Spin-up
Encyclopedia
Spin-up refers to the process of a traditional (non-solid state
) hard disk drive accelerating its platters
from a stopped state to an operational speed. The period of time taken by the drive to perform this process is referred to as its spin-up time, the average of which is a S.M.A.R.T. attribute. The required operational speed depends on the design of the disk drive. Typical speeds of disks have been 2400, 3600, 4200, 5400, 7200, 10000 and 15000 revolutions per minute
(RPM). Achieving such speeds can require a significant portion of the available power budget of a computer system, and so application of power to the disks must be carefully controlled.
Spin-up generally occurs at the very beginning of the computer
boot
process. However, most modern computers have the ability to stop a drive while the machine is already running as a means of energy conservation
or noise reduction
. If a machine is running and requires access to a stopped drive, then a delay is incurred while the drive is spun up. It also depends on the type of mechanism used within.
A drive in the process of being spun up consumes more electricity than a drive that is already spinning at operation speeds, since more effort is required for the electric motor to accelerate the platters, as opposed to maintaining their speed.
Staggered Spin-up (SSU) and Power-Up In Standby (PUIS) are different features that can help control spin-up of multiple drives with in computer system or disk subsystem. Both are defined in the ATA Specifications Standards. See Serial ATA
for more information.
One feature, called Power-up in standby
(PUIS) is used on some Serial ATA (SATA) and Parallel ATA (sometimes called PATA or IDE) hard disk drives. PUIS requires BIOS and/or driver support to use. When power is applied to the hard disk drive, the drive will not spin-up until a PUIS Spin-Up command is issued. The computer system BIOS
or RAID controller must issue the command to tell the drive(s) to spin-up before they can be accessed. PUIS can be enabled by tools such as hdparm
for drives which support this feature.
(also called PM2) in both the hard drives and the computer's BIOS
, as this option prevents the hard drives from spinning up when receiving current, waiting for the staggered spin-up.
Another feature, called Staggered Spin-up (SSU) is used on most Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drives. This is more commonly than Power-Up In Standby (PUIS) because it does not require any special commands to get the drive to spin-up. The drive electronics waits until the SATA Data Phy (Physical I/F) to comes active to spin-up the drive. The computer system BIOS and/or RAID controller or RAID driver set can delay and control when the different drives will spin-up.
With Western Digital hard disk drives (may be true with other manufacturer drives too), Pin 11 of the SATA Power Interface controls whether Staggered Spin-Up (SSU) is enabled or not. Pin 11 is also used as an activity LED connection. When the drive is initially powered on, the drive senses whether Pin 11 is left floating (high or '1' logic state) or grounded (low or '0' logic state). SSU is disabled when Pin 11 is grounded. When disabled, the drive will spin-up as soon as power is applied to it. SSU is enabled when Pin 11 is left floating or driven high (high or '1' logic state). The drive will not spin-up until the SATA Phy Interface come active with a connection with a SATA controller or SATA RAID controller. The SATA or SATA RAID controller can control when and how many drives can be spun-up. SSU, like PUIS, are features that software/Firmware
configured by the manufacturer. Please check with the manufacturer of your disk drive if these features are supported.
Information from the Fujitsu
Serial ATA
Interface for Mobile Hard Disk Drives whitepaper :
Note that staggered spin-up of disks is a feature of many multi-drive systems using SATA
and RAID
. It is not typically used on mobile platforms.
Solid-state drive
A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...
) hard disk drive accelerating its platters
Hard disk platter
A hard-disk platter is a component of a hard-disk drive: it is the circular disk on which the magnetic data is stored. The rigid nature of the platters in a hard drive is what gives them their name . Hard drives typically have several platters which are mounted on the same spindle...
from a stopped state to an operational speed. The period of time taken by the drive to perform this process is referred to as its spin-up time, the average of which is a S.M.A.R.T. attribute. The required operational speed depends on the design of the disk drive. Typical speeds of disks have been 2400, 3600, 4200, 5400, 7200, 10000 and 15000 revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
(RPM). Achieving such speeds can require a significant portion of the available power budget of a computer system, and so application of power to the disks must be carefully controlled.
Spin-up generally occurs at the very beginning of the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
boot
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...
process. However, most modern computers have the ability to stop a drive while the machine is already running as a means of energy conservation
Energy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
or noise reduction
Quiet PC
A quiet PC is a personal computer that makes little noise. Common uses for quiet PCs include video editing, sound mixing, home servers, and home theater PCs. A typical quiet PC uses quiet cooling and storage devices and energy-efficient parts....
. If a machine is running and requires access to a stopped drive, then a delay is incurred while the drive is spun up. It also depends on the type of mechanism used within.
A drive in the process of being spun up consumes more electricity than a drive that is already spinning at operation speeds, since more effort is required for the electric motor to accelerate the platters, as opposed to maintaining their speed.
Staggered spin-up
In computers with multiple hard drives a method called staggered spin-up can be employed to prevent the excessive power-consumption of spin-up from resulting in a power shortage. Power consumption during spin-up is often the highest power draw of all of the different operating states of a hard disk drive. Staggered spin-up typically starts one drive at a time, either waiting for the drive to signal it is ready or allowing a predefined period of time to pass before starting the next drive. If the power supply is able to supply sufficient current to start multiple drives at a time, that, too, is common.Staggered Spin-up (SSU) and Power-Up In Standby (PUIS) are different features that can help control spin-up of multiple drives with in computer system or disk subsystem. Both are defined in the ATA Specifications Standards. See Serial ATA
Serial ATA
Serial ATA is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives...
for more information.
One feature, called Power-up in standby
Power-up in standby
Power-up in standby or power management 2 mode is a SATA or Parallel ATA hard disk configuration which prevents the drive from automatic spinup when power is applied. The spinup occurs later by an ATA command, only when the disk is needed, to conserve electric power.PUIS requires corresponding...
(PUIS) is used on some Serial ATA (SATA) and Parallel ATA (sometimes called PATA or IDE) hard disk drives. PUIS requires BIOS and/or driver support to use. When power is applied to the hard disk drive, the drive will not spin-up until a PUIS Spin-Up command is issued. The computer system BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
or RAID controller must issue the command to tell the drive(s) to spin-up before they can be accessed. PUIS can be enabled by tools such as hdparm
Hdparm
hdparm is a command line utility for the Linux and Windows operating systems to set and view ATA hard disk hardware parameters. It can set parameters such as drive caches, sleep mode, power management, acoustic management, and DMA settings....
for drives which support this feature.
(also called PM2) in both the hard drives and the computer's BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
, as this option prevents the hard drives from spinning up when receiving current, waiting for the staggered spin-up.
Another feature, called Staggered Spin-up (SSU) is used on most Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drives. This is more commonly than Power-Up In Standby (PUIS) because it does not require any special commands to get the drive to spin-up. The drive electronics waits until the SATA Data Phy (Physical I/F) to comes active to spin-up the drive. The computer system BIOS and/or RAID controller or RAID driver set can delay and control when the different drives will spin-up.
With Western Digital hard disk drives (may be true with other manufacturer drives too), Pin 11 of the SATA Power Interface controls whether Staggered Spin-Up (SSU) is enabled or not. Pin 11 is also used as an activity LED connection. When the drive is initially powered on, the drive senses whether Pin 11 is left floating (high or '1' logic state) or grounded (low or '0' logic state). SSU is disabled when Pin 11 is grounded. When disabled, the drive will spin-up as soon as power is applied to it. SSU is enabled when Pin 11 is left floating or driven high (high or '1' logic state). The drive will not spin-up until the SATA Phy Interface come active with a connection with a SATA controller or SATA RAID controller. The SATA or SATA RAID controller can control when and how many drives can be spun-up. SSU, like PUIS, are features that software/Firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
configured by the manufacturer. Please check with the manufacturer of your disk drive if these features are supported.
Information from the Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
Serial ATA
Serial ATA
Serial ATA is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives...
Interface for Mobile Hard Disk Drives whitepaper :
Note that staggered spin-up of disks is a feature of many multi-drive systems using SATA
Sata
Sata is a traditional dish from the Malaysian state of Terengganu, consisting of spiced fish meat wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a grill.It is a type of Malaysian fish cake, or otak-otak...
and RAID
RAID
RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
. It is not typically used on mobile platforms.