Intel Memory and Storage Tool Features and Pricing

Intel Memory and Storage Tool (Intel MAS) is an easy-to-use memory and storage efficiency analysis tool that performs a detailed characterization of your system’s memory and SSD to generate a comprehensive set of performance recommendations. The Intel MAS is used to test and report memory and storage performance on the go. With the Intel memory and storage tool, you can quickly determine how much memory or hard disk space is available, identify potentially costly performance issues, maximize your system’s speed, and more. 

Description

The Intel Memory and Storage Tool is a drive management software, it is available in two interfaces, the graphical user interface (GUI) for Windows operating system users and command-line interface (CLI) for Linux operating system users to manage their Intel SSDs and Intel Optane memory devices. The GUI is made up of a single window that displays drive details, SMART attributes, firmware updates, and run diagnostics scans. 

System Requirements

In order to use the Intel MAS Tool, you’ll need x86/x64 processor-based systems.

Supported operating systems

• Microsoft Windows Server 2019 x64
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016 x64
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012R2 x64
• Windows Server 2008 SP2 / R2

• Microsoft Windows 10 x32/x64
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 x32/x64
• Microsoft Windows 8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.4,7.5, 7.6, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
• SLES 11.3, 11.4, 12, 15
• ESXi 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0.1, 7.0.2
• Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, 20.04
• CentOS 7.2.1511 (Kernel 3.10.0), 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
• Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0. 

Available Space

• At least 350 megabytes (MB) of available space.

Features

Drive Summary: 

All of your connected drives or storage devices that are detected by the Intel Memory and Storage Tool are displayed here. In addition to providing information about drives such as their serial number, protocol, model, etc., it also indicates the drive’s health, temperature, model, serial number, drive partition, and firmware status.

Drive Details: 

This shows in-depth detail about the Intel drive and also the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) details. The information in the drive detail section is categorized by word, bit, description, and value.

Diagnostic Scan: 

Diagnostics checks for problems with a selected drive or storage device. This feature offers two types of scans that can be performed: quick scans and full scans. The former takes a few seconds, depending on the system and SSD type and no data is lost in the process, while the latter can take more than a few seconds, depending on how much data needs to be scanned for errors. 

Firmware Update:

Notifies the user of the status of the current firmware version as well as allows the user to check for new firmware updates. It’s recommended that you update your firmware when new updates become available and backup your data before updating your firmware to avoid loss of important data.

Secure Erase:

Permanently erase data from selected Intel SSD. You may wish to completely erase sensitive data from an SSD prior to selling it or giving it away.  

SSD Optimizer: 

Increase endurance and performance while helping to maintain reliable operation using TRIM support, which helps maintain read/write performance over time. 

Performance Booster:

The Intel performance utility will clear the internal cache and boost the SSD performance

Support

Only Intel SSDs are supported, non Intel SSDs are not supported.

Use Cases

The Intel MAS provides comprehensive information about Intel SSD drives and Intel Optane memory devices. Users can use this tool to manage/update firmware for PCIe/NVMe- and SATA-based Client and Datacenter Intel SSD drives, troubleshoot, and optimize drives performance.

Delivery

The tool is available as downloadable software. You can download the Intel Memory and Storage Tool (GUI) here or the Intel Memory and Storage Tool (CLI) here. 

Pricing/License

The Intel MAS tool is free.

Intel Memory and Storage Tool Summary

The Intel Memory and Storage Tool version 1.10 is more robust than the previous updates, and it is easy to use. The interface is very simple, which means it is easy to navigate. It provides users with SATA or PCIe/NVMe Intel SSD an easy way to manage their drives. The MAS tool is recommended for people using Intel SSD that want to be certain that their SSD and Optane Memory device are working efficiently.