Micron Technology has introduced the automotive-grade Micron 4150AT SSD, marking a significant leap in automotive storage technology, at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany.
This innovative SSD is the world’s first quad-port SSD, capable of interfacing with up to four systems on chips (SoCs) to centralize storage for software-defined intelligent vehicles.
The Micron 4150AT SSD boasts a range of features, including single-root input/output virtualization (SR-IOV), a PCIe Generation 4 interface, and a ruggedized automotive design. These features position the automotive-grade SSD to provide the industry with data center-level flexibility and power, catering to the evolving needs of modern vehicles.
Michael Basca, Micron’s Vice President of Embedded Products and Systems, emphasized the necessity for a new storage paradigm in the automotive sector, stating, “As storage requirements race to keep up with rich in-vehicle experiences featuring AI and advanced algorithms for higher levels of autonomous safety, this era demands a new paradigm for automotive storage to match.”
4150AT SSD benefits
• Quad-port SSD featuring NVMe 2.0 protocol interface and single root I/O virtualization
• Four independent SoCs share a single SSD with 64 private or shared storage resources via namespaces
• High performance operation for critical data storage and intense operating system/ application logging
• Datacenter architecture for intense random workloads from multi SoCs and multi-virtual machine
• Cost savings through smaller storage footprint without legacy storage devices or PCIe switching interface
• Functional safety ASIL B and ASPICE level 3 capable
• Datacenter architecture for multi-host workloads, guaranteeing consistent quality of service and performance
The Micron 4150AT SSD offers enterprise-class speeds to consumer vehicles, with impressive random read and write speeds exceeding 600,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) and 100,000 IOPS, respectively, for a 4-kilobyte transfer.
Micron said this high performance enables the SSD to efficiently manage data streams from multiple SoCs simultaneously, making it an ideal solution for vehicles tasked with handling diverse systems, from advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) to AI-enabled cabin experiences.
Designed with the challenges of next-generation automotive architectures in mind, the Micron 4150AT SSD introduces several innovative features:
Multi-port capability: The SSD supports up to four ports, enabling it to connect with multiple SoCs simultaneously. This unprecedented flexibility allows for centralized storage, reducing costs and improving performance by eliminating the need for redundant copies of data.
Virtualization: The SR-IOV capability provides high performance for heavy multi-host workloads, allowing for efficient multitasking across different functions within automotive SoCs. This unique virtualization enhances performance by bypassing software layers, improving random read performance up to three times.
Boosted security: The SSD’s virtualization also enhances security by isolating data from each virtual machine (VM), mitigating data breaches and hacking attempts.
Customizable endurance modes: The SSD can be configured to support different data endurance groups, catering to various data requirements within automotive applications.
Rigorous design: The Micron 4150AT SSD is engineered to meet Automotive Safety Integrity Level B (ASIL-B) requirements and withstand the rugged environments typical of vehicles.
Micron is offering samples of the 4150AT SSD to automotive customers worldwide. The drive, available in capacities up to 1.8 terabytes, is set to revolutionize storage solutions for the next generation of vehicles.
