Intel, Dell and Microsoft Focus on Flash

June 4, 2007: Dell, Intel and Microsoft have entered into a thee-way deal to develop a standard application programming interface (API) in order to streamline the use of flash memory devices on PCs.

The three have formed the Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI) Working Group which aims to improve operating system driver access to NAND flash memory storage devices. According to the trio, this will enable new and better performance features centred on hard drive caching and solid-state drives.

“Several NAND solutions are coming on the scene to take advantage of the ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive features of the Windows Vista operating system,” said Bob Rinne, general manager of Windows Hardware Ecosystem at Microsoft. “Standardising on a common controller interface will enable more integrated operating system support of these solutions moving forward.”

The group wants to make it easier to use Windows Vista’s ReadyBoost features, as well as promote Intel’s NAND flash memory. While there appears to be some competition between NVMHCI and the Open NAND Flash Interface Working Group (ONFI), Intel claims there is no overlap and the work of each group complements the other. For example, ONFI is working on the interface between the Flash controller and the NAND while NVMHCI is focussed on the flash controller and operating system driver relationship.

“We've got a performance-enhancing NAND-based product in the market with our new Intel Centrino mobile technology platform called Intel Turbo memory, and this newly formed working group will help make that and a number of other NAND-based solutions more prolific, faster," said Rick Coulson, senior fellow and director of I/O Architecture at Intel. “ONFI formed last year to standardize the interface between the Flash controller and the NAND itself, and standardizing the register level interface between the Flash controller and the operating system driver is the logical next step.”

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