PlexTurbo operation mode compared to other DRAM cache technology

Test results will vary with different hardware platforms and software, and systems differences may also vary to some extent; we recommend the following platform configurations:

• CPU: minimum 1 GHz clock rate or above is needed, Intel i5 or higher is recommended
• RAM: minimum 2GB, 8GB or more is recommended
• OS: supports Windows operating systems only, Win 7/8 / 8.1 (x86 / x64) or later editions
• PlexTurbo only supports a single disk drive, please first uninstall other disc drives’ PlexTurbo function
• Does not support PAE mode
• Does not support external disc drives
• If there is no 4K partition alignment, it will affect the acceleration results of PlexTurbo

PlexTurbo’s Exclusive Technical Principles
PlexTurbo has 4 exclusive Plextor innovations: LEM (Life Extension Mechanism®), RMU (Reduced Memory Usage®), WTP (Write Through Plus®), and IBE (Intelligent Boost Engine®).

PlexTurbo Architecture – Dynamic DRAM Usage Allocation
PlexTurbo’s method of occupying the cache’s memory is in accordance with Data utilization rates, with a dynamic mode that occupies or releases DRAM space. So, it is different from the general SSD caching technology, which occupies the fixed DRAM size in advance when booting, therefore it will not compete with the systems to seize the precious memory resources.

Example. With 16GB DRAM memory in the system:

• DRAM Cache will Dynamically use up to 3.8GB (Maximum) capacity. Plexturbo will return the DRAM resources back to the PC system if Plexturbo is in idle mode.
• RMU will be either less than 4K or greater than 10 MB. (Maximum will not exceed 200MB)。WTP (Write Through Plus ®) the occupied capacity may vary.
• RMU will return the DRAM resources back to the PC system if PlexTurbo is in idle mode.
• The maximum space it will occupy within the system memory is 4GB. 3.8GB (Cache) + 0.2GB (RMU & WTP).

The NOS Boost in PlexTurbo – Intelligent Boost Engine®, IBE
IBE Intelligent Boost Engine technology can automatically detect Data usage. The Data is divided into “more frequently used (Hot Data)” and “less frequently used (Cold Data)”, for optimal cache configuration, and efficient usage of system memory cache space. In IBE, Block is the base of the cache, and not a single file. In case of a large files, it will partially modify the Hot Data to cache, and not the entire file.

The figure below shows the principles of the IBE Intelligent Boost Engine technology.

• (A) When the APP received a Read or Write command, a matching process will start to compare the data to be written with the data in RAM Cache. If there’s any match, IBE will be activated.
• (B) If there’s any matched data (New or Old), IBE will make that particular pattern as HOT DATA and make it the first position. The HOT DATA line update will be updated.
• (C) Through out time, any HOT DATA may get pushed back and become COL DATA. That particular data pattern will be removed from RAM Cache by IBE.

How Does It Work?
LEM is PlexTurbo’s major technology used to help prolong the life of the SSD, through intelligent calculations and data alignment; it also reduces unnecessary writing operations to extend the life of SSD flash memory. RMU and WTP are PlexTurbo’s major technology used to help the SSD writing acceleration. The following figure shows the acceleration principle of PlexTurbo.

• (A) When first time writing to the SSD, the data will be written in the RAM Cache simultaneously.
• (B) If the data written in the LEM is different from the data currently in the RAM Cache, the data is ready to be written to SSD.
• (C1) If there’s any data match any pattern, RMU will accumulate write tasks and execute them all at once (for pattern which is usually larger than 10MB or less than 4KB, and Maximum will not exceed 200MB).
• (C2) If there’s no match, WTP will issue a write command and a “task executed” notice to the APP. This Plexturbo technology will be much fast than writing the data to SSD directly.

Testing

All tests below are done on the same system as all of my original benchmarking tests and no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, those are the actual speeds below the Plextor M6e Black Edition was able of reaching when PlexTurbo 2.0 is enabled I must reiterate, that to achieve these speeds, PlexTurbo is utilizing your systems RAM in order to help the SSD perform better. Either way, these are some impressive speeds and it says loads about how far the technology is coming along!