What is Over-Provisioning?

Over-Provisioning (OP) is a firmware optimization technology that allocates a certain portion of solid-state drive (SSD) capacity to the controller as cache. This allows the SSD to perform Garbage Collection (GC) more efficiently, helping maintain performance and increasing the SSD’s endurance and lifespan.

Advantages of Over-Provisioning

Transcend offers Over-Provisioning as a customization service, tailoring the percentage of allocation to the needs of its customers. Transcend recommends allocating at least 7 percent of disk space to Over-Provisioning. An Over-Provisioning ratio of this size contributes to both higher 4K random performance and doubled device lifetime compared to no Over-Provisioning. It also lowers the Write Amplification Factor (WAF), an indicator that is in inverse relation to SSD lifespan, while not significantly decreasing space available to the user.

To enterprises and embedded clients, the reliability and endurance rating of an SSD may be of higher importance than the cost per unit of space. That is why, although assigning a portion of the total disk space to the controller results in less virtual accessible capacity, the benefits of Over-Provisioning overall outweigh the drawbacks.

Available for all Transcend SSDs

Transcend has long offered Over-Provisioning as a service to customers requiring constant write performance for SSDs used in server applications. Devices utilizing this technology provide sustained 4K random read and write speeds and greater reliability. Over-Provisioning boosts SSD endurance and extends the service life of a flash drive.