In computer data storage, Smart Response Technology is a proprietary caching mechanism introduced in 2011 by Intel for their Z68chipset, which allows a SATAsolid-state drive to function as cache for a hard disk drive. SRT is managed by Intel Rapid Storage Technologysoftware version 10.5 or later, and implemented both in its device driver and in the Z68 motherboard's firmware. It is available only when the disk controller is configured in RAID mode by implementing a style of RAID 0 striping. The user can select write-back or write-through caching strategy. The maximum utilizable cache size on the SSD is 64 GB. Caching is done at the logical block addressing level, not the file level. Shortly before the announcement of the new chipset, Intel also introduced the Intel 311, a 20 GB single-level cell solid-state drive, which it markets as suitable for caching. , TRIMgarbage collection is not supported for SRT caching devices, so the SSD's performance is solely maintained by its own firmware. With the release of Ivy Bridge chipsets, support for SRT was provided in a larger variety of desktop chipsets, including Z77, Q77 and H77 as long as an "Intel Core Processor" is used. The situation is similar for Haswell desktop chipsets, with Z87, Q87 and H87 listed as supported. The Ivy Bridge-E chipset X79 did not officially support SRT at launch, but some companies like ASRock added support to their boards via BIOS updates. The arrival of Ivy Bridge also saw SRT support added to mobile chipsets: QS77, QM77, UM77 and HM77 support SRT, while HM76 does not. In 2012, Intel also introduced the 313 caching SSD series, advertised as also suitable for use in Ultrabooks. , SRT was limited to using at most 64 GB for caching, meaning that on larger SSDs the rest remains unused by the cache. The chipset exposes any excess storage space as a separate independent disk, which can be used for other purposes. In 2014, Intel has updated the SRT supported chipset list, to include the as well.
