Linux Kernel Finally Being Optimized For SSHDs

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux Kernel Finally Being Optimized For SSHDs

The Linux kernel is finally being optimized for use of solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs) that follow the ATA 3.2 standard...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTgyNTg

[schmidtbag]

I'd be really interested to see some results on this.

[bpetty]

I wonder what the state of FreeBSD is like.

[peppercats]

I wonder what the state of FreeBSD is like.

I'm sure BSD is just discovering that SSDs exist.

[Zplay]

I'm sure BSD is just discovering that SSDs exist.

TRIM for UFS is available since FreeBSD 9.0, and TRIM for ZFS is available since 9.2 if I remember well.

[Drago]

I'm sure BSD is just discovering that SSDs exist.

The main question is when FreeBSD will discover the FreeGPUDrivers

[NotMine999]

Agreed

I'm sure BSD is just discovering that SSDs exist.

I would agree

[NotMine999]

Not Bad...

Phoronix: Linux Kernel Finally Being Optimized For SSHDs

The Linux kernel is finally being optimized for use of solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs) that follow the ATA 3.2 standard...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTgyNTg

So roughly 1 year to get a feature like this published for consideration of being included into the Linux kernel...not bad.

It was impossible for me to tell from the kernel patches referenced in the article if the authors were also employees with a hard disk vendor or independent. Given the amount of time to get the patches published suggests to me, at least, that these patches are not being driven by any particular hardware vendor.

Compare to Intel's Open Source team that develops and publishes frequent patches for the Intel graphics code, among other Intel items, and gets good "coverage" here & elsewhere. Other graphics cards also get frequent patches & updates to support new devices.

[droidhacker]

sshd drives always seemed like they were just a last ditch effort from the spinning magnet companies to remain relevant in a market that is VERY rapidly switching over to pure SSD. They kind of make sense in that the price to capacity ratio is much more favorable for spinning magnets than SSDs, however, SSDs are really not too far off (time wise...) from overtaking spinning magnets in that regard. Once they do, the entire case for sshd drives goes out the window. Long term (which is not even very long...), spinning magnets simply cannot compete.

All indications about spinning magnet storage seem to suggest that they're really starting to run up against a wall now, in terms of storage density. Its been a few years now that their capacity really hasn't improved, and in that time, SSD's HAVE caught up.

So you're looking at 2.5" spinning magnets with max capacity around 1 TB, and 2.5" SSD's with max capacity around... 1 TB. Spinning magnets run around $100/TB, SSD's around $450/TB. SSD capacity will continue to increase at a breakneck pace, and in a year or two, the price to capacity ratio will be more favorable on SSDs than spinning magnets, while yielding better performance all around AND greater capacities.

Though it is *nice* that there is some optimization going in for sshd, I don't see this as being particularly critical, and it definitely has no long term benefit.

[alcalde]

Prices better than that

$100/TB for disk drives? I just purchased a 3TB drive on sale from NewEgg for $81 (perhaps with rebate), and drives like the WD Green 3TB are $99 right now. I'm looking to do something akin to an SSHD with Linux... two 3TB drives in Raid 1 and a 120GB SSD to use as a cache.