CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD User Instructions

CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD

Features

• Solid state design with no moving parts
• Capacities from 8GB to 256GB
• Available in M.2 2242, 2260 and 2280 form factors
• Compliant with Serial ATA 3.1 specifications
• Compliant with PCI Express M.2 specification, ver.1.0
• ATA-8 ACS2 compatible
• Supports Serial ATA Generation I/II/III transfer rate of 1.5/3.0/6.0 Gbps
• Supports ATA SMART Feature Set
• Supports ATA Security Feature Set
• Supports Data Set Management (TRIM)
• Supports NCQ w/ max. queue depth of 32
• Supports AHCI
• ECC capable of correcting up to 66 bit errors per 1KB
• Enhanced error correction, < 1 error in 1014 bits read
• Voltage support: 3.3V±5%

Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SATA SSD is a high capacity solid-state flash memory product that complies with the Serial ATA 3.1 standard and PCI Express M.2 1.0 standard and is functionally compatible with a SATA hard disk drive. Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD provides up to 256GB of formatted storage capacity.

Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD product uses high quality Industrial Grade MLC NAND flash memory from Kioxia Corporation. In addition, it includes an on-drive intelligent controller that manages interface protocols, data storage and retrieval as well as ECC, defect handling and diagnostics, power management, and clock control. The controller’s firmware is upgradeable, thus allowing feature enhancements and firmware updates while keeping the BOM stable

Supported Standards

Cactus Technologies® M.2 SSD is fully compatible with the following specification:

• ATA 8/ACS2 Specification published by ANSI
• Serial ATA 3.1 Specification published by the Serial ATA International Organization
• PCI Express M.2 Specification 1.0 published by PCI SIG

Product Features

Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD contains a high level, intelligent controller. This intelligent controller provides many capabilities including the following:

• Standard ATA register and command set (same as found on most magnetic disk drives).
• Manages details of erasing and programming flash memory independent of the host system
• Sophisticated defect managing capabilities (similar to magnetic disk drives).
• Sophisticated system for error recovery using powerful error correction code (ECC).
• Intelligent power management for low power operation.

Host and Technology Independence

Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD appears as a standard SATA disk drive to the host system. The drive utilizes a 512-byte sector which is the same as that in an IDE magnetic disk drive. To write or read a sector (or multiple sectors), the host computer software simply issues an ATA Read or Write command to the drive as per the SATA protocol. The host software then waits for the command to complete. The host system does not get involved in the details of how the flash memory is erased, programmed or read as this is all managed by the built-in controller in the drive. Also, with the intelligent on-board controller, the host system software will not require changing as new flash memory evolves. Thus, systems that support the Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD products today will continue to work with future Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSDs built with new flash technology without having to update or change host software.

Defect and Error Management

Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD contains a sophisticated defect and error management system similar to those found in magnetic disk drives. The defect management is completely transparent to the host and does not consume any user data space. The soft error rate for Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD is much lower than that of magnetic disk drives. In the extremely rare case where a read error does occur, the drive has sophisticated ECC to recover the data.These defect and error management systems, coupled with the solid-state construction, give Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSDs unparalleled reliability.

Power Supply Requirements
Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD operates at a voltage range of 3.3 volts ± 5%.

Product Specifications

For all the following specifications, values are defined at ambient temperature and nominal supply voltage unless otherwise stated.

System Environmental Specifications

Table 2-1. Environmental Specifications

		Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD
Temperature	Operating:	0° C to +70° C (Standard) -40° C to +85° C (Extended)
Humidity	Operating & NonOperating:	8% to 95%, non-condensing
Vibration	Operating & NonOperating:	20G, MIL-STD-883G Method 2005.2, Condition A
Shock	Operating & NonOperating:	3,000 G, MIL-STD-883G Method 2002.4, Condition C
Altitude (relative to sea level)	Operating & NonOperating:	100,000 feet maximum

Note: Extended temp. version is temperature screened via burn-in testing

System Power Requirements

Table 2-2. Power Requirements 

		Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD
DC Input Voltage (VCC) 100 mV max. ripple (p-p)		3.3V ±5%
		2242
		Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD
		8GB	16GB	32GB	64GB	128GB	256GB
(Maximum Average Value) See Notes.	Idle: Reading: Writing:	90 mA 260 mA 250 mA	105mA 325mA 300mA	100mA 330mA 310mA	100mA 360mA 390mA	105mA 430mA 555mA	105mA 500mA 870mA
		2260/2280
		8GB	16GB	32GB	64GB	128GB	256GB
(Maximum Average Value) See Notes.	Idle: Reading: Writing:	100 mA 255 mA 245 mA	90mA 315mA 290mA	110mA 450mA 390mA	105mA 440mA 395mA	105mA 475mA 585mA	100mA 530mA 895mA

NOTES: All values quoted are typical at ambient temperature and nominal supply voltage unless otherwise stated.

Sleep mode is specified under the condition that all drive inputs are static CMOS levels and in a “Not Busy“ operating state.

System Performance

All performance timings assume the drive controller is in the default (i.e., fastest) mode

Table 2-3. Performance

		2242	2260/2280
Read Transfer Rate	8GB	Up to 140MBytes/sec	Up to 140MBytes/sec
	16GB	Up to 280MBytes/sec	Up to 280MBytes/sec
	32GB	Up to 280MBytes/sec	Up to 550MBytes/sec
	64GB	Up to 330MBytes/sec	Up to 550MBytes/sec
	128GB	Up to 345MBytes/sec	Up to 560MBytes/sec
	256GB	Up to 545MBytes/sec	Up to 560MBytes/sec
Write Transfer Rate	8GB	Up to 25 MBytes/sec	Up to 25MBytes/sec
	16GB	Up to 50 MBytes/sec	Up to 50MBytes/sec
	32GB	Up to 45 MBytes/sec	Up to 100MBytes/sec
	64GB	Up to 90 Mbytes/sec	Up to 90MBytes/sec
	128GB	Up to 180 Mbytes/sec	Up to 185MBytes/sec
	256GB	Up to 345 MBytes/sec	Up to 355MBytes/sec

System Reliability

Data Reliability	< 1 non-recoverable error in 1014 bits READ
Endurance (estimated TBW): 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB 256GB	Up to 3TB/GB: 24TB 48TB 96TB 128TB 384TB 768TB

Note: estimated TBW assumes workload consisting of mostly large block writes; TBW will be significantly reduced for workload consisting of mostly random small block writes.

Physical Specifications
The following sections provide the physical specifications for Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD products.

M.2 2260 SSD Physical Specifications

Cactus Technologies, Limited

M.2 2280 SSD Physical Specifications

M.2 2242 SSD Physical Specifications 

Note: key details and thickness measurements for 2242, 2260 and 2280 form factor are identical.

Capacities
Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD is available in 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256GB capacities

Interface Description
The following sections provide detailed information on the Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC M.2 SSD interface.

M.2 SSD Pin Assignments and Pin Type

The signal/pin assignments and descriptions are listed in Table 3-5.

Table 3-5. M.2 SSD Pin Assignments and Pin Type

Pin #	Pin Name	Description	Pin #	Pin Name	Description
1	CONFIG_3	Connected to GND for SATA SSD	2	3.3V	3.3V supply
3	GND		4	3.3V
5	N/C	No connect	6	Reserved
7	DNU		8	Reserved
9	DNU		10	DAS/DSS	Drive activity
11	N/C	No connect	12		B Key
13		B Key	14
15			16
17			18
19			20	Reserved
21	CONFIG_0	Connected to GND for SATA SSD	22	Reserved
23	DNU		24	Reserved
25	DNU		26	Reserved
27	GND		28	Reserved
29	Reserved		30	Reserved
31	Reserved		32	Reserved
33	GND		34	Reserved
35	Reserved		36	Reserved
37	Reserved		38	DEVSLP	Device Sleep control; NO CONNECT 1
39	GND		40	Reserved
41	SATA RX+	Host SATA receive differential pair	42	Reserved
43	SATA RX-		44	Reserved
45	GND		46	Reserved
47	SATA TX-	Host SATA transmit differential pair	48	Reserved
49	SATA TX+		50	Reserved
Pin #	Pin Name	Description	Pin #	Pin Name	Description
51	GND		52	Reserved
53	Reserved		54	Reserved
55	Reserved		56	MFG_1	Reserved for manufacturer use
57	GND		58	MFG_2	Reserved for manufacture use
59		M Key	60		M Key
61			62
63			64
65			66
67	DNU		68	SUSCLK	32kHz clock input; not used
69	CONFIG_1	Connected to GND for SATA SSD	70	3.3V
71	GND		72	3.3V
73	GND		74	3.3V
75	CONFIG_2	Connected to GND for SATA SSD

Electrical Specifications

The following table defines all D.C. Characteristics for the M.2 SSD products. Unless otherwise stated, conditions are:

• Vcc = 3.3V ± 5%
• Ta = -40°C to 85°C

Absolute Maximum Ratings 

Parameter	Symbol	MIN	MAX	Unit s
Storage Temperature	Ts	-55	+100	oC
Operating Temperature	TA	-40	+85	oC
Vcc with respect to GND	Vcc	-0.3	3.6	V

DC Characteristics

Parameter	Symbol	MIN	MAX	Unit s
Input Voltage	Vin	-0.5	Vcc + 0.5	V
Output Voltage	Vout	-0.3	Vcc + 0.3	V
Input Leakage Current	ILI	-10	10	uA
Output Leakage Current	ILO	-10	10	uA
Input/Output Capacitance	CI/Co		10	pF
Operating Current Idle Active	ICC		110 900	mA

AC Characteristics

Cactus Technologies® M.2 SSD products conforms to all AC timing requirements as specified in the Serial ATA v3.1 specifications. Please refer to that document for details of AC timing for all operation modes of the device

ATA Drive Register Set Definition and Protocol

The communication to or from the SSD is done using FIS. Legacy ATA protocol is supported by using the legacy mode defined in the SATA specifications. In this mode, the FIS has defined fields which provide all the necessary ATA task file registers for control and status information. The Serial ATA interface does not support Primary/Secondary or Master/Slave configurations. Each SATA channel supports only one SATA device, with the register selection as defined by the ATA standard.

ATA Task File Definitions
The following sections describes the usage of the ATA task file registers. Note that the Alternate Status Register of legacy ATA is not defined for SATA drives.

Data Register
The Data Register is a 16-bit register, and it is used to transfer data blocks between the SSD data buffer and the Host.

Error Register
This register contains additional information about the source of an error when an error is indicated in bit 0 of the Status register. The bits are defined as follows:

D7		D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1	D0
BBK		UNC	0	IDNF	0	ABRT	0	AMNF
Bit 7 (BBK)			This bit is set when a Bad Block is detected.
Bit 6 (UNC)		This bit is set when an Uncorrectable Error is encountered.
Bit 5		This bit is 0.
Bit 4 (IDNF)		The requested sector ID is in error or cannot be found.
Bit 3		This bit is 0.
Bit 2 (Abort)		This bit is set if the command has been aborted because of a status condition: (Not Ready, Write Fault, etc.) or when an invalid command has been issued.
Bit 1                                  This bit is 0. Bit 0 (AMNF) This bit is set in case of a general error.
6.1.3.               Feature Register

Feature Register
This register provides information regarding features of the SSD that the host can utilize.

Sector Count Register
This register contains the number of sectors of data requested to be transferred on a read or write operation between the host and the SSD. If the value in this register is zero, a count of 256 sectors is specified. If the command was successful, this register is zero at command completion. If not successfully completed, the register contains the number of sectors that need to be transferred in order to complete the request.

Sector Number (LBA 7-0) Register
This register contains the starting sector number or bits 7-0 of the Logical Block Address (LBA) for any SSD data access for the subsequent command.

Cylinder Low (LBA 15-8) Register
This register contains the low order 8 bits of the starting cylinder address or bits 15-8 of the Logical Block Address

Drive/Head (LBA 27-24) Register
The Drive/Head register is used to select the drive and head. It is also used to select LBA addressing instead of cylinder/head/sector addressing. The bits are defined as follows:

	D7	D6		D5	D4	D3	D2	D1	D0
	BUSY	RDY		DWF	DSC	DRQ	CORR	0	ERR
	Bit 7 (BUSY)		The busy bit is set when the device has access to the command buffer and registers and the host is locked out from accessing the command register and buffer. No other bits in this register are valid when this bit is set to a 1.
	Bit 6 (RDY)		RDY indicates whether the device is capable of performing operations requested by the host. This bit is cleared at power up and remains cleared until the device is ready to accept a command.
	Bit 5 (DWF)		This bit, if set, indicates a write fault has occurred.
	Bit 4 (DSC)		This bit is set when the device is ready.
	Bit 3 (DRQ)		The Data Request is set when the device requires that information be transferred either to or from the host through the Data register.
	Bit 2 (CORR)		This bit is set when a Correctable data error has been encountered and the data has been corrected. This condition does not terminate a multi-sector read operation.
	Bit 1 (IDX)		This bit is always set to 0.
	Bit 0 (ERR)		This bit is set when the previous command has ended in some type of error. The bits in the Error register contain additional information describing the error.
6.1.10.		Device Control Register

Status Registers
These registers return the status when read by the host. Reading the Status register does clear a pending interrupt while reading the Auxiliary Status register does not. The meaning of the status bits are described as follows:

D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1	D0
HOB	X	X	X	1	SW Rst	-IEn	0

Bit 7          This bit is used in 48-bit addressing mode.  When cleared, the host can read the most recently written values of the Sector Count,Drive/Head and LBA registers.  When set, the host will read the previous written values of these registers.  A write to any Command block register will clear this bit.

Bit 6                   This bit is an X (Do not care).

Bit 5                   This bit is an X (Do not care).

Bit 4                   This bit is an X (Do not care).

Bit 3                   This bit is ignored by the drive.

Bit 2 (SW Rst)This bit is set to 1 in order to force the drive to perform an AT Disk controller Soft Reset operation. The drive remains in Reset until this bit is reset to ‘0’.

Bit 1 (-IEn)                       The Interrupt Enable bit enables interrupts when the bit is 0. When the bit is 1, interrupts from the drive are disabled. This bit is set to 0 at power on and Reset.

Bit 0                   This bit is ignored by the drive.

Device Control Register
This register is used to control the drive interrupt request and to issue an ATA soft reset to the drive. The bits are defined as follows:

D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1	D0
X	-WTG	-HS3	-HS2	-HS1	-HS0	-nDS1	-nDS0

Bit 7                This bit is unknown.

Implementation Note:

Conflicts may occur on the host data bus when this bit is provided by a Floppy Disk Controller operating at the same addresses as the SSD. Following are some possible solutions to this problem:

1. Locate the SSD at a non-conflicting address (i.e., Secondary address (377) when a Floppy Disk Controller is located at the Primary addresses).
2. Do not install a Floppy and a SSD in the system at the same time.
3. Implement a socket adapter that can be programmed to (conditionally) tri-state D7 of I/0 address 3F7/377 when a SSD product is installed and conversely to tri-state D6-D0 of I/O address 3F7/377 when a floppy controller is installed.
4. Do not use the SSD’s Drive Address register. This may be accomplished by either a) If possible, program the host adapter to enable only I/O addresses 1F0-1F7, 3F6 (or 170-

177, 176) to the SSD or b) if provided use an additional Primary/Secondary configuration in the SSD that does not respond to accesses to I/O locations 3F7 and 377. With either of these implementations, the host software must not attempt to use information in the Drive Address Register.

Bit 6 (-WTG)	This bit is 0 when a write operation is in progress, otherwise, it is 1.
Bit 5 (-HS3)	This bit is the negation of bit 3 in the Drive/Head register.
Bit 4 (-HS2)	This bit is the negation of bit 2 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 3 (-HS1)                                This bit is the negation of bit 1 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 2 (-HS0)                                This bit is the negation of bit 0 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 1 (-nDS1) This bit is 0 when drive 1 is active and selected.

Bit 0 (-nDS0) This bit is 0 when the drive 0 is active and selected.

Drive Address Register
This register is provided for compatibility with the AT disk drive interface. It is recommended that this register not be mapped into the host’s I/O space because of potential conflicts on Bit 7. The bits are defined as follows:

X

-WTG

-HS3

-HS2

-HS1

-HS0

-nDS1

-nDS0

Bit 7                This bit is unknown.

Implementation Note:

Conflicts may occur on the host data bus when this bit is provided by a Floppy Disk Controller operating at the same addresses as the SSD. Following are some possible solutions to this problem:

1. Locate the SSD at a non-conflicting address (i.e., Secondary address (377) when a Floppy Disk Controller is located at the Primary addresses).
2. Do not install a Floppy and a SSD in the system at the same time.
3. Implement a socket adapter that can be programmed to (conditionally) tri-state D7 of I/0 address 3F7/377 when a SSD product is installed and conversely to tri-state D6-D0 of I/O address 3F7/377 when a floppy controller is installed.
4. Do not use the SSD’s Drive Address register. This may be CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD accomplished by either a) If possible, program the host adapter to enable only I/O addresses 1F0-1F7, 3F6 (or 170-

177, 176) to the SSD or b) if provided use an additional Primary/Secondary configuration in the SSD that does not respond to accesses to I/O locations 3F7 and 377. With either of these implementations, the host software must not attempt to use information in the Drive Address Register.

Bit 6 (-WTG)	This bit is 0 when a write operation is in progress, otherwise, it is 1.
Bit 5 (-HS3)	This bit is the negation of bit 3 in the Drive/Head register.
Bit 4 (-HS2)	This bit is the negation of bit 2 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 3 (-HS1)                                This bit is the negation of bit 1 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 2 (-HS0)                                This bit is the negation of bit 0 in the Drive/Head register.

Bit 1 (-nDS1) This bit is 0 when drive 1 is active and selected.

Bit 0 (-nDS0) This bit is 0 when the drive 0 is active and selected.

ATA Command Description
This section defines the ATA command set supported by Cactus Technologies® M.2 SSDs.

ATA Command Set
Table 5-6 summarizes the supported ATA command set .

COMMAND	Code
Check Power Mode	E5h, 98h
Data Set Management	06h
Execute Drive Diagnostic	90h
Flush Cache	E7h
Flush Cache Ext	EAh
Identify Drive	ECh
Idle	E3h, 97h
Idle Immediate	E1h, 95h
Initialize Drive Parameters	91h
NOP	00h
Read Buffer	E4h
Read DMA	C8h
Read DMA Ext	25h
Read FPDMA Queued	60h
Read Multiple	C4h
Read Multiple Ext	29h
Read Sector(s)	20h, 21h
Read Sector(s) Ext	24h
Read Verify Sector(s)	40h, 41h
Read Verify Sector(s) Ext	42h
Security Disable  Password	F6h
Security Erase Prepare	F3h
Security Erase Unit	F4h
Security Freeze Lock	F5h
Security Set Password	F1h
Security Unlock	F2h
Seek	70h
Set Features	EFh
Set Multiple Mode	C6h
Set Sleep Mode	E6h, 99h
SMART	B0h
Stand By	E2h, 96h
Stand By Immediate	E0h, 94h
COMMAND	Code
Write Buffer	E8h
Write DMA	CAh
Write DMA Ext	35h
Write FPDMA Queued	61h
Write Multiple	C5h
Write Multiple Ext	39h
Write Sector(s)	30h, 31h
Write Sector(s) Ext	34h

S.M.A.R.T. Feature Set
Cactus Technologies® -240 Series M.2 SSD supports S.M.A.R.T. CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD attribute reporting. This following subcommands are supported when programmed into the Feature Register:

Value	Command	Value	Command
D0h	Read Data	D5h	Reserved
D1h	Read Attribute Threshold	D6h	Reserved
D2h	Enable/Disable Autosave	D8h	Enable SMART operationes
D3h	Save Attribute Values	D9h	Disable SMART operations
D4h	Execute OFF-LINE Immediate	DAh	Return Status

S.M.A.R.T Data Structure
The Read Data commands returns 512 bytes of data in the following structure:

Byte	Description
0-1	Revision code
2-361	Vendor specific
362	Off-line data collection status
363	Self-test execution status byte
364-365	Total time in seconds to complete off-line data collection activitiies
366	Vendor specific
367	Off-line data collection capabilities
368-369	SMART capabilities
370	Error logging capabilities: bit[7:1] – reserved; bit[0]: 1=device error logging supported
371	Vendor specific
372	Short self-test routine recommended polling time (in minutes)
Byte	Description
373	Extended self-test routine recommended polling time (in minutes)
374	Conveyance self-test routine recommended polling time (in minutes)
375-385	Reserved
386-395	Firmware Version/Date Code
396-397	Reserved
398-399	Reserved
400-405	‘SM2246’
406-510	Vendor specific
511	Data structure checksum

S.M.A.R.T Attributes
The following table lists the attributes returned in bytes 2-36 CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD of the 512-byte SMART data.Byte 0 is Attribute ID, bytes 1-2 are status flags, bytes 3-4 are reserved bytes; the table  below shows the definition for bytes 5-11:

Attribute ID	Attribute values							Attribute Name
	Byte 5	Byte 6	Byte 7	Byte 8	Byte 9	Byte 10	Byte 11
01h	MSB	00	00	00	00	00	00	Read error rate
05h	LSB	MSB	00	00	00	00	00	Reallocated sectors count
09h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Power on hours
0Ch	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Power cycle count
A0h	LSB			MSB	00	00		Uncorrectable sector count when read/write
A1h	LSB	MSB	00	00	00	00	00	Number of valid spare block
A3h	LSB	MSB	00	00	00	00	00	Number of initial invalid block
A4h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Total erase count
A5h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Max. Erase count
A6h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Min. Erase count
A7h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Average erase count
A8h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Max. erase count spec.
A9h	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Percent remaining life
AFh	LSB			MSB	00	00	00	Program fail count in worse die

Appendix A. Ordering Information 

Model KDXFI-240SZ

Where: X is drive capacities: 8G —————- 8GB

16G ————– 16GB

32G ————– 32GB 64G ————– 64GB

128G ———— 128GB

256G ———— 256GB

Where: I is temperature grade:

blank ———— standard

I ——————- extended

Where: Z is form factor:

M5 —————- 2260

M6 —————- 2242

M7 —————- 2280 (64/128/256G only)

Example:

• 8GB M.2 2260 SSD ———————————————————– KD8GF-240SM5
• 8GB M.2 SSD 2260 extended temp. ———————————— KD8GFI-240SM5
• 256GB M.2 2242 SSD ——————————————————- KD256GF-240SM6
• 64GB M.2 2280 SSD ——————————————————— KD64GF-240SM7

Appendix B.Technical Support Services
B.1.Direct Cactus Technologies® Technical Support

Email: tech@cactus-tech.com

Appendix C.Cactus Technologies® Worldwide Sales Offices

Email: sales@cactus-tech.com
Email: americas@cactus-tech.com

Appendix D.Limited Warranty

1. WARRANTY STATEMENT
   Cactus Technologies® warrants its Industrial MLC Grade products only to be free of any defects in materials or workmanship that would prevent them from functioning properly for two years from the date of purchase or when rated TBW is exceeded, whichever CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD occurs first. This express warranty is extended by Cactus Technologies® Limited to customers of our products.
2. GENERAL PROVISIONS
   This warranty sets forth the full extent of Cactus Technologies® responsibilities regarding the Cactus Technologies® Industrial MLC Grade Flash Storage Products. Cactus Technologies®, at its sole option, will repair, replace or refund the purchase price of the defective product. Cactus Technologies® guarantees our products meet all specifications detailed in our CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD product manuals. Although Cactus Technologies® products are designed to withstand harsh environments and have the highest specifications in the industry, they are not warranted to never have failure and Cactus Technologies® does not warranty against incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, in any use of products in life support systems or other applications where failure could cause injury or loss of life, the products should only be incorporated in systems designed with appropriate redundancy, fault tolerant or backup features.
3. WHAT THIS WARRANTY COVERS
   For products found to be defective, Cactus Technologies® will have the option of repairing, replacing or refunding the purchase price the defective product, if the following conditions are met:
   A. The defective product is returned to Cactus Technologies® for failure analysis as soon as possible after the failure occurs.
   B. An incident card filled out by the user, explaining CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD the conditions of usage and the nature of the failure, accompanies each returned defective product.
   C. No evidence is found of abuse or operation of products not in accordance with the published specifications, or of exceeding maximum ratings or operating conditions.
   All failing products returned to Cactus Technologies® under the provisions of this limited warranty shall be tested to the product’s functional and performance specifications. Upon confirmation of failure, each product will be analyzed, by whatever means necessary, to determine the root cause of failure. If the root cause of failure is found to be not covered by the above provisions, then the product will be returned to the customer with a report indicating why the failure was not covered under the warranty.
   This warranty does not cover defects, malfunctions, performance failures or damages to the unit resulting from use in other than its normal and customary manner, misuse, accident or neglect; or improper alterations or repairs. Cactus Technologies® Limited may repair or replace, at its discretion, any product returned by its customers, even if CACTUS MLC-240S Industrial Series M.2 SSD such product is not covered under warranty, but is under no obligation to do so.
4. RECEIVING WARRANTY SERVICE
   According to Cactus Technologies® warranty procedure, defective product should be returned only with prior authorization from Cactus Technologies® Limited. Please contact Cactus Technologies® Customer Service department (tech@cactus-tech.com) with the following information: product model number and description, nature of defect, conditions of use, proof of purchase and purchase date. If approved, Cactus Technologies® will issue a Return Material Authorization or Product Repair Authorization number with shipping instructions.

FAQs

What is the CACTUS MLC-240S SSD designed for?

A tough industrial-grade M.2 SATA III SSD designed for use in severe environments, embedded systems, and mission-critical applications is the MLC-240S. When using MLC (Multi-Level Cell) NAND flash, it offers excellent durability, dependability, and long-term product availability.

What form factor is this SSD?

The MLC-240S comes in the M.2 2242 or 2280 form factors, which measure 42 or 80 mm in length and 22 mm in width. Make sure your host device can accommodate the appropriate size at all times.

 What interface does the MLC-240S use?

Instead of NVMe, it employs a SATA III (6Gbps) interface. This indicates that M.2 B-key or B+M-key slots made for SATA SSDs can use it.

What is MLC NAND and why is it used in this drive?

MLC (Multi-Level Cell) NAND provides a balance between capacity and endurance by storing two bits per cell. It is perfect for industrial use cases that require dependable performance under repeated write operations because it is less costly than SLC and more robust than TLC.

Can it operate in extreme temperatures?

Indeed. The MLC-240S series is appropriate for industrial PCs, outdoor systems, and automotive settings due to its broad operating temperature range, which is normally between -40°C and +85°C.

 Does this SSD support power loss protection?

Power Loss Protection (PLP) is a feature of some MLC-240S models that safeguards in-flight data in the event of unplanned power failures. To be sure, consult the datasheet for your model.

 What capacities are available for this SSD?

Generally, the MLC-240S is available in sizes between 16GB to 512GB, contingent on the product configuration and form factor.

 What are the endurance and write cycle expectations?

The drive is rated for greater endurance than consumer SSDs because to MLC NAND and industrial firmware optimisations; depending on workload and capacity, it may frequently withstand up to 3,000 to 10,000 program/erase (P/E) cycles per block.