2012 - Apacer

RoHS Compliant 

Mini PCIe Disk Module 

Product Specifications 

August 15 th , 2012 

Version 1.0 

Apacer Technology Inc. 

4 th Fl., 75 Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Sec.1, Hsichih, New Taipei City, Taiwan 221 

Tel: +886-2-2698-2888 Fax: +886-2-2698-2889 

www.apacer.com

Features: 

Standard PCI Express bus interface 

– PCI Express 2.0* 

– 5.0 Gbps maximum transfer rate 

Operating systems support 

– Windows 7 

– Windows Vista 

– Windows XP 

– Linux** 

Capacity 

– 12, 25, 50, 100 GB 

Performance*** 

– Sustain Read Speed up to 350 MB/s 

– Sustain Write Speed up to 175 MB/s 

– Random Read: 6100 IOPS 

– Random Write: 1600 IOPS 

Flash management design 

– On-chip wear leveling algorithms 

– Built-in ECC engine 

NAND Flash: SLC 

PCI-Express SSD 

AP-PxxxxXXX-XXX 

Integrated Power Management 

Temperature ranges 

– 0 to 70°C for operating temperature 

– -40°C to 85°C for storage temperature 

Supply voltage 

– 3.3 V +/- 5% 

Power consumption*** 

– Active mode: 440 mA 

– Idle mode: 240 mA 

Form Factor 

– Mini PCI Express 

RoHS compliant 

Supports synchronous flash interface 

Supports AHCI programming interface 

and NVMHCI (Non-volatile Memory Host 

Controller Interface) 

Connector type 

– PCI Express bus x1 lane 

*The mPDM is not completely backward compatible. Operational instability or inefficiency may occur if this device is applied on a 

PCIe 1.0 socket. 

**Since Linux is an open system that comes in various user-developed versions, conflicts may occur regarding compatibility 

between the device driver and the OS version. 

***The performance and power consumption values addressed here are typical and may vary from platforms. 

1 

© 2012 Apacer Technology Inc. Rev. 1.0



Table of Contents 

1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................... 3 

1.1 HOST INTERFACE FEATURES.................................................................................................................................3 

1.1.1 AHCI Programming Interface ......................................................................................................................3 

1.1.2 NVMHCI.......................................................................................................................................................3 

1.2 WEAR LEVELING .................................................................................................................................................3 

1.3 ECC.....................................................................................................................................................................4 

2. PIN ASSIGNMENTS ............................................................................................................... 5 

3. PRODUCT SPECIFICATION................................................................................................ 6 

3.1 CAPACITY.............................................................................................................................................................6 

3.2 PERFORMANCE .....................................................................................................................................................6 

3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL .................................................................................................................................................7 

4. ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATION ........................................................................................ 8 

5. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS....................................................................................... 9 

6. PRODUCT ORDERING INFORMATION........................................................................ 10 

6.1 PRODUCT CODE DESIGNATIONS .........................................................................................................................10 

6.2 VALID COMBINATIONS .......................................................................................................................................11 

APPENDIX - DRIVER SUPPORT LIST................................................................................. 12 

2 


1. General Description 



Apacer’s mPDM (mini PCIe Disk Module) SSD offers a breakthrough in non-volatile memory storage. 

Formed as a mini PCI-Express card, this mPDM can fit in various types of embedded platforms, such as 

workstation, thin computing devices and high-end heavy duty servers where spaces are concerned. 

Though in mini form factor, Apacer mPDM delivers ideal data read/write performance that easily 

surpasses its SATA counterparts. The controller unit of our mPDM is designed to support synchronous 

interface for enhanced transfer rate. 

Apacer mPDM provides one-lane PCI-Express 2.0 host interface, and is compatible with 5.0 Gbps 

maximum transfer rate. Regarding flash management design, the central controlling unit of this PCI- 

Express SSD is built with on-chip ECC engine and wear-leveling mechanism for endurance. For optimal 

operation, mPDM supports AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) and NVMHCI (Non-volatile 

Memory Host Controller Interface), which makes it an ideal storage device for heavy duty and high end 

embedded applications. 

With the low-latency nature and advanced interface compatibility, the mPDM can be the ideal industrial 

drive as it cuts boot time. Regarding operating conditions, PCI-Express SSD is built to work at 3.3 Volts, 

with +/- 5% deviance, and under the ideal ambient temperature at the range between 0 ~ 70°C. 

1.1 Host Interface Features 

The controller unit of this mPDM is designed to support synchronous flash interface for ideal performance. 

Regarding host system interface, it supports AHCI and NVMHCI for optimal operations. 

1.1.1 AHCI Programming Interface 

The controller unit of our mPDM supports AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) standard 

programming interface. Introduced and defined by Intel, AHCI outlines a system memory structure that 

serves as the framework for hardware designers to establish the data flow between host system’s 

memory and attached storage devices. 

1.1.2 NVMHCI 

Our mPDM supports NVMHCI (Non-volatile Memory Host Controller Interface) which defines the uniform 

interface for host controller and software programming. NVMHCI is established to optimize interface 

communications between attached NAND-based memory devices and host system cache. Through 

standardization, NVMHCI removes the compatibility boundaries so that an operating system only has to 

work with one particular device driver for proper operations, saving the time for testing multiple possible 

candidates. 

1.2 Wear Leveling 

The mPDM is designed with on-chip wear leveling for endurance support. It is generally understood that 

NAND flash devices are limited by a certain number of write cycles. When using a file system, frequent 

file table updates is mandatory. If some area on the flash wears out faster than others, it would 

significantly reduce the lifetime of the whole device, even if the erase counts of others are far from the 

write cycle limit. Thus, if the write cycles can be distributed evenly across the media, the lifetime of the 

media can be prolonged significantly. The scheme is achieved both via buffer management and the onchip 

wear leveling to ensure that the lifetime of the flash media can be increased, and the disk access 

performance is optimized as well. 

3 


1.3 ECC 



ECC (Error Correction Codes) plays a critical role in terms of data integrity and block management. Errors 

may be generated from NAND flash blocks from time to time and thus, a detection and correction 

mechanism is necessary. The mPDM is built with enhanced onboard ECC engine capable of correcting 

up to 8 bit per 512 which is 32 bit per 2K. 

4 


2. Pin Assignments 

Pin 1 



Pin 51 

Pin Signal Pin Signal 

51 Reserved 52 +3.3V 

49 Reserved 50 GND 

47 Reserved 48 Reserved 


43 GND 44 Reserved 

41 3.3V 42 Reserved 

39 3.3V 40 Reserved 

37 GND 38 NC 

35 GND 36 NC 

33 PETp0 34 GND 

31 PETn0 32 Reserved 

29 GND 30 Reserved 

27 GND 28 NC 

25 PERp0 26 GND 

23 PERn0 24 +3.3Vaux 

21 GND 22 PERST# 


17 Reserved 18 GND 

15 GND 16 NC 

13 REFCLK+ 14 NC 

11 REFCLK- 12 NC 

9 GND 10 NC 

7 CLKREQ# 8 NC 

5 NC 6 NC 

3 NC 4 GND 

1 Reserved 2 3.3V 

5 




3. Product Specification 

3.1 Capacity 

Capacity specification of the mPDM product family is listed in the following table. 

Capacity specifications 

Capacity Total bytes Cylinders Heads Sectors Max LBA 

12GB 13,421,772,800 16383 16 63 26,214,400 

25GB 26,843,545,600 16383 16 63 52,428,800 

50GB 53,687,091,200 16383 16 63 104,857,600 

100GB 107,374,182,400 16383 16 63 209,715,200 

*Cylinders, heads or sectors are not applicable for these capacities. Only LBA addressing applies 

**Notes: 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1 sector = 512 bytes. 

LBA count addressed in the table above indicates total user storage capacity and will remain the same throughout the lifespan of the 

device. However, the total usable capacity of the SSD is most likely to be less than the total physical capacity because a small 

portion of the capacity is reserved for device maintenance usages. 

3.2 Performance 

Performances and random read/write specifications of the mPDM are listed in the following tables. 

Performance 

Performance and random read/write 4K specifications 

Capacity 

12 GB 25 GB 50 GB 100 GB 

Sustained read (MB/s) 295 350 350 350 

Sustained write (MB/s) 115 175 175 175 

Random read 4K (IOPS) 6100 6100 6100 6300 

Random write 4K (IOPS) 1600 1600 1600 1600 

*Results may differ from various flash configurations and platforms. 

**The IOPS are calculated by IOMeter on Full Random Data pattern, 4KB Align I/Os and test time 15min 

6 


3.3 Environmental 



Environmental specification of the mPDM product family follows the MIL-STD-810F standard. 

Temperature 

Environmental specifications 

Environment Specification 

Operation 0 to 70°C 

Storage -40°C to 85°C 

Vibration (Non-Operation) Sine wave: 10~2000Hz, 15G (X, Y, Z axes) 

Shock (Non-Operation) Half sine wave, Peak acceleration 50 G, 11 ms (X, Y, Z ; All 6 axes) 

7 




4. Electrical Specification 

Caution: Absolute Maximum Stress Ratings – Applied conditions greater than those listed under 

“Absolute Maximum Stress Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. This is a stress rating 

only and functional operation of the device at these conditions or conditions greater than those defined in 

the operational sections of this data sheet is not implied. Exposure to absolute maximum stress rating 

conditions may affect device reliability. 

Absolute maximum stress ratings 

Parameter Min. Typical Max. Units 

Power supply 3.13 3.3 3.46 V 

Operating temperature 0 70 °C 

Storage temperature -40 85 °C 

State 

Power consumption (typical) 

Capacity 

12 GB 25 GB 50 GB 100 GB 

Active (mA) 360 405 420 440 

Idle (mA) 240 240 240 240 

*Results may differ from various flash configurations and platforms. 

8 




5. Physical Characteristics 

Unit: mm 

Tolerance: ± 0.25 

9 




6. Product Ordering Information 

6.1 Product Code Designations 

AP P xxxx X X X – X XX 

Model Name 

Apacer Product Code 

Controller Version 

Degree 

Capacity: 

012G: 12GB 

025G: 25GB 

050G: 50GB 

100G: 100GB 

Speed: 

N: Standard 

Flash Type 

FW Version 

10 


6.2 Valid Combinations 

6.2.1 Standard 

Capacity P/N 

12GB APP012G18N-AC 






11 




Appendix - Driver Support List 

Windows 

Windows 7 

Windows Vista 

Windows XP 

LINUX - SUSE 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 1, i386 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 1, x86_64 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, i386 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, x86_64 







SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 , i386 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, x86_64 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, i386 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, x86_64 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 2, i386 

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 2, 

x86_64 

SUSE Linux openSUSE 11.1, i386 

SUSE Linux openSUSE 11.1, x86_64 

SUSE Linux openSUSE 11.0, i386 

SUSE Linux openSUSE 11.0, x86_64 

LINUX-Fedora 

Fedora Linux 11, i386 

Fedora Linux 11, x86_64 







12 


LINUX - Redhat 

Redhat Enterprise Linux 5.5 Server, i386 

Redhat Enterprise Linux 5.5 Server, x86_64 











Redhat CentOS 5.5, i386 

Redhat CentOS 5.5, x86_64 









13 




Revision History 

Revision Date Description Remark 

0.1 03/29/2012 Preliminary 

0.2 04/25/2012 

0.3 04/26/2012 

0.4 07/06/2012 

0.5 07/19/2012 

Added capacity information 

Added performance specifications are filled 

Added power consumption table 

Updated mechanical drawing 

Updated pin assignment 

Revised mechanical drawing 

Added Random read/write information 

Added endurance specifications 

Revised capacities 

Added driver list appendix 

Added ECC description 

Revised driver list 

1.0 08/15/2012 Official release 

14 


Taiwan (Headquarters) 

U.S.A. 

Japan 

Europe 

China 

India 



Global Presence 

Apacer Technology Inc. 

4 th Fl, 75 Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Sec.1 

Hsichih, New Taipei City 

Taiwan 221 

R.O.C. 

Tel: +886-2-2698-2888 

Fax: +886-2-2698-2889 

amtsales@apacer.com 

Apacer Memory America, Inc. 

386 Fairview Way, Suite102, 

Milpitas, CA 95035 

Tel: 1-408-586-1291 

Fax: 1-408-935-9611 

sa@apacerus.com 

Apacer Technology Corp. 

5F, Matsura Bldg., Shiba, Minato-Ku 

Tokyo, 105-0014, Japan 

Tel: 81-3-5419-2668 

Fax: 81-3-5419-0018 

jpservices@apacer.com 

Apacer Technology B.V. 

Science Park Eindhoven 5051 5692 EB Son, 

The Netherlands 

Tel: 31-40-267-0000 

Fax: 31-40-267-0000#6199 

sales@apacer.nl 

Apacer Electronic (Shanghai) Co., Ltd 

1301, No.251,Xiaomuqiao Road, Shanghai, 

200032, China 

Tel: 86-21-5529-0222 

Fax: 86-21-5206-6939 

sales@apacer.com.cn 

Apacer Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 

# 535, 1st Floor, 8th cross, JP Nagar 3rd Phase, 

Bangalore – 560078, India 

Tel: 91-80-4152-9061 

sales_india@apacer.com 

15

2012 - Apacer

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