Technology

(1) TruePLP is a Vital Mechanism for Safeguarding SSD Data during Unexpected Power Loss

The core of TruePLP lies in leveraging high-reliability capacitors to provide hold-up power, granting the SSD sufficient time during unexpected outages to prioritize data protection. This ensures that in-flight data residing in volatile memory can be safely flushed to NAND flash. Additionally, key system metadata—such as mapping tables, event logs, and configuration data—temporarily stored in buffers are also committed to NAND before shutdown. In short, TruePLP safeguards both user data and system integrity, maintaining reliable SSD functionality even under power failure conditions.

(2) TruePLP Maintains Power during Outages to Enable Complete Data Transfer

TruePLP features intelligent power management by integrating a voltage detector within the power management integrated circuit (PMIC), ensuring a more efficient and stable power supply. This guarantees the timely activation of TruePLP during power outages or voltage instability to protect your data. It works through continuously monitoring of the host power supply’s voltage level via the integrated voltage detector. When the voltage drops below a defined threshold, power is automatically switched to backup capacitors. This provides ample power for the SSD to complete write operations and flush buffered data into non-volatile NAND flash. Intelligent power management ensures that PLP is activated in time to safeguard data during unstable voltage conditions or sudden outages.

(1) SSDs designed with SSSTC’s TruePLP come with ample backup capacitors to supply power to safeguard against data loss, even in the most severe power failure scenarios.

(2) The health of these capacitors is recorded in the SSD’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. If any abnormalities are detected, users can promptly assess the situation through the reported values. These attributes can also be monitored during operation to identify significant changes and enable immediate feedback.

• Under normal power supply conditions, capacitors act as energy storage units, charging via the host's power supply.
• If the host's power supply is unexpectedly cut off, the charged capacitors serve as a backup power source for the SSD.
• Once the voltage drops below a threshold, intelligent power management automatically switches the power source to the backup capacitors.
• The SSD controller issues commands to flush buffered data to NAND Flash.
• After completion, the SSD shuts down gracefully.
• Upon system restart, the mapping table in NAND flash is detected and used to resume normal operation.

When budget allows, adopting the TruePLP solution—which integrates both firmware and hardware—is the optimal choice, especially for enterprise-grade workloads involving heavy I/O or frequent large-file write operations. Products like the ER2, ER3, and PJ1 series feature TruePLP technology.

Firmware PLP is a technology that implements power loss protection method through firmware design. This PLP designs effectively prevents drive damage and offers lower hardware costs as it eliminates the need for additional capacitors.

By employing firmware algorithms, Firmware PLP can, upon the next power-on after an unexpected power loss, reconstruct the mapping table to the greatest extent possible. This helps minimize the risk of losing access to previously written NAND data due to power interruptions. However, Firmware PLP cannot effectively protect in-flight data that have not yet been written to NAND. Therefore, when selecting SSDs equipped with Firmware PLP technology, it is particularly important to consider the supplier's firmware design capabilities and technical maturity.

SSSTC has cultivated deep expertise in the SSD industry over many years, possessing a professional in-house R&D team and comprehensive self-developed firmware technology. This enables the delivery of highly flexible solutions tailored to customer requirements, meeting the dual demands of cost-effectiveness and data integrity across various industries. Choosing SSSTC's mature and stable Firmware PLP technology can effectively enhance the security and reliability of storage systems, even under budget constraints.

All SSSTC industrial-grade SSDs come with built-in Firmware PLP, making them ideal for embedded systems and cost-sensitive applications.

SSSTC PLN(Power Loss Notification)

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