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Micron Unveils P420m PCIe Accelerator Card

By Joy Hou - on 3 May 2013, 5:40pm

Micron Unveils P420m PCIe Accelerator Card

Micron has announced a new PCIe all-flash I/O accelerator to improve overall performance in enterprise servers, appliances and storage platforms. The new Micron P420m combines consistent performance with the inherent power efficiency of an all-flash system to deliver improved economics for enterprise data centers. The P420m accelerates performance of today's demanding data center applications, including online transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing and virtualization.

Image source: Micron.

It features ultra-low latency performance that enables fast and predictable response times to information frequently used in data center environments. When tested against competing PCIe solutions in a MySQL server running an OLTP benchmark, the P420m is the fastest and most consistent performer, delivering more than 3,200 web server requests per second. It handily manages online requests during peak traffic times, improving the overall end-user experience.

The P420m is designed using Micron's custom-designed ASIC controller, advanced 25-nanometer (nm) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash technology, DRAM, firmware and drivers to create a truly vertically integrated solution. The vertical integration begins with intimate knowledge of the NAND media and extends all the way to the end-system design, manufacture and drivers. This end-to-end involvement ensures delivering the ultimate level of storage quality and efficiency.

The P420m uses Micron's Extended Performance and Enhanced Reliability Technology (XPERT) architecture, which closely incorporates the storage and controller through highly optimized firmware algorithms and hardware enhancements. The end result is a set of market-focused enterprise features that deliver ultra-low latencies, improved data transfer time, power-loss protection and cost-effectiveness, along with higher capacities and power efficiency.

The P420m low-profile accelerator card comes in a half-height, half-length (HHHL) form factor for rackmount servers. It is also the industry's first MLC PCIe solution available in a 2.5-inch form factor. The 2.5-inch form factor is growing in popularity among IT administrators because of its ease of serviceability and scalability; it allows drive access from the front of the server, which eliminates the need to power down the server for drive service. This hot-swap capability dramatically decreases server downtime and maintenance costs.

The drive will be available in capacities of 350GB, 700GB, and 1.4TB. Micron is currently sampling the P420m, with production expected to begin in June 2013. The P420m will be showcased with a broad portfolio of storage solutions from Micron, at Booth #834 at EMC World happening from 6-9 May, in Las Vegas.

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