sTec, Inc

Storage Performance Revolution

Revolutionizing the way Compact Flash is used, sTec’s MACH4 Compact Flash platform is a high-performance industrial NAND flash storage device suitable as a hard disk drive replacement or alternate storage device in a wide variety of industrial applications.

Because the MACH4 Compact Flash uses solid-state NAND flash technology, it has very low latency compared to a traditional hard disk drive, consumes far less power (approximately 200 milliamps or 1 watt compared to 12 watts for a standard 7200rpm ATA disk drive), and performs much better under extreme environmental conditions.

With its small footprint, high capacity and throughput up to 85 megabytes per second, the MACH4 Compact Flash is an ideal hard disk drive replacement or alternate storage solution in space-constrained or rugged applications or those requiring less capacity than available hard disk drives offer including blade servers and embedded PCs.

Industrial Grade Storage Solutions for Embedded Applications

Embedded system designers are constantly challenged with delivering more performance to meet the needs of demanding embedded applications in the industrial space while also achieving smaller and smaller footprint designs with low power consumption and high system availability. System designers also value design flexibility enabled by a variety of SSD formats that comply with industry standards and provide support for parallel and serial interfaces, all of which ensure compatibility for simplified system integration. Platform stability with regard to continuity of supply, locked bill-of-materials, product change notifications, long product lifecycles, etc. is the final ingredient for a successful program/design.

sTec’s industrial-grade embedded solid-state storage solutions offer system designers just that.

With a state-of-the-art SSD grade controllers that offers all of the performance, reliability, and data integrity of many enterprise-class SSDs (but in a much smaller format) combined with industry-standard form-factors, sTec embedded solid-state storage solutions provide the ideal technical solution for embedded system designers. Enhancing this value is sTec’s commitment to supporting industrial and enterprise customers with product qualification and supply related activities as well as product lifecycle and documentation requirements.

Benefits

• World’s Fastest Performance (1″ Form Factor) – World’s fastest performance is ensured via SLC NAND flash and state-of-the-art 4-channel controller technology. Additional customized features allow for optimized performance in small sector write applications.
• High Data Reliability – sTec’s proprietary state-of-the-art flash memory controllers provide high data reliability and endurance. The built-in data-path protection with 8-bit ECC engine and sophisticated wear leveling algorithms ensure the greatest data integrity and longest possible life out of NAND flash technology. Based on SLC Flash and high quality components, STEC Compact Flash solutions provide an unparalleled MTBF of more than 4,000,000 hrs. In the event of host system power loss, data integrity is further assured via sTec’s Power-Down Data Protection methodology ensuring that critical data is not lost or corrupted.
• Compatibility – For applications requiring an IDE interface, compatibility is ensured by the Compact Flash card’s ATA and True IDE support. The Compact Flash cards operate in Ultra DMA modes by default but can also operate in legacy PIO modes as well as Multiword DMA. Because STEC develops its own controller and firmware, the Compact Flash cards can be adapted to meet a wide variety of timing and software requirements.
• Form Factor – Compact Flash cards can be used to interface with a host system via the standard 50-pin CF connector or a standard 68-pin PCMCIA connector when using the sTec’s PCMCIA adaptor.
• Security – sTec’s Total Drive Protection provides multiple levels of security including password write-protection (enabled in hardware and software), read-protection, secure partitioning, and custom ID strings to allow customers to protect pre-loaded content from piracy.