Plextor Adds Full-Disk Encryption To Solid-State Drives

Digital storage technology specialist Plextor announced the launch of the M6M mSATA and M6S solid-state drives (SSDs), which will both be available in the second quarter of 2014 in 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB capacities.

Featured in the M6M is a server-grade Marvell 88SS9188 controller, Toshiba Toggle flash memory and firmware developed by Plextor’s in-house team.

Full disk encryption

Plextor’s True Protect technology, which is also included, supports advanced data integrity checks and 256-bit advanced encryption standard (AES) full disk encryption for data confidentiality on the move.

The M6M is capable of matching the performance of desktop drives with maximum random read/write speeds of 94,000 Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) and 80,000 IOPS, along with a sequential read and write speeds of up to 520 megabyte per second (MB/s) and 440 MB/s.

The platform also includes support for the device sleep (DEVSLP) standard, which means when the host device is sleeping the SSD reduces its power consumption to 2 milliwatts (mW) to extend battery life, and resumes in just 100 milliseconds (ms).

In addition to offering improved random read speed 14,000 IOPS faster than its predecessor, the M6M series now includes a high capacity 512 GB mSATA, making the device practical for ultra-light notebook users to store and work with large videos, high-resolution images and audio files.

“The M6M is all about real-world performance. We’ve optimised this compact SSD to deliver the best possible computing experience,” Yaping Zheng, product manager for Plextor, said in a statement. “We used the latest generation of components, then included a new version of True Speed for even smoother long-term operation, and focused on increasing the random speeds to give the fastest everyday operating performance.”

Power savings

The M6S SSD is capable of delivering the same maximum random read/write speeds and sequential read/write speeds as the M6M, and comes with power savings of 30 percent to 50 percent compared to the M5S.

For the 128 GB capacity, the new drive offers write speeds 50 percent faster than its predecessor, and also sports a thinner 7 mm form factor, allowing the M6S to fit into recent generations of thin notebooks.

At the heart of the M6S is the latest server-grade controller from Marvell, the SS9188, a dual-core controller combined with high-speed toggle-mode Toshiba flash memory and firmware developed by Plextor.

“The new M6S gives desktop and notebook users the ultimate system upgrade. Its combination of speed and efficiency makes it an ideal replacement for a hard drive,” Zheng continued. “By installing an M6S rather than a traditional hard drive, Windows 7 boots in a quarter of the time, applications start quickly, and saving and loading become almost instant. Our tests even show that notebook users can gain an extra 30 minutes of battery time by using an M6S.”

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Originally published on eWeek.