How Windows 7 will -- and won't -- work better with SSDs

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Windows 7: Full coverage

Second, Windows 7's new "trim" feature will improve performance in three ways. It will reduce the amount of data to be deleted, which improves the SSD's lifespan; delete garbage data in advance, which speeds up writing of data; and maximize the amount of unused data, which helps even out the wear and tear on the SSD, Shu said.

Third, Windows 7 will partition the SSD more efficiently to cut down on unnecessary read/write cycles, Shu said. This requires Windows 7 to be installed fresh and not upgraded from XP, he said, since the latter operating system formats SSDs in an inefficient way.

Finally, Microsoft plans to create a certification program for SSDs. To win the software maker's logo of approval, SSDs must identify themselves to Windows 7 properly, prioritize data reads over slower data writes, comply with the Serial ATA (SATA) drive interface for faster connections and more, Shu said.

On the other hand, Microsoft is not taking more radical steps. For instance, it's not trying any tricks to decrease the number of times data is written, such as using RAM to cache data, Shu said.

Writing data to flash memory, especially small amounts of it, takes 100 times longer than reading it, according to SanDisk.

SanDisk's Barnetson agrees that Microsoft is limited by what it can do in this vein.

"The challenge is that it's not just Windows. It's all of the applications constantly issuing commands to the SSD," he said. Software vendors "aren't going to change -- that's the reality of it."

Moreover, Microsoft appears unlikely to have Windows 7 adopt a new disk-interface technology written specifically to boost the speed and longevity of SSDs. It's called Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface. Developed by Intel, NVMHCI would replace the ATA interface that was developed originally for hard disk drives (though, out of necessity, also used by SSDs today).

Ironically, Microsoft has publicly backed NVMHCI's development as a potential standard, but it is unwilling to commit yet to using NVMHCI.

"It's too early to say if NVMHCI will make it into Windows 7," said Jeff Price, senior director of Windows product management. "The availability of NVMHCI hardware is still nascent." As a result, he noted, "it's hard for us to design to."

Stephen Weinger, marketing manager for NAND flash memory products at Samsung, said he doesn't think NVMHLC "definitely needs to be in Windows 7."

But others, like Glaskowsky, say Microsoft may give up an opportunity to grab the technical lead in SSDs.

"There are opportunities for OSes to do so much more in terms of tuning files and applications for SSDs, but that can't be done over an ATA interface," Glaskowsky said.

Read more about storage in Computerworld's Storage Knowledge Center.