What Is SSD Power Loss Protection and How Does It Work?
With solid-state drives (SSDs) becoming more and more affordable, many people have switched to SSDs due to their speed, power efficiency, and silent operation. However, SSDs are more susceptible to data loss than mechanical hard drives when sudden power loss does happen. Although file system journaling and data recovery do help, relying on software solutions isn’t reliable.
A hardware solution is required, and that’s where SSD power loss protection (PLP) comes in.
What Is SSD Power Loss Protection?
SSD power loss protection is a technology designed to protect data from being corrupted or erased from an SSD when power is abruptly cut off. The sudden power loss may result from a power outage, power surge, or a power cord accidentally pulled out from a power outlet.
In the event of sudden power loss, an SSD with PLP protects data by providing power long enough for data to be properly stored and journaled. The emergency charge comes from charged supercapacitors onboard the SSD. The charge only lasts for a very short time (milliseconds) but is adequate to transfer gigabytes of data from DRAM to NAND.
What Are the Benefits of SSD PLP?
The primary benefit of having a PLP on an SSD is that it reliably protects data in the event of a sudden power loss. Although this might not be a big deal for personal computers, data protection is essential for businesses and organizations storing valuable information on their servers. Without PLP, businesses could lose important data critical for day-to-day operations, causing financial loss and damaging the company’s reputation.
Aside from preventing data loss and corruption, SSDs with PLP also improve the overall reliability and lifespan of the SSD. By ensuring that data is safely flushed to the NAND flash memory, PLP maintains SSD health by preventing issues that may lead to SSD failure in the long run. So, by reducing SSD failure incidents, you are also reducing operational wear and tear, thus making the SSD last longer.
Before explaining how PLP works, let’s first talk about how regular SSDs work and how data can be lost or corrupted during a power failure.
How Does SSD PLP Work?
SSDs employ two types of memory in their circuitry: DRAM and NAND flash memory. NAND flash memory is a non-volatile type of memory used for long-term storage. On the other hand, onboard DRAM is a volatile memory used to cache data before storing it in the main NAND memory.
During normal operations, the onboard DRAM temporarily stores frequently accessed information before data gets stored on the NAND flash memory. When power is suddenly cut off from the SSD, the cached data on the DRAM is lost because it’s a type of volatile memory that requires constant power to store information. Losing power while transferring files to NAND memory will also cause files to be corrupted due to the files being chopped off or incomplete.
Other ways to prevent sudden SSD power loss include a backup battery unit (BBU) and an uninterruptible backup power supply. These, however, are external solutions that need to be purchased separately.
A more elegant and cost-effective (depending on need) solution would be the use of onboard SSD PLP, which incorporates the use of tantalum capacitors. These special capacitors can hold enough charge to power an SSD for a brief moment, usually lasting between 20–40 milliseconds which is enough to transfer several gigabytes of data (depending on the model) directly to NAND flash memory.
SSD PLP makes use of capacitors instead of regular batteries for several reasons.
Firstly, capacitors can quickly release their charge to the SSD long before the component reaches non-operating voltages. Capacitors also have high power densities, which allow them to hold enough charge in such small packages. Lastly, capacitors can also operate in extreme environments where high levels of heat can be a constant factor. Although batteries can power an SSD longer, their bulk, low life cycle, and slow charge and discharge rates are better used for a portable power station oruninterruptible power supplies.
SSD PLP sometimes includes an additional microcontroller unit (MCU) for extra features such as enhanced power loss protection, added security, and various customization options.
What Are the Limitations of SSD PLP?
Whether you’re buying SSDs with PLP for a company’s server farm or personal storage, it is important to know that SSD PLP should only be considered an additional layer of protection against possible data loss and corruption. Here are a few SSD PLP limitations that you should keep in mind:
SSD Power Loss Protection is Awesome!
SSD Power Loss Protection is an elegant solution to ensure the safety of your data during sudden power loss. Furthermore, SSDs with PLPs provide extra benefits such as longer life spans, better reliability, and peace of mind. Although these types of SSDs are often used for enterprise applications, and consumer-grade SSD with PLP are harder to find, if they are available in your area, you might want to snag one for yourself.
In this article, you’ll learn what SSDs are, how SSDs work and operate, why SSDs are so useful, and the one major downside to SSDs.
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