SimpleTech Zeus Ultra User manual

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Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drive
Product Information Datasheet

ii Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
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Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives iii
CONTENTS
Contents _______________________________________________________iii
List of Figures __________________________________________________ v
List of Tables ___________________________________________________vi
Product Description______________________________________________ 1
Overview............................................................................................................................................1
Compatibility ..............................................................................................................................2
Compliance and Conformity.......................................................................................................2
Standard Features.............................................................................................................................3
Optional Features ..............................................................................................................................4
Physical Characteristics.....................................................................................................................5
Drive Assembly Exterior Dimensions.........................................................................................5
Drive Assembly Weight..............................................................................................................8
Environmental Characteristics...........................................................................................................8
Temperature, Humidity and Altitude ..........................................................................................8
Shock and Vibration...................................................................................................................9
Electrical Characteristics ...................................................................................................................9
Operating Voltage......................................................................................................................9
Power Consumption.................................................................................................................10
Operation and Performance Characteristics....................................................................................10
ATA (IDE) Bus Modes..............................................................................................................10
Mount Time..............................................................................................................................10
Seek Time................................................................................................................................10
Data Transfer Rate ..................................................................................................................11
Endurance................................................................................................................................11
Reliability..................................................................................................................................11
Functional Description __________________________________________ 13

Confidential:The information inthisdocumentshall notbe used,copied,reproduced,ordisclosed,inwholeorinpart, withoutthe written consentofSimpleTech,Inc.
iv Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
Zeus SSD Functional Blocks...........................................................................................................13
ATA (IDE) Bus Interface Block................................................................................................13
SSD Control Block...................................................................................................................17
Flash Memory..........................................................................................................................18
Principles of Operation....................................................................................................................19
Operating Modes............................................................................................................................. 20
I/O Primary and Secondary ATA (IDE) Modes........................................................................20
ATA Commands..............................................................................................................................21
ATA Command Flow................................................................................................................21
Standard ATA Commands.......................................................................................................22
Optional ATA Command Support............................................................................................23
Vendor-Specific ATA Commands............................................................................................25
Installation ____________________________________________________27
System Requirements.....................................................................................................................27
Drive Configuration.......................................................................................................................... 27
Configuring 2.5-inch Form Factor Zeus SSD...........................................................................28
Configuring 3.5-inch Form Factor Zeus SSD...........................................................................29
Installing Zeus SSDs....................................................................................................................... 30
Formatting Zeus SSDs for Windows, Linux and Other OS Environments...............................30
Upgrading Zeus SSD Firmware....................................................................................................... 30
Contact and Ordering Information _________________________________31
Contacting SimpleTech................................................................................................................... 31
Ordering Information........................................................................................................................ 31
Acronyms and Abbreviations _____________________________________33
Index _________________________________________________________37
Certification and Warranty _________________________ Inside Back Cover

Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives v
LISTOFFIGURES
1. 2.5-inch Zeus SSD Assembly Drawing...........................................................................6
2. 3.5-inch Zeus SSD Assembly Drawing...........................................................................7
3. 44-pin ATA (IDE) Bus Connector..................................................................................13
4. 40-pin ATA (IDE) Bus/DC Power Combination Connector...........................................14
5. Master/Slave Setting for 2.5-inch Zeus SSDs ..............................................................28
6. Master/Slave Setting for 3.5-inch Zeus SSDs ..............................................................29

vi Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
LISTOFTABLES
1. 2.5 and 3.5-inch Drive Assembly Dimensions................................................................ 5
2. Environmental Conditions............................................................................................... 8
3. Zeus SSD Typical Power Consumption (watts/mA)..................................................... 10
4. ATA (IDE) Connector Pinout Configuration.................................................................. 14
5. Zeus SSD Capacity...................................................................................................... 18
6. ATA (IDE) Bus Addressing Modes............................................................................... 21
7. Supported ATA Commands..........................................................................................22
8. SSD Identify Drive Information..................................................................................... 23
9. Sanitize Standards Compliance ...................................................................................26
10. ATA (IDE) Cable Requirements ...................................................................................27

Overview Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 1
1 PRODUCTDESCRIPTION
1.1 OVERVIEW
SimpleTech’s Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives (SSDs) incorporate advanced Single-
Level Cell (SLC) NAND flash memory technology to deliver state-of-the-art, non-volatile
mass storage devices. Additional software device drivers are not required. Zeus SSDs
areavailableinboth2.5-inch and3.5-inchformfactors,with standard44and40pin IDE/
ATA interfaces, respectively. Zeus SSDs are fully ATA-5 compliant and conform to the
samemechanical andmounting requirementsas standardrotating drives—makingZeus
SSDs easy-to-install, drop-in replacements for standard IDE/ATA-compliant hard disk
drives (HDDs).
AttheheartoftheZeusSSDistheZeuscontrollerIC—providingtheATAinterfacetothe
host,andtheIDEinterfacetothe drive’slocal flashstoragemedia.TheZeus controller’s
integrated DMA controller interfaces with system memory to facilitate the seamless
transfer of data between the host and the SSD.

Product Description Overview
2Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
Standard Zeus SSDs are available with unformatted memory capacities ranging from 4
to128GB.Designedtooperateinharshenvironments,ZeusSSDs excelinruggedness,
reliability, compatibility and portability, and are ideal for applications that require high
reliability and high tolerance to shock, vibration, humidity, altitude and temperature. And
since there are no moving parts, Zeus SSDs are completely maintenance-free.
ZeusSSDs canoperate atsustaineddatatransferratesofupto60MBpersecond.With
powerconsumptionkepttoa minimum, Zeus SSDscanbepowered from a single 5volt
source. The drive’s solid state design eliminates electromechanical noise and delay
inherent in traditional magnetic rotating media. Utilizing SimpleTech’s patent-pending
wear-leveling and bad-block mapping algorithms, Zeus SSDs ensure the consistency,
accuracy, and integrity of user data. Superior data reliability is achieved through
embedded error detection and correction code (EDC/ECC). The non-recoverable error
rate of Zeus SSDs is less than 1 error per 1014 bits read.
Zeus SSDs offer powerful user-customizable data sanitization (purge) features.
Supportingbothsanitizederase/fillandnon-recoverablesanitizationoptions,ZeusSSDs
can be configured to remove data from the drive, freeing storage space for later reuse,
or to remove data and destroy the storage media—making the SSD unusable and data
retrieval impossible. The drives’s data security features comply with Department of
Defense (DoD) and US military data security standards, including AFSSI 5020, AR 380-
19, NAVSO P-5239-26, NISPOM DoD 5220.22-M and NSA 130-2.
1.1.1 Compatibility
ZeusSSDscanbeinstalledinanymachinerunninganoperatingsystemsupportingATA
(IDE) bus specification standards.
1.1.2 Compliance and Conformity
The Zeus SSDs comply, in whole or in part, with the following standards:
Commercial AS/NZS3548Class B, BSMICNS13438 ClassB,CAN/CSA-V3/
2001.04(VCCI),CE(Conformite Europenne),CISPR22ClassB,
EN 55022 Class B, EN 61000-3-2, EN 61000-3-3, FCC Part 15
Class B, UL(Underwriter’s Laboratory), NEBS Level 3, IEC
61000-4-2, IEC 61000-4-3, IEC 61000-4-4, IEC 61000-4-5, IEC
61000-4-6, IEC61000-4-8, IEC 61000-4-11
Military DoD5220.22-M,MIL-STD-810F,NSA 130-2, AR 380-19,AFSSI
5020, Navso-P5239, NEBSLevel 3

Standard Features Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 3
1.2 STANDARD FEATURES
ATA/IDE Interface
•Conforms to ATA-5 Specification Standard
Performance
•Fast initialization
•Supports PIO modes 0 through 4
•Supports Ultra DMA modes 0 through 4
•Burst read/write performance up to 66 MB/sec
•Sustained read/write performance up to 60 MB/sec
•Field upgradeable firmware
Reliability
•Solid state design
•10-year data retention
•Manual and automatic self-diagnostic tests
•Embedded EDC/ECC (Error Detection and Error Correction)
•SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) endurance and
reliability monitoring
•Dependable operation under unstable power conditions
•ATA bus connectors rated for over 10,000 insertions
•Rugged, impact-resistant casing
•7 year warranty

Product Description Optional Features
4Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
Endurance
•Supports 2,000,000 write/erase cycles
•Supports unlimited read cycles
•Patent-pending wear-leveling algorithms
•Bad-block mapping algorithms
Physical
•2GB to 128GB storage capacities available (unformatted)
•Industry standard 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDD form factors
•Compact design — only 9.5 mm thick (all models/capacities)
Environmental
•Meets or exceeds commercial and industrial temperature, humidity and altitude
requirements
•Complies with MIL-STD 810F requirements for shock and vibration
Compliance
•Meets NEBS Level 3 requirements for telco electrical environments
•Meets U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and DoD security erase and sanitization (purge)
guidelines
1.3 OPTIONALFEATURES
•SMART status monitoring (see “SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology)” on page23)
•Sanitization (see “Sanitize Erase/Fill” on page25)

Physical Characteristics Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 5
1.4 PHYSICALCHARACTERISTICS
1.4.1 Drive Assembly Exterior Dimensions
Zeus SSD internal components are housed in precision machined aluminum alloy
enclosures.The outside dimensions of 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factor drives are
providedinTable1.The 2.5-inchdrive assemblyis illustratedinFigure1 onpage6.The
3.5-inch drive assembly is illustrated in Figure2 on page7.
Table 1. 2.5 and 3.5-inch Drive Assembly Dimensions
2.5-inch SSD 3.5-inch SSD
Thickness 0.0374 in (9.5 mm) 0.0374 in (9.5 mm)
Width 2.75 in (69.8 mm) 4.00 in (101.60 mm)
Length (maximum) 3.94 in (100.2 mm) 5.79 in (147 mm)

Product Description Physical Characteristics
6Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
Figure 1. 2.5-inch Zeus SSD Assembly Drawing

Physical Characteristics Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 7
Figure 2. 3.5-inch Zeus SSD Assembly Drawing

Product Description Environmental Characteristics
8Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
1.4.2 Drive Assembly Weight
Theweight ofaZeusSSDvaries,dependingon thespecificsetofdesigncharacteristics
of the drive. A standard 32GB, 2.5-inch Zeus SSD weighs approximately 0.322 lb
(0.120Kg). A 72 GB SSD weighs 0.670 lb (0.250Kg). The following characteristics must
be taken into consideration in order to determine the exact weight of a drive.
•Storage capacity
•IC stacking technology (if used)
•Flash controller/memory configuration
•Form factor
1.5 ENVIRONMENTALCHARACTERISTICS
To validate the SSD’s portability and suitability for operation in harsh mobile
environments, Zeus SSDs are subjected to a series of environmental tests.
1.5.1 Temperature, Humidity and Altitude
Zeus SSDs (all models) operate without degradation within the ambient temperature,
relative humidity and altitude ranges specified in Table2.
Table 2. Environmental Conditions
Operating Temperature
Commercial: 0°to 70°C (32°to 158°F)
Industrial: -40°to 85°C (-40°to 185°F)
Storage: -55°to 95°C (-67°to 203°F)
Relative Humidity 5 - 95%, non-condensing
Altitude 80,000 ft.

Electrical Characteristics Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 9
1.5.2 Shock and Vibration
In setting the initial baseline for shock and vibration test levels, the Zeus SSD was
exposed to increasingly harsh levels of stress until the drive’s failure levels were
determined.The testswere thenrepeated usingthe stresslevels therebyestablished, to
verify that the SSD would meet these specifications consistently. This process
establishedtheshockandvibrationlevelsthathavebeenusedinsubsequentshockand
vibration testing.
1.5.2.1 Mechanical Shock
Zeus SSDs are shock-tested in accordance with MIL-STD-810F and operate as
specified, without degradation, when subjected to the following:
Test Condition: Three 50G shocks (peak value, 11 ms duration, half-sine
waveform) along the x, y and z axes.
Test Result: 1,500G operating shock
1.5.2.2 Random Vibration
SimpleTech Zeus SSDs are vibration-tested in accordance with MIL-STD-810F and
operate as specified, without degradation, when subjected to the following:
Test Condition: Random vibration, between 20Hz and 2,000Hz along the x,
y and z axes.
Test Result: 16.3G operating vibration
1.6 ELECTRICALCHARACTERISTICS
1.6.1 Operating Voltage
Zeus SSDs require an input voltage of +5.0 Vdc +5% (4.75 - 5.25 Vdc).

Product Description Operation and Performance Characteristics
10 Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
1.6.2 Power Consumption
The amount of power consumed by Zeus SSDs is determined by the storage (memory)
capacity of the drive, and the flash controller/memory configuration of the drive. Table3
lists (by capacity) the power consumption of Zeus SSDs during typical operations at 5
Vdc.
1.7 OPERATIONAND PERFORMANCE
CHARACTERISTICS
1.7.1 ATA (IDE) Bus Modes
Zeus SSDs support the following ATA operating modes:
•PIO Modes 0 through 4
•Ultra DMA Modes 0 through 4
1.7.2 Mount Time
TheamountoftimerequiredtoinitializeandmountaZeusSSDvaries,dependingonthe
operating system (Windows®, Linux®, etc.) in which the SSD is running and the storage
capacity of the drive.
1.7.3 Seek Time
Unlike a magnetic rotating disk, the Zeus SSD has no moving head or platter. There is
no seek time or rotational latency issues to contend with. Zeus SSDs dramatically
improve transaction throughput, particularly for applications that are configured to take
advantage of the characteristics of the drive.
Table 3. Zeus SSD Typical Power Consumption (watts/mA)
8 GBa
a. 10-40 MB/sec
16 GBa24 GBa32 Ga72 GBb
b. 10-60 MB/sec
Sustained Read/
Write 2.50 watts/
431mA 2.15 watts/ 431mA 2.15 watts/ 431mA 2.15 watts/ 502mA 3.63 watts/ 726mAc
c. Estimatedvalue
Sanitized Erase/Fill
(running low power option)
3.00 watts/
600mA 2.92 watts/ 583mA 3.38 watts/ 675mA 3.71 watts/ 741mA 7.43 watts/ 1485mAc

Operation and Performance Characteristics Product Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 11
1.7.4 Data Transfer Rate
The data transfer rate of Zeus SSDs depends on the flash controller/flash memory
configurationofthedrive. Thedrive’sscalablearchitectureiscapableofaccommodating
sustained and burst data transfer rates as follows:
Sustained Read/Write Rates: 20, 30, 40 and 60 MB/sec
Burst Read/Write Rate: 66 MB/sec
1.7.5 Endurance
Theusefullifeofaflashmediaislimitedbythenumberofwrite/eraseoperationsthatcan
be performed on the media. Typically, the write/erase cycles for flash media ranges
between 100,000 and 300,000. To extend the useful life of Zeus SSDs, special wear-
leveling and bad-block mapping algorithms are integrated in the drive’s firmware—
increasing the drive’s overall endurance rating to 2,000,000 write/erase cycles.
1.7.5.1 Wear-Leveling
The dynamic wear-leveling algorithm integrated in the Zeus SSD’s firmware guarantees
thaterase/writecyclesareevenly distributedacross allofthedrive’sflashmemoryblock
locations. Wear-leveling eliminates repeated writes to the same physical flash memory
location, thereby preventing blocks from wearing out prematurely.
1.7.5.2 Bad-block Management
TheZeusSSD’sbad-block mapping algorithm,replacesbad blocks withnewones from
available spares. Onepercent (1%) of the Zeus SSD’s flash memory is held in reserve
(spare block) for bad block replacement. Bad blocks in the media are flagged when
detected. The next time an attempt is made to access a flagged block, it is immediately
replaced by a spare block. The drive’s bad block mapping function enables data to be
automatically transferred from a bad sector to an available spare block.
1.7.5.3 Data Retention
Data stored on Zeus SSDs remains valid for 10 years without requiring power support.
1.7.6 Reliability
1.7.6.1 Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
The average time Zeus SSDs work without failure is typically greater than 2,300,000
hours.

Product Description Operation and Performance Characteristics
12 Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
1.7.6.2 Error Detection and Correction
The SSD’s error detection code and error correcting code (EDC/ECC) helps maintain
dataintegritybyallowingsingleormultiplebitcorrectionstothedatastoredinthedrive’s
flash array. If the data in the flash array is corrupted due to aging or during the
programmingprocess,EDC/ECCwillcompensate fortheerrorstoensurethedeliveryof
accurate data to the host computer. The EDC/ECC engine on the Zeus SSD is capable
of correcting up to two bytes in error and detecting up to 3 bytes in error. An extensive
retry algorithm is also implemented on all Zeus SSDs, so that single event disturbances
such as ESD or EMF occurring during a read operation can be readily overcome.
1.7.6.3 Built-in Self Test
During power-up, the SSD’s micro controller tests Zeus controller memory, and then
performs a back-end status check to verify proper flash memory controller operations. If
a fault condition is detected in the flash memory controller, the SSD’s status is reported
as failed.

Zeus SSD Functional Blocks Functional Description
Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives 13
2 FUNCTIONALDESCRIPTION
2.1 ZEUSSSD FUNCTIONALBLOCKS
SimpleTech™ Zeus series solid state drives comprise the following primary functional
component blocks:
•ATA (IDE) Bus Interface
•SSD Control
•Flash Memory
2.1.1 ATA (IDE) Bus Interface Block
This section provides information on the ATA (IDE) Bus interface connectors used with
2.5-inch and 3.5-inch Zeus SSD.
2.1.1.1 44-pin ATA Bus Connector
The 2.5-inch Zeus-series SSDs are equipped with a 44-pin ATA bus connector
(Figure3), located on the rear of the drive. DC power and IDE bus traffic is supplied
through a non-shielded 44-conductor I/O cable.
Figure 3. 44-pin ATA (IDE) Bus Connector
SimpleTech Zeus SSDs have a plastic key to block pin 20 on the ATA bus
(IDE) interface connector. Blocking pin20 prevents possible damage to
the SSD by making it impossible to connect to the drive improperly.
ATA standards require 80-conductor cables to be used for UltraDMA
modes 3 through 5. The length of the cable shall not exceed 18 inches.

Functional Description Zeus SSD Functional Blocks
14 Zeus Ultra DMA Solid State Drives
2.1.1.2 3.5-inch SSD ATA Interface and Power Connectors
The 3.5-inch Zeus-series SSDs are equipped with a 40-pin, DC power/ATA bus
combination connector (Figure4), located at the rear of the drive. IDE bus traffic is
supplied through a non-shielded 40-conductor I/O cable. DC power is supplied through
a separate 4-conductor power cable.
Figure 4. 40-pin ATA (IDE) Bus/DC Power Combination Connector
2.1.1.3 IDE Interface Connector Pinout Configuration
Table4providesthesignalassignmentforeachpin(electroniccontact)ontheATA(IDE)
bus connectors used on Zeus SSDs. Except as noted, the table applies to both the 44-
pin ATA bus connectors (Figure3 on page13) on used 2.5-inch drives, and the 40-pin
ATA bus/DCpower combination connectors (Figure 4 above) used on 3.5-inch drives.
ATA standards require 80-conductor cables to be used for UltraDMA
modes 3 through 5. The length of the cable shall not exceed 18 inches.
Table 4. ATA (IDE) Connector Pinout Configuration
Pin Pin Type Signal Symbol Signal Name Signal Description
1I-RESET HOST RESET Reset signal from the host. Reset is active
on power up and inactive thereafter.
2Ground GND —Ground
Continued