Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Dell, EMC, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Fujitsu have come together to form the solid-state disk Form Factor Working Group with the objective of creating a common standard for PCI-Express (PCIe) based SSD. It is understood that other vendors and chipset manufacturers such as Amphenol, Emulex, Fusion-io, IDT, Marvel, Micron, Molex, PLX, QLogic, STEC, SandForce and Smart Modular Technology have also joined as "contributor members."

There is no doubt that SSD technology is directly responsible for a revolutionary leap in the area of storage performance. To exploit the higher speeds inherent to flash memory, manufacturers have started to ship PCIe based SSDs to consumers and businesses. The problem though, is how the absence of a standard has resulted in everyone going about the task differently.

In addition, there is no compatibility between a SATA-based SSD and a PCIe-based one; an issue that is especially pertinent to server makers due to the limited number of PCIe slots. Enterprise customers will be far more open to purchase into SSDs that are compatible with both the faster PCIe interface as well as existing disk-orientated SAS or SATA standards.

Indeed, the working group says it aims to resolve standards related to connectors, hot-plug functionality, and technology for scaling the performance of SSDs even further. For now, the SSD Form Factor Working Group has apparently already settled on a 2.5-inch form factor, with plans to eventually offer a solution that offers compatibility with SAS 3.0, SATA 3.0 and PCIe 3.0. 

Of course, it has been observed that some server and storage vendors such as HP (NYSE: HPQ) and NetApp are conspicuously absent as members--it is not known if they will eventually join the Working Group. Ultimately, the rapid pace of developments in the SSD sphere means that things are expected to move quickly; an initial draft of the new standard is expected to be released by the end of the year, the rectification of the standard expected mid-2011.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at The Register
- check out this article at InfoStor

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