A Question about Intel DCS3700's Enhanced Power-Loss data protection

Hello 火腿加小鸡,

You're correct. As long as it was captured in the temporary buffers, it should be saved to the NAND, regardless of the status of the command.

During an unexpected power loss or "unsafe shutdown" this feature allows the firmware routines in the SSD to respond and make sure both user and system data in the temporary buffers are transferred to the NAND media.

Additionally, given the energy provided by the capacitor elements and urgency to recover data, firmware de-prioritizes non-essential controller activities to quickly get into data saving mode, with no impact to overall system performance.

"How Power-Loss Data Protection is Implemented

The Intel SSD DC 3700 Series contains hardware- and
firmware-based power-loss data protection features.
The SSD includes a power-fail detection circuit, which
sends a signal to the ASIC controller in the SSD
indicating there is an imminent drop in power level.
Triggered by this, SSD firmware disconnects the
input power from the SSD.
The SSD then relies on its on-board power-loss
protection capacitance to provide enough energy for
the SSD firmware to move data from the transfer
buffer and other temporary buffers to the NAND."

- Intel® Solid-State Drive DC S3700 Series - Product Brief

Please let us know if this answers your question.

Best regards,
Carlos A.

Hello 火腿加小鸡,

We're not currently aware of any publicly available tool or method to test this feature.

I will research this further and let you know what we find.

Best regards,
Carlos A.

Hello 火腿加小鸡,

After some research, I was unable to find a tool aimed directly at testing this feature. We were able to find some examples of third parties who tested our drives similarly, perhaps their tests may be a good starting point for your purposes. 

- Power-Loss-Protected SSDs Tested: Only Intel® S3500 Passes.
- Report: http://lkcl.net/reports/ssd_analysis.html.

According to the product specification document for the DC S3700 Series, the drive "supports testing of the power loss capacitor, which can be
monitored using the following SMART attribute: (175, AFh)." 

- Product Specification Document, Page 13, Sec 2.8.

You may also find the following document helpful, as it goes into detail explaining how the technology behind the Enhanced Power-Loss Data Protection feature works.

- Intel® Power Loss Imminent (PLI) Techonogy.

Note: Any links provided for third party tools or sites are offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel® of the content, products, or services offered there. We do not offer support for any third party tool mentioned here.

We hope this information helps.

Best regards,
Carlos A.

Hello 火腿加小鸡,

Unfortunately we do not have any public methods that we can release for you to perform these tests.

You may need to create an account and contact our Resource & Design Center. They may be able to provide you with the tools or documentation you need.

- Resource & Design Center for Development with Intel®.
- Intel Account Support.

We hope this helps. 

Best regards,
Carlos A.

Hello 火腿加小鸡,

You're welcome.

If you need any further assistance, you know where to find us.

Best regards,

Carlos A.