A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of storage device used in computers that stores data using flash-based memory, which is much faster than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) . SSDs are smaller and lighter than HDDs, making them more flexible for computer manufacturers. They are also noiseless and more resistant to physical shock than HDDs. SSDs work by reading and writing data to underlying interconnected flash memory chips made out of silicon. Unlike HDDs, SSDs do not have moving parts, which makes them faster and more reliable. SSDs are used anywhere that HDDs can be deployed, including personal computers, laptops, computer games, digital cameras, digital music players, smartphones, tablets, and thumb drives. Some key features of SSDs include:

• Capacity: SSDs are available in all sorts of storage capacity, starting at around 120 GB and ranging up to 30 TB in the consumer space.

• Form factor: SSDs often follow the same form factors as HDDs (2.5-inch or 1.8-inch) or are bare PCBs (M.2 and mSATA) .

• Types: Types of SSDs include solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs), which use a hybrid of spinning disks and flash memory, and enterprise SSDs, which are suitable for offloading reads from transaction-heavy databases or alleviating boot storms with virtual desktop infrastructure.

While SSDs are faster and more reliable than HDDs, they are also more expensive. However, high-performance servers, laptops, desktops, or any application that needs to deliver information in real-time can benefit from solid-state drive technology.