Solid State Disks is supplying solutions to NATO and the United States Air Force.
Established in 1989, SSDL is an OEM of solid-state-based, swap-in replacements for obsolete data storage drives. The company’s drives are used extensively in sectors that include aerospace, defence, telecoms and manufacturing to replace drives that use old-tech removable media such as floppy and optical discs and magnetic tapes, as well as early generation hard disk drives (HDDs).
The replacement drives are highly reliable, draw less power, are quieter and can support features the original units never possessed. They are also form-fit-function replacements, meaning no modifications need to be made to the host computer.
Below are examples of how SSDL is extending the life of equipment used by NATO and the USAF.
AWACS
SSDL is supplying the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&CF) with 40 solid-state data storage drives for use in Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft.
The drives, which are based on SSDL’s popular SCSIFlash™ technology, are being used to replace AWACS removable media assemblies (RMAs) that currently use Seagate HDDs that are more than 20 years old. In addition, replacement drives are providing functionality the original units never had.
At the request of NAEW&CF, the replacement solid-state-based RMAs include the ability to eject the CFast cards (used as the main data storage media), whereas the original HDD-based units had to be removed in their entirety.
The replacement drives also have an Emergency Erase button on the front panel – this is to destroy all data if the crew feel there is a risk of the aircraft falling into enemy hands.
SSDL is also supplying NATO with memory health monitoring software for use with the replacement SCSIFlash-based RMAs.
Although the CFast solid-state memory is inherently more reliable than the rotating disk technology it replaces, it will eventually fail, largely because of memory wear. Specifically, the underlying technology (NAND memory) will only support a finite number of Program-Erase, or PE, cycles.
The Windows-based software supplied to NATO monitors the number of PE cycles executed as well as the number of remaining spare blocks. These contribute to an overall percentage, with 100% denoting healthiest.
Card health is also denoted through a colour scheme with green indicating healthiest.
The intended service life of the replacement RMAs is 13 years, during which time SSDL will be providing technical support to ensure the units continue to function correctly. Support also includes obsolescence management of the new RMA’s components.
Keeping F-16 ATEs Operational
In the second example, SSDL’s US-based subsidiary, Arraid LLC, is supplying the USAF with 45 replacement data storage drives for automatic test equipment (ATE) stations designed to support F-16 fighter jets operated by the Air National Guard and allied foreign militaries.
The General Dynamics F-16 was introduced into service in 1978 and ATE stations were developed and subsequently evolved in parallel with the development of the aircraft and once it entered service. The HDDs in the ATE stations would have changed over time but always remained compliant with the Hewlett Packard HP-IB interface standard (IEEE-488) and the CS/80 command set.
When the drives failed, and because the original parts had become obsolete, they were replaced with emulator drives made by Bering Technology. However, Bering has ceased manufacturing and all repair operations.
F-16 jets are slated to remain in active service through to 2030 and possibly beyond, but with the ATEs hit by a second a wave of obsolescence that presents a problem; one that US-based Arraid (part of the Reactive Engineering Group, along with SSDL) has solved.
The replacement drives are Arraid AEM-8s: where the AEM-8 is a twin-drive, 19-inch rack-mounted, solid-state-based replacement for any Hewlett Packard (HP) hard disk drive that adheres to the HP-IB interface standard (IEEE-488) and uses the CS/80 command set.
The Arraid AEM-8 has been approved by the USAF as a suitable replacement for all HP hard disk drives and Bering emulators used in the F-16’s ATEs, thus extending the life of the equipment and supporting the USAF’s operations.
Summary
As mentioned, these examples relate to customers in the defence sector that SSDL is supporting. There are many more examples in defence and other sectors, though, and the underlying message is this: any computer-based system that still uses an old-technology drive (with its moving parts) is at risk.
The failure of the original drive need not mark the end of the system, though. SSDL can save your system, but it is advisable not wait for the drive to fail. You could risk losing data and your systems/operations could offline while the replacement drive is built.
Solid State Disks Ltd (SSDL)
Email: saleseurope@solidstatedisks.com
Phone: +44 (0)1189 323 499
Web: www.solidstatedisks.com
