Excellent QoS and Performance

The Sunflower U.2 SSDs feature performance QD1 latency of [read/ write] 5.837/ 7.44 µs that will ensure reliable content delivery to end users from multiple sources across many data centers. The Sunflower series of drives deliver consistent performance during high usage times such as when a new movie is released, or a video game goes viral.

Power and Space Efficiency

At a maximum of 14 Watts, these U.2 SSD drives can use smaller 7mm enclosures for maximizing the number of drives per system due to their modern design. In server systems where space is at a premium and performance per Watt is critical, Sunflower is up to the task.

Security and Data Protection

The Sunflower SSDs feature end-to-end data protection on all flash memories. They also support the latest security features with TCG Opal 2.0. This provides the type of confidence that allows these drives to be used in all environments.

Endurance

The Sunflower SSDs use the most advanced controllers and NAND Flash that can withstand the test of time and usage. All SSDs from Unigen undergo a rigorous verification and testing process to ensure high reliability. The Sunflower SSDs feature up to 1 DWPD for the standard U.2 using eTLC NAND with the ability to be configured for higher DWPD upon request.

Capacity 1.92TB, 3.84TB, 7.68TB 

The Sunflower family of SSDs provide up to an efficient 7.68TB of capacity to hold all your data whether you are using the SSD for applications, computation, or data storage. 1.92TB and 3.84TB capacities are also available to meet various workload requirements.

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Hood Boot Drive SSD 128 GB
Unigen sent their “Hood” Boot Drive SSD 2242 for us to test and review. The Hood is an M.2 SATA SSD that is primarily intended for boot applications in servers and embedded devices. The test board has a capacity of 128 GB, is based on the Hyperstone X1 controller, and has TLC NAND memory converted to pSLC with high write durability.

For those who don’t know, Unigen is an American company headquartered in Newark, California (Silicon Valley), which has locations in Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. They have been producing industrial focused memory modules and storage solutions since 1991. They are a manufacturer of integrated electronics (EMS), from design to NPI, mass production and after-sales service. Fields of service include the automotive industry, computing and storage, embedded devices, medical, robotics and IoT.

At the beginning of the year, Unigen launched the Hood SSD M.2 2242 with a very high durability SATA III interface. It is best used for industrial applications where high durability, reliability, and low TCO (total cost of ownership) are required. Capacities of Hood range from 32 to 256 GB. We decided to test the 128 GB model. For this product, Unigen chose Hyperstone X1 SATA SSD 2-channel DRAM-less controller and paired it with BiCS5 NAND flash memory produced by Kioxia. As a reminder, Kioxia is the rebranded company of Toshiba, the inventor of NAND Flash.

The device measures only 42 x 22 x 3.5 millimeters and weighs 3 grams. It comes in capacities of 32, 64, 128 and 256 GB. Power consumption is below 1.4 W during normal operation, and below 0.2 W in idle mode. The manufacturer claims sequential performance of 375 MB/s for reads and 240 MB/s for writes, which is inline with the SATA III interface. Random 4K performance is 4,245 IOPS for reads and 3,170 IOPS for writes. MTBF is over 8.8 million hours.

The compelling feature of the Hyperstone X1 controller is that it supports Pseudo-SLC (pSLC) technology, which operates MLC or TLC NAND memory in a special mode to reduce the number of bits recoded in each cell once, allowing up to 30,000 PE cycles (program/erase). This technique increases the reliability and lifetime of NAND flash memory. In the case of Hood, Unigen uses TLC NAND memory converted to pSLC, where the 256 GB model has as much as 4 PBW of durability – yes, that’s 4 petabytes of writes. For reference, conventional desktop SSDs have below 0.6 to 0.75 PBW and capacity up to 1 TB.

The controller supports both performant AES-128 and AES-256 encryption with CBC and XTS modes (FIPS 197), has a SHA-256 hashing mechanism, a random number generator, and Secure-Boot features with TCG Opal support. It also has ECC support, up to 66 bits per 512-byte sector.

Test System & Testing Method

Test System: Hardware

• Platform: Asus Maximus Z790 Hero
• Processor: Intel Core i9 13900K
• Memory: GSkill Trident Z Royal DDR5 2x 16GB 6000 MT/s
• Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
• Sound Card: On Board
• SSD: Unigen Hood Boot SSD 128 GB
• Power Supply: SuperFlower Leadex 1200 W Platinum
• Monitor: Dell S2721DGF

Test System: Software

• OS: Windows 11 21H1
• Chipset file: AMD Chipset Driver 5.02.19.221
• DirectX version: 12
• Intel I/O Meter: 2006.07.27/1.1 Beta
• ATTO Disk Benchmark: v.4.01
• AIDA64 Engineer Edition: v6.20.5300
• AS SSD Benchmark: v2.0.7316
• Crystal Disk Mark:v8.0.1 x64
• Crystal Disk Info:v8.12.0 x64

Method of Testing
We tested the SSD on the Intel platform because only this system has an M.2 port with SATA support among the motherboards we have in the lab. We used the cooling system that comes with the motherboard, but this drive doesn’t get too hot even without it. The maximum temperature of the SSD was 49°C after a long workload while the cooling system was active. The SSD operated in SATA mode with SATA drivers of course. In addition to all the standard tests we perform, there is also a simulation of four workloads with the help of I/O Meter: Database with 67% reads and 33% writes, Workstation with 80% reads and 20% writes, Web Server with 100% reads and File Server with 80% reads and 20% writes, after which we print the number of measured IOPS.

Test Results

AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark:
Both AS SSD and Crystal use non-compressible data to measure sequential performance. Their measurements are slightly different, so we use them both for comparison. Given that it is a SATA disk, the results are solid. The purpose of this disk does not require much faster operation.

ATTO Disk Benchmark:
The ATTO test also shows similar performance, and they are more or less consistent across file sizes of 128 KB up to 64 MB

Conclusion
The Hood Boot Drive SSD is an excellent product for server and industrial applications because it provides stable performance, high reliability and high durability. All of these features are much more important than the highest performance for these target application. What matters is that the performance is consistent, which our tests have shown. The SATA interface is still widely used in the industry and solutions like this are very important. In addition to durability and reliability, the Hood also consumes little energy, which will be important in embedded applications, it does not heat up too much and is very compact.

Unigen Hood 128 GB

• Positive: High durability, compact dimensions, low power consumption, low heating, consistent performance
• Negative: Nothing of note
• Overall Evaluation: 91%

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Unigen will demonstrate the “Cupcake” Edge AI Server integrated with the Blaize® Xplorer X1600E EDSFF Small Form Factor accelerator card and the Blaize AI Studio platform. This solution processes video and image files and returns findings to the central database by correct feature identification set out by the network. While running in real-time, the Cupcake Edge AI Server can ingest up to 4 streams of images with minimal data processing latency.

The compact Cupcake Edge AI server is powered by an Intel Elkhart Lake 4-core Atom Processor matched to the Blaize Xplorer X1600E attached to the Edge AI server’s motherboard. It is a compact fanless design in a ruggedized case perfect for environments where Visual Security is important (e.g., secure buildings, transportation, warehouses, or public spaces). External interfaces included are Ethernet, POE, HDMI, USB, MicroUSB-C, RS232, SDCard, antennas for WIFI, and internal interfaces for optional M.2 SATAIII, M.2 NVMe and SO-DIMM. The flexibility in IO renders the Cupcake Edge AI Server suitable for multiple applications and markets.

“We are excited to be working with Blaize on enabling Edge AI Compute solutions for the mass market,” said Paul Heng, President and CEO of Unigen. “With Unigen’s world-class capabilities in high-volume manufacturing coupled with Blaize’s award-winning AI technology, we believe we can help drive the ubiquitous adoption of AI into many end markets.”

“The Cupcake Edge AI Server ruggedized design enabled with our Xplorer X1600E EDSFF small form factor accelerator, accompanied by our AI Studio, reduce the time between data capture and AI deployment at the Edge,” said Dinakar Munagala, CEO and Co-founder of Blaize. “Utilizing our Blaize Picasso SDK, the Cupcake platform is programmable and permits building complete end-to-end applications with higher transparency, flexibility, and portability levels.”

About Unigen Corporation

Unigen, founded in 1991, is an established global leader in the design and manufacture of original and custom SSD, DRAM, NVDIMM modules and Enterprise IO solutions. Headquartered in Newark, California, the company operates state of the art manufacturing facilities (ISO-9001/14001/13485 and IATF 16949) in the Silicon Valley Bay Area of California and near Hanoi Vietnam, along with 5 additional engineering and support facilities located around the globe. Unigen markets its products to both enterprise and client OEMs worldwide focused on embedded, industrial, networking, server, telecommunications, imaging, automotive and medical device industries. Unigen also offers best in class electronics manufacturing services (EMS), including new product introduction and volume production, supply chain management, assembly & test, TaaS (Test-as-a-Service) and post-sales support. Learn more about Unigen’s products and services at unigen.com.

About Blaize

Blaize is a leading provider of a proprietary purpose-built, full-stack hardware architecture and low-code/no-code software platform that enables edge AI processing solutions at the network’s edge for computing in multiple large and rapidly-growing markets — automotive, mobility, retail, security, industrial automation, medical devices, and many others. Blaize’s novel solution solves the technical problem that edge AI processing requires across those verticals — very low latency and high thermal and power efficiency — which previously relied on retrofitting sub-optimized AI solutions designed more for data centers and the cloud. Blaize has previously raised over $180MM from strategic investors such as DENSO, Daimler, Magna, and Samsung, and financial investors such as Franklin Templeton, Temasek, GGV, and others. With headquarters in El Dorado Hills (CA), Blaize has teams in San Jose (CA) and subsidiaries in Hyderabad (India), and Leeds and Kings Langley (UK), with 300+ employees worldwide. www.blaize.com. Follow Blaize on Twitter (@blaizeinc) and LinkedIn (Blaize).

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Unigen has selected the advanced Hyperstone X1 family of SATA SSD NAND flash controllers and paired it with high performance BiCS5 NAND flash from Kioxia to obtain industry leading performance.

“Unigen and Hyperstone have worked hand-in-hand to develop this modern version of a SATA III boot drive for intense server workloads,” said Steffen Allert, Hyperstone’s VP of Sales.

The Hood family features a modern DRAMless Controller capable of supporting Pseudo-SLC with up to 30K PE Cycles. By using the most modern 3D high technology NAND, Hood takes advantage of the latest high-volume production to enable a lower cost than the older SLC/MLC geometries. Using the latest TLC NAND converted to pSLC, provides up to 4PBW for the 256GB version. With a maximum power of 1.4W and capable of sleep power at under 50mW, Hood provides maximum performance drawing minimal power from critical operations.

For security, the Hood Family of SSDs provides Performant AES-128 and AES-256 with CBC and XTS modes and are also FIPS 197 compliant. Additionally, they have a SHA-256 hashing engine, random number generator and Secure-Boot features with TCG Opal support.

Hood M.2 2242 is available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities.
Additional product information can be found at: unigen.com

About Unigen Corporation
Unigen, founded in 1991, is an established global leader in the design and manufacture of original and custom SSD, DRAM, NVDIMM modules and Enterprise IO solutions. Headquartered in Newark, California, the company operates state of the art manufacturing facilities (ISO-9001/14001/13485 and IATF 16949) in the Silicon Valley Bay Area of California and near Hanoi Vietnam, along with 5 additional engineering and support facilities located around the globe. Unigen markets its products to both enterprise and client OEMs worldwide focused on embedded, industrial, networking, server, telecommunications, imaging, automotive and medical device industries. Unigen also offers best in class electronics manufacturing services (EMS), including new product introduction and volume production, supply chain management, assembly & test, TaaS (Test-as-a-Service) and post-sales support. Learn more about Unigen’s products and services at unigen.com.

The post Unigen Introduces High Endurance M.2 2242 SATA III SSD Boot Drive appeared first on Unigen.

Pampas features performance that will ensure your drive is the fastest component in your PC. With sequential read and write speeds respectively of 5000MB/s and 4800MB/s, these drives can read and write faster than the gigabit internet speeds available from fiber networks. When transferring large files or loading 100GB MMORPG games, these SSDs can handle these workloads with ease.

Designed in a space-saving single-sided M.2 2280 PCB for the slimmest profile available, Pampas is perfect for fitting into the tightest spots in desktop and notebook personal computers. The energy efficient controller and NAND allow for running without a heat sink, keeping it both cool running and cool looking with the sleek black color of the board. All Unigen SSDs undergo a rigorous verification and testing process to ensure long-term reliability.

The post Introducing The Pampas M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 appeared first on Unigen.

The ability to perform at the highest level is also required for high performance OS boot and application drives in data centers and mission critical network appliances. For these applications optional features such as industrial temperatures and higher endurance NAND are available upon request.

The Oncilla M.2 2280 is available in 480GB, 960GB, 1.92TB and 3.84TB Capacities.

Additional product information can be found at: unigen.com

The post Unigen Delivers the Fastest Speeds to the Performance Market with The Oncilla PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 appeared first on Unigen.

Paul W. Heng, President and CEO of Unigen, visited the UHAN (Unigen Hanoi) factory to personally accept the award and join the UHAN team in their celebration. The award was presented by Mike Fitzgerald, VP of Operations, and Dung Nguyen, Sr, Director of Supply Chain from Pure Storage.

“We are pleased to name Unigen our Contract Manufacturer of the Year,” stated Nguyen. “Careful consideration is given among all of our manufacturing partners. Unigen stands out based on their world-class services, state-of-the-art facilities and their commitment to quality and reliability.”

“It is an honor to receive such a prestigious award from a true industry pioneer such as Pure Storage,” added Paul Heng, Unigen CEO. “It has been particularly rewarding to see our partnership grow from the early days of the company to where we stand now, supporting Pure’s immense growth as they continue to deliver best-in-class technology and services.”

The post Unigen Named Best CM of the Year by Pure Storage appeared first on Unigen.

Unigen received the award for Value for the Price, EMS Companies $100 million to $500 million. The company was selected for the Service Excellence Award as a result of its outstanding customer ratings, as judged by its own customers.

Mike Buetow, President, PCEA, presented the award to Jeff Chang, Vice President of Marketing for Unigen. “We are truly honored to be recognized for this prestigious award,” said Chang. “It is particularly rewarding since our services are being recognized by our valued customers themselves, and we intend to continue to meet the high standards they have come to expect with respect to quality, value and customer service.”

Sponsored by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, the Service Excellence Awards for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers and electronics assembly suppliers honor companies excelling in the crucial area of customer service. The program, now in its 30th year, functions as a way for participants to see how they compare to peers in customer satisfaction. It is awarded based on responses from the actual customers.

Unigen has a factory footprint of more than 320,000 square feet with 24 SMT lines across two sites in Hanoi, Vietnam and Newark, California, USA. From NPI to full turnkey, Unigen is your trusted manufacturing partner throughout the entire product life cycle.

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Unigen offers a full suite of turnkey and a la carte electronic manufacturing services (EMS) from design to new product introduction (NPI), mass production, test-as-a-service (TaaS) and after-market services. Founded in 1991, Unigen recently celebrated its 30th year in business. With global headquarters in Newark, CA, the company operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities both in Silicon Valley and Hanoi, Vietnam, along with five additional engineering and support facilities located globally. We serve numerous end markets including automotive, computing, memory and storage, embedded, medical, robotics, and IoT, and we count among our customers some of the leading companies in the Top Fortune 100.

Our factories have been certified to the industry’s strictest quality standards including ISO-9001, ISO-14001, ISO-13485 (for medical devices), and IATF 16949 (for automotive end markets). Quality is more than just a word at Unigen, it’s a culture. For example, Unigen uses 30 micron gold-plating where others only use 10 micron. We use eight-layer boards where others will settle for six layers. The end result is higher quality, better reliability and improved performance. When coupled with our extensive reliability test capabilities and other value-added post-assembly services such as conformal coating and automated X-ray inspection, we strive for best-in-class quality and reliability for our customers.

Our proprietary business intelligence tools enable real-time information support to aid decision making throughout every stage of production. Our partner portal can be accessed 24/7 by our customers and is fully mirrored across all manufacturing sites.

Read the full article here.

The post SMT Today Selects Unigen to be on the Best of EMS 2022 List appeared first on Unigen.

Electronics manufacturers use conformal coating to improve the reliability and operational lifespan of electronic assemblies, particularly in ruggedized environments.

For electronics operating in high humidity, extreme temperatures, or corrosive environments, conformal coating adds a protective barrier that extends the lifespan of sensitive electronic components. By offering conformal coating within its production line, Unigen  enables customers to streamline manufacturing while improving the durability of their electronic systems.

What Is Conformal Coating in Electronics Manufacturing?

Conformal coating is a protective polymer film applied to printed circuit boards (PCBs) to protect electronic components from environmental contaminants.

The coating “conforms” to the shape of the circuit board and components, creating a thin protective layer that shields electronics from:

• Moisture and humidity
• Salt spray
• Dust and airborne contaminants
• Chemicals and solvents
• Temperature fluctuations
• Fungus and corrosion

Unigen Corporation’s In-House Conformal Coating Process

Unigen Corporation integrates conformal coating directly into its electronics manufacturing services workflow, allowing customers to benefit from a fully controlled and efficient production process. The conformal coating process at Unigen includes:

Custom Masking and Preparation

Unigen utilizes a Conformal Coating based upon HumiSeal® UV40 which is then UV Cured to save process time and additional heating. The process starts with the company’s in-house 3D printers to create custom masks and caps for the board components that provide exceptional accuracy. A 4-axis 35-degree angled Spray Head is then used to deliver a uniform and complete coating on all surfaces for a truly finished look. This protects electronic circuits from harsh environments, such as high humidity and extreme temperatures.

Unigen’s conformal coating process is electrically insulating, and therefore maintains long-term Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) levels, providing a barrier to airborne contaminants from the operating environment, such as salt spray, moisture, chemicals and fungus – thus preventing corrosion and extending lifetime of the assembly.

HumiSeal® UV40 Conformal Coating Material

Although Unigen supports many types of HumiSeal applications, the most common material choice is UV40. The single component HumiSeal UV40 conformal coating has an excellent chemical resistance, surface hardness, flexibility and moisture resistance. Additionally, Unigen provides a secondary moisture cure mechanism for curing in the non-UV exposed shadowed areas. To aid coating inspection, the UV40 cure fluoresces under UV light.

Certifications and Compliance

The HumiSeal UV40 conformal coating used by Unigen Corporation meets several industry standards and certifications, including:

• UL Recognition – File Number E105698
• MIL-I-46058C Qualified
• IPC-CC-830 Certification
• RoHS Directive 2015/863/EU Compliance
• China Standard GB30981-2020
• ISO 10993-5

Conformal Coating as Part of Unigen’s Electronics Manufacturing Services

Conformal coating is just one of the many value-added services offered by Unigen in its fully integrated production line. From NPI to full turnkey, Unigen is your trusted manufacturing partner throughout the entire product life cycle.

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