topic Re: How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted? in Intel® Optane™ Memory

How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted?

rrtqa — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 11:51:46 GMT

Let's assume that Optane memory is accelerating the HDD, and let's look at these two use cases:

Case 1. The user has tweaked Firefox to disable any HDD storage of web data (cookies, cache, etc..), so all of the browsing data is stored in RAM, and is expected to be cleared without a trace after Firefox is closed. What will happen on a computer that uses Optane for acceleration? Is there a theoretical chance that any of that browsing data will get cached by Optane?

Case 2. The user has Linux running on Virtual Box, with Windows as the host OS. Is there a theoretical chance that any data from Linux will get cached by Optane for acceleration purposes?

Simple ,"yes" or "no" answers will be appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

Re: How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted?

DiegoV_Intel — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 03:42:23 GMT

Hi rrtqa,

Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.

In order to follow your request of simple answers, the answer to your two use cases is basically “No”.

Developing a little more the reason, the Intel® Optane™ Memory will be paired with your HDD in order to accelerate it, however once the module is concatenated with the HDD, every setting and configuration that you have in the system will behave in the same way. The module will contain data to accelerate applications including the OS, but data or settings like in the Case 1 are not going to be saved in the module because you are configuring it to not save any data in the HDD.

In the Case 2 on the other hand, the module will not save any data about the virtual machine because this data is saved in the HDD and is not related to any application. What I mean is that in this case, the application used is Virtual Box, and it may be possible that files to accelerate the launch of the application itself (Virtual Box) are saved in the module, but no other details like the virtual machines that you have are going to be saved in the module.

The module will save data and files used to accelerate the applications you use frequently, like the OS or a web browser, but these files are the files used to start and launch the applications, not files that contains data like web browser cookies or virtual machines. This data is still saved in the HDD and you can delete this data whenever you want as if you were not using the module at all.

I hope this information clarifies your inquiry about the module.

If there is anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

Re: How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted?

DiegoV_Intel — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 02:02:27 GMT

Hi rrtqa,

I'm wondering if there is anything else I can help you with, or if the information above answered your concern about the module.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

Re: How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted?

rrtqa — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 12:52:29 GMT

The answer is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, Diego!

Re: How secure is Optane? Does it cache data that the user would prefer to be deleted?

DiegoV_Intel — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 01:30:02 GMT

Hi rrtqa,

That's great!

If you ever have another concern, please feel free to open a new thread. We'll try to help you in any way we can.

Regards,

Diego V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation