Solid Data Improves Server and Transaction Performance for One of the Largest Electricity Generators in the United States

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – November 8, 2007 – Solid Data Systems, Inc., the leading global provider of solid state disk (SSD) storage systems today announced Southern Company chose Solid Data’s proven solid state disks to improve server performance and transaction capacity during peak periods.
During a study of SQL Server performance in support of trading on the wholesale power market, Southern Company identified areas for improvement, specifically servers that were becoming I/O bound and forcing slow reads and writes. By implementing an SSD solution and allowing tempdb and log activity to be accessed in real time, Southern Company was able to not only gain back lost system performance, but also optimize their system to provide significant performance increases.

“The dramatic spikes in our servers reached a more sine-wave appearance on charts, indicating the server was better able to manage its load,” said Greg Sewell of Southern Company. “After installing Solid Data’s SD3000 SSD solution, our servers realized a dramatic increase in processing capability while total processing time was cut in half. In addition, the SSD’s ability to handle peak loads virtually eliminated the processing ‘spikes’ that were previously experienced by the servers, thereby significantly increasing server stability.”

Solid Data’s SSDs store and retrieve data with a latency of less than 10 microseconds, making these appliances the lowest latency, non-volatile, external storage systems in the industry. With immediate response to read or write commands, SSDs eliminate large server queues; thus, dramatically improving server transaction capacity and response times during peak periods.
“The striking results Southern Company experienced by implementing Solid Data trusted SSDs is typical with our satisfied customer base,” said Wade Tuma, CEO of Solid Data Systems, Inc. “The ability to eliminate large server queues in the processing of trades in the wholesale power market also demonstrates how SSDs are expanding into new high transaction rate markets and are becoming the preferred alternative to slower rotating storage.”
Solid Data solid state disk solutions deploy transparently in the data center to preserve current infrastructure, applications, file systems, and storage management software. To ensure the integrity and security of business-critical data, Solid Data SSDs incorporate multiple levels of data protection. Solid Data’s patented Data Retention System - consisting of on-board hard disks, battery backup and automatic backup control logic - is a standard component of all Solid Data SSDs.

All SD2000 and SD3000 systems are designed with high-bandwidth data paths and dual Fibre Channel connections, including active/active multipathing via Veritas DMP. Other high-availability features include patented error detection and correction (EDAC), and Solid Data's Remote Monitoring and Reporting (RMR™) feature. Unique to the SD3000 and SD3000X2 systems is the PermaRACK™ feature, which allows for modular replacement of 100% of all active components and subassemblies without de-racking.

Solid Data solid state disk solutions also include a cost-effective line of managed solid state disk (SSD) arrays providing up to a Terabyte of high-speed, non-volatile storage that dramatically increases response times and throughput for transaction-intensive applications. The Solid Data StorageSPIRE SSD array is a direct replacement for high-end RAID arrays or an alternative to in-server memory systems, and can be direct-connected or used as a shared device when deployed on a storage area network (SAN).


About Solid Data Systems, Inc.
Solid Data Systems, Inc., founded in 1993, is the leading global provider of solid state disk storage systems that speed application performance and lower total cost of ownership. Solid Data has systems installed in over 30 countries. Solid Data is a Microsoft Certified Partner, and products are sold and serviced globally through a partnership with Hewlett Packard. Solid Data products are also available from Sun and IBM. Customers include the world's largest technology resellers, systems integrators, financial services, telecommunications providers and government agencies. For more information about the company and its products, visit www.soliddata.com.

The Solid Data and StorageSPIRE logos are registered trademarks of Solid Data Systems, Inc.