PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Critical I/O’s NVMe conduction-cooled, 3UVPX solid-state, removable drive

This week’s product, Critical I/O’s SP306N-CCVPX StorePak NVMe CC (conduction-cooled), 3U VPX, is a single slot removable SSD (solid state drive) module designed to be used either stand‐alone as Direct Attached Storage, or in conjunction with Critical I/O’s StoreEngine storage manager. The module meets reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements while continuing to meet strict military standards for extreme environments as well encryption and security standards

Designed specifically for easy removal and replacement of on‐board storage, the StorePak, is ideal for applications where removal of onboard storage must be accomplished quickly. StorePak also supports high bandwidth data recording, file serving, and general‐purpose RAID applications where quick and simple removal of on‐board SSDs is essential.

High Density

A single StorePak NVMe module can provide as much as 12 Terabytes (12 TB) of solid‐state storage in one 3U slot. Multiple configurations of the module are available which feature various storage capacities, performance capabilities, and SSD types.

Flexibility and scalability

StorePak can be used stand‐alone as an unmanaged Direct Attached Storage (DAS) attached to a host CPU board using a PCIe connection to the host. StorePaks may also be used in conjunction with a StoreEngine storage manager blade to provide a flexible set of storage capabilities including recording and NAS file sharing

The module can also be easily scaled by aggregating multiple StorePaks to offer even greater capacities and performance. The devices can operate independently or as a single storage resource.

StorePak also enables the user to “hot plug” or “hot swap” their storage without powering down the system to remove or replace the SSD storage. Hot‐plug and hot‐swap capabilities require a suitably configured host processor operating system, BIOS, and hardware.

Multi-Mode Operation

When used in conjunction with a StoreEngine storage manager module, StorePak also provides high performance data recording/playback capability, fully managed Direct Attached Storage (RAID), as well as a NAS file sharing capability.

The StorePak/StoreEngine combination can provide concurrently:

High performance data recording capabilities at rates of over 5000 MB/s per StorePak.
NAS file sharing capabilities using NFS, CIFS, or FTP over 1/10/25 Gb Ethernet.
Fully managed Direct Attached Storage (DAS, aka RAID) capabilities using PCIe or Fibre Channel.
Support for software‐based RAID 0/1/5 for all modes of operation.

The the multiple NVMe SSDs on StorePak can also be used in conjunction with host‐based software RAID. RAID 0 (striping) is commonly used to aggregate drives for maximum performance. RAID 1 (mirroring) and RAID 5 (parity) are often used for enhanced data protection through redundancy.

Encryption/security Capabilities

The following data protection options are available for StorePak:

Password Protection
AES‐256 Full Drive Encryption
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Opal specification
FIPS 140‐2 Level 1

Other Features

High Performance: up to 5 GBytes/s per StorePak
100,000 insertion cycles (StorePak storage module)
All standard StorePak configurations leverage TLC flash media: SSD‐3DTLC – 3D Triple‐Level Cell (TLC) Flash Media The following types of flash media may be available on a special‐order basis:
- SSD‐MLC ‐ Multi‐Level Cell (MLC) Flash Media
- SSD‐eMLC ‐ Enhanced Multi‐Level Cell (eMLC) Flash Media
- SSD‐SLC ‐ Single Level Cell (SLC) Flash Media
Seven 4‐lane PCIe Gen3 backplane ports
Data/Expansion plane PCIe connectivity
Low Power: 35 Watts typical
Air and conduction cooled versions available
Weight: 24.8 ounces
Temperature range:
- R1: Operating: -40C to +71C; Storage: -40C to +85C
- R2: Operating: -40C to +85C; Storage: -55C to +105C

For more information, visit the SP306N-CCVPX StorePak product page here, or visit the company’s website, or follow the links below.

Resources:

To view the SP306N-CCVPX StorePak data sheet, click here.
To view the StorePak VPX product family page, click here.
To download the “StorePak/StoreEngine App Overview: Recorder, RAID or File Server” white paper, click here.
For sales information, click here.