Explaining the architecture of solid-state drives

The performance of enterprise storage took a huge leap with the introduction of SSDs. SSDs are so-called since they are based on semiconductor materials. Unlike rotating drives, SSDs do not have any mechanical parts and use non-volatile memory chips to store data. Given the absence of moving components, it is no surprise that SSDs are way faster than mechanical drives. They offer a significant upgrade over traditional drives and have gradually replaced mechanical drives as the first-choice storage media.

SSDs make use of flash memory chips for the permanent storage of data. There are two options in this regard, NAND and NOR flash. Most SSDs use NAND flash chips, as they offer faster write and erasure times. At the risk of diving too much into electronics (my least favorite subject in college), a NAND flash is made up of floating-gate transistors, and electrons are stored in a floating gate. When the floating gate contains a charge...