Is AMD StoreMI Hardware or Software?

[sphbecker]

This is an academic question. I am not asking if StoreMI is worth using, just would like to understand how it works.

 

I know it is software, but is there also a hardware component like Intel's RST or is just purely software like other 3rd party solutions? Looking at AMD's marketing information about X470 and X570, you would think StoreMI was in the hardware, but is that true, or is it just free software they are bundling?

[nick name]

Just software and I'd assume it simply references that something like the CPU or chipset is present to use the free version.  

[Electronics Wizardy]

fully software. You can get the same software to work on approved intel systems. They just bundle it as a feature addon. They don't even make the code, its just rebranded Fuzedrive

[NewMaxx]

Software. Intel's RST is also software ("soft" RAID), actually, as is BIOS/UEFI RAID, Windows RAID, Storage Spaces, FuzeDrive, etc.

[sphbecker]

1 minute ago, NewMaxx said:

Software. Intel's RST is also software, actually, as is BIOS/UEFI RAID, Windows RAID, Storage Spaces, FuzeDrive, etc.

In what world do you call the RAID controller built-into a motherboard software? You could say that UEFI menus used to configure it are software, but once configured, the execution of the RAID is done in hardware and completely software agnostic.

 

Intel's RST is kind of a hybrid. There are hardware components to the solution which live in the chip-set, but other components are part of the driver, which are clearly software.

[NewMaxx]

11 minutes ago, sphbecker said:

In what world do you call the RAID controller built-into a motherboard software? You could say that UEFI menus used to configure it are software, but once configured, the execution of the RAID is done in hardware and completely software agnostic.

 

Intel's RST is kind of a hybrid. There are hardware components to the solution which live in the chip-set, but other components are part of the driver, which are clearly software.

Intel RST has a storage controller but the RAID functionality is definitely "soft." (or if you prefer, "fake" firmware RAID)

 

Intel Rapid Storage Technology - "is a 'soft' RAID"; in this context "Fake RAID": "...don't actually include a dedicated storage processor ... use your system's CPU to handle these tasks"

[NewMaxx]

To change the topic/tone and answer your original question with more depth, though: StoreMI is a software-based tiering solution based on FuzeDrive (as stated by Electronics Wizardry above). Much like Storage Spaces (Windows 10 pooling) it uses a tiering system and heatmap to determine file placement. The company behind FuzeDrive, Enmotus, is also coming out with a SLC/QLC hybrid SSD called the MiDrive.

[sphbecker]

21 hours ago, NewMaxx said:

Intel RST has a storage controller but the RAID functionality is definitely "soft." (or if you prefer, "fake" firmware RAID)

 

Intel Rapid Storage Technology - "is a 'soft' RAID"; in this context "Fake RAID": "...don't actually include a dedicated storage processor ... use your system's CPU to handle these tasks"

Okay, I see your point. On-board RAID does use the chipset and CPU for processing, so it is not a dedicated RAID controller like a server solution would have. I still take issue with calling is Software. To me software means that the OS, Driver or other installed software is handling the logic. The firmware running on the MB is technically software, but at some level, everything is software, we haven't had hardwired logic in decades, but if you want to make that claim, then those server RAID controllers are also running software. If the underling hardware is doing something without the OS' knowledge, then I don't consider that software. Take an Intel IGP for example, it isn't a "real GPU" by any stretch of the imagination, but it also isn't software rendering.

 

Thanks for the info, good chat

[NewMaxx]

Yes, it's firmware-based RAID which assists during the boot process, however this is "fake" and even Intel calls it "soft" because there's no dedicated hardware processing and therefore in performance terms is software. Hardware RAID devices actually have dedicated processing and options like PLP and caching, more configurations, etc. In any case, I would not personally use StoreMI as a boot solution regardless.