Internals and Software
Internals:
Don't let the lack of screws fool you – it is *very* difficult to get the T1 apart without destroying it in the process. The shell is sturdy yet slightly flexible, and should handle the rigors of tossing into backpacks and travel luggage without issue:
Oh wait, what's that? It sure looks like an mSATA version of the 850 EVO! The USB 3.0 to SATA bridge in use appears to be the ASMedia ASM1153E. This is a good performing bridge chip capable of handling UASP and full USB 3.0 bandwidth (5 Gbps).
Looking at the mSATA unit itself, the chip count and identifiers are consistent with the 850 EVO, though there is most likely a custom firmware to support the internally partitioned encrypted area. More on that down in the Software section below.
Given that the T1 contains what is essentially an mSATA 850 EVO, it can be removed from the housing and adapted to standard SATA with an mSATA interposer:
This would allow data to be recovered from the mSATA device in cases where the adapter hardware has failed (bridge chip dead, USB connector broken, etc). We confirmed the mSATA device *can* be unlocked and decrypted using the standard Samsung software that comes with the unit, though cycling the data connection is required to simulate the dismount / remount that occurs after entering the password to unlock the device.
Software:
The first time you plug in the T1, you are presented with this:
You get only a mostly empty and unencrypted 124MB partition which contains a small software installer for both Windows and Mac. Running the installer for the first time and on a new T1 puts you through a brief setup process which prompts you to name the device and set a password if you so desire. Here is the final confirmation:
After configuring the T1, systems with the software installed automatically pop up the password dialog upon connecting it to the system:
Once the password is entered, the T1 dismounts and reappears, this time as the encrypted volume:
The Samsung T1 software remains in the system tray while the T1 is connected to the system. There is a configuration screen available for changing settings and enabling / disabling security. These options are accessible even while the T1 is in use.
If drive security is disabled, the T1 mounts its primary volume immediately upon connection and without showing the small software partition. It basically acts as a standard external drive at that point, and can be accessed by systems that do not have the software installed. It may be wise to copy the installer over to your host system prior to disabling security, as it can only be re-enabled on a system with the T1 software installed.
Since Samsung is using a
Since Samsung is using a mSata SSD, they could have made the casing a little smaller, otherwise its a niche product and nice to see Samsung releasing external SSDs.
I’ll take a slightly larger
I'll take a slightly larger device in favor of the possibility of recovering the data myself if the USB port or other parts in the bridge PCB fail. It is still very small though.
UASP ability in windows 7, is
UASP ability in windows 7, is another question with Intel controllers? My laptop has a Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller, but who Knows. And what about the drive on a regular laptop(Both USB 2.0, 3.0) would the data rate be the same, at least for the USB 3.0? this device will save time for those system image backups, which can be later transferred to a hard drive. USB 3.1c can not come soon enough, but it’s too bad that the PCI-SIG external PICe cable standard has not seen wider adoption, I guess that would give users too much flexibility(cough, external PCI boxes, etc., at low cost). Something like Samsung’s product, with an interchangeable interface, and support for Thunderbolt, USB 3.1, etc. Linux support is another question, my Probook is getting the optional SUSE OS that is available for this series of laptops.
Intel’s USB driver adds UASP
Intel's USB driver adds UASP support under 7.
Allyn, What’s your best guess
Allyn, What’s your best guess about the next bottleneck
if Samsung offers this device with a USB 3.1 connector?
Isn’t that mSATA connector limited to 6G / 10 = 600 MBps?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147317&Tpk=N82E16820147317
cf. “Interface SATA III”
MRFS
Yes, moving to 3.1c would
Yes, moving to 3.1c would immediately shift the bottleneck to the SATA device (in this implementation), getting you only an additional ~100 MB/sec.
A different style product with a USB 3.1 to PCIe bridge could be made with an M.2 device, which could more easily saturate a 10Gbit link.
Yep im predicting 1 terabyte
Yep im predicting 1 terabyte thumb drives with M.2 ssd at close to 1 gig per sec speeds for usb 3.1 eventually.
Seems that they should make a
Seems that they should make a model that allows you to use esata (would be a little faster).
Hopefully they will come out with a new SATA standard which will allow for better throughput, and a batter esata plug. While PCI express is great, for many systems, it is far more limited when you need multiple storage drives.
I took a quick peek at
I took a quick peek at Amazon: the 850 EVO 500GB & 1TB sell for around $0.46/GB…so that’s a markup of about 30% for these new drives, and actually that’s not too bad.
Still, the need-use case for one of these is fairly specific, so forget the average consumer. And while the markup is reasonable, you’re still looking at $300 or $600 for 500GB or 1TB, respectively. I can buy a 2.5″ 1TB portable HDD for $70. In fact, I just bought a 128GB flashdrive to supplement my laptop’s 256GB and it cost me $40.
Nice review, Allyn. Please keep up the great work.
I wished they would stop
I wished they would stop using the EVO label. It’s becoming confusing. I’ve come to associate it with their lower/bottom tier stuff. This is a Pro packaged for external use. They can put in a tweak (defective or not) and say it’s EVOvled.
They should put one of these
They should put one of these inside the inadequately-sized 16GB iPhone 6 Plus.
I was wondering if you could
I was wondering if you could flash the firmware and make it work just like an EVO mSATA drive? I recently received one of these as a gift and would get better use of it by installing it in my mSATA port on my motherboard. Any help would be appreciated!
Does this work with Linux
Does this work with Linux operating system?
I have tested the T1 on
I have tested the T1 on Ubuntu 15.04. Sadly it performs closer to a standard platter based HDD with speeds of 52MB/s when doing a dd between my SDD and the T1 from the Kubuntu live CD.
It appears the drive is optimised with a tweaked exFAT format proprietory to Samsung? Hopefully the source code gets leaked/reverse-engineered and adopted soon.
I get speeds closer to 250MB/s when doing an rsync using the exFAT driver in Linux but it sucks because I bought the drive for doing disk images and 52MB/s doesn’t come close to the 450MB/s advertised.
I’ve tried tweaking the bs for dd but no luck 🙁
hi there, could you give some
hi there, could you give some advise how to open the case?
i have some difficulty and wanted to put the msata into my notebook.
cheers!
Hello Love the write UP!
Do
Hello Love the write UP!
Do you know where to get the password and can this be used as a boot drive in a laptop?