Today the start-up company, InnoGrit, came out of stealth with its new portfolio of SSD controller solutions. The company states that its high-performance, low power, turn-key SSD controllers will enable organizations to tackle next-gen applications while keeping costs in check. InnoGrit focuses on challenges in AI and big data applications and believes their solutions will address the needs of the data center, enterprise and client markets.

InnoGrit was founded in 2016 and is led by former Marvell CTO, Zining Wu. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. InnoGrit is a fabless IC designed company that creates high-performance, low power full turn-key SSD controller solutions. The aim of these solutions are to help organizations to maximize investments in next-gen applications while reducing costs. 

Not only is the company making its formal introduction to the market today, they states that they are already in mass production of their first chip, Shasta. Shasta is more for end client devices, specifically M.2s, however the company is also working data center and enterprise solutions as well. InnoGrit states they provide business model from SDK to full turnkey FTK support all the way through reference designs. The three flavors of solutions are the Tacoma, Rainier and the Shasta Family. The SSD controller solutions come with advanced LDPC technology, end to end data protection, and support for all the key security standards. 

The new controllers include the following:

• Tacoma (IG5668)
  • Tacoma is an industry first 16/12nm FinFET high-end data center and enterprise SSD controller with PCIe Gen 4x4 interface, NVMe 1.4, 16 NAND channels and up to 32TB capacity. Optimized for low latency storage class memory (SCM), Tacoma can reach up to 7 GB/s sequential read and 6.1 sequential write and more than 1.5 million IOPs random read performance while achieving less than 10us latency for intensive I/O applications when combined with low latency NAND flash. Tacoma features atomic write and in-storage computation with a deep learning accelerator for optimized system performance. Additionally, Tacoma supports both conventional and Open Channel SSD models to enable customers to fit different deployment scenarios based on their applications. Featured with Innogrit’s proprietary error correction code (ECC) technology, Tacoma ensures data integrity by end-to-end data protection and enhances data reliability throughout the SSD lifespan. Tacoma is offered in the small 17x17mm BGA package and can support M.2, U.2, and EDSFF form factors.
• Rainier (IG5236)
  • Rainier is an industry-leading NVMe controller with PCIe Gen 4x4 interface and NVMe1.4 standard. Rainier utilizes 8 NAND Channels and is built with the highest security and data protection in mind to support high-end client and data center solutions. Rainier can reach 7 GB/s sequential read and 6.1 GB/s sequential write and more than 1 million IOPs random read performance. Leveraging Innogrit’s proprietary ECC technology, Rainier enhances the data endurance and retention to deliver better reliability and ultra-high performance SSD solutions. Rainier provides a comprehensive data protection scheme through SRAM ECC and end- to-end data path protection. Rainier supports all major 2D and 3D flash memories at the maximum capacity of 16TB.
• The Shasta Family (Shasta - IG5208 & Shasta+ - IG5216)
  • Shasta (IG5208) is an industry-leading NVMe controller for M.2 and BGA SSD form factors. Utilizing the PCIe Gen3x2 interface and NVMe1.3 standard, Shasta features a DRAM-less architecture with full support of the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) function. Shasta delivers up to 1750 MB/s sequential read and 1500 MB/s sequential write and 250K IOPs random read performance without the cost burden of expensive DRAM in an SSD. Shasta is available in capacities up to 2TB and supports SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC flash. Equipped with end-to-end data protection, low power capability and its small form factor, Shasta is ideal for IoT and consumer electronics without the complicated thermal solutions.
  • Shasta+ (IG5216) is the next-generation controller in the Shasta family offering a significant performance upgrade via a PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe interface, delivering up to 3.2GB/s sequential read and 2.5GB/s sequentional write and up to 500K IOPS random read performance. Similar to Shasta, Shasta+ is available with up to 2TB of capacity and features end-to-end data protection, SRAM with ECC protection, Open Channel support, and other similar features. Shasta+ is targeted at client applications with enhanced QLC performance and flexible packaging support for M.2, U.2, and BGA SSD.

Availability

The Tacoma, Rainier and Shasta Family of SSD controllers are currently sampling.