with extensive design and reliability testing.
Proprietary Firmware
A proprietary firmware allows for:
- Firmware fine tuning which allows for teams to see and correct any issues with the firmware for better overall performance.
- Timely bug fixes- so that the problems between the customer and the supplier can be fixed faster.
- Implementation of advanced flash management features.
- Designing customer specific applications.
- Compatibility with nontraditional operating systems so customers have a broad range of support for their applications.
Testing, Screening, and a Strong Manufacturing Relationship
The embedded SSDs must have hardware designs with self-testing and screening methods that are fit for high-volume manufacturing. The test programs are used to uncover inherent flash media weaknesses. These weaknesses can be fixed with firmware changes and more sophisticated flash management features.
Quality Components
The components are chosen based on quality and product longevity. Components that have long product life-cycles and a clear migration path to their replacements must be identified. It can be costly and time-consuming to frequently qualify and re-qualify drives. So,the longer a component will be supported and produced, the better.
