Market Segments
Since the introduction of the first PC, data storage has been playing
a critical role in enabling significant changes in the computer,
communications and consumer electronics industries:
Computers: The transition from batch
processing, timesharing and client/server computing to pervasive
computing, as well as the proliferation of mobile and embedded computing;
Communications: The exponential proliferation
of the Internet and the development of new storage subsystems and
architectures;
Consumer electronics: The growing need
for increased amounts of locally stored data.
In addition to the constantly increasing need for higher storage
capacity, the storage industry is confronted now with the need to
provide products that allow data to be accessed instantaneously
from as many locations as possible. The need for increased transfer
bandwidth impacts the storage industry as well. Further, storage
needs arise from the pervasiveness of mobile computing and mobile
communications: high ruggedness, resistance to tough environmental
conditions and high reliability.
The reliability requirements are pushed even higher by developments
in the area of network storage and network storage architectures.
It is paramount for storage service providers (SSPs) to guarantee
that data accessed over networks never get lost and always becomes
accessible uncorrupted and in a timely manner.
The high performance levels of SSDs allow them to replace or complement
mechanical disk drives in computer, communications and consumer
electronics equipment, improving performance or work conditions
further. In addition, SSDs have become the storage solution of choice
in avionics, industrial, medical and military equipment that require
superior reliability levels and where adverse mechanical and environmental
conditions are present.
Core Applications
The industry continued to evolve. Today, with high-end Flash-SSD
technology improving several folds, Flash-SSDs now offer performance
comparable to that of DRAM-SSDs, while their inherent non-volatility
allows them to be more compact, have higher capacities, consume
considerably less power, and generate less heat than DRAM-SSDs.
Most Flash-SSDs now have the same 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDD form
factors, allowing them to become literally drop-in, "plug-and-play"
replacements for HDDs and be system and controller agnostic.
In terms of applications, Flash-SSDs offer significantly shorter
access time to stored information - similar to DRAM-SSDs - and are
considerably faster than other conventional storage, acting as performance
boosters for a wide array of applications covering a multitude of
industries. The main benefits are much faster I/O operations and
higher data transfer rates, primarily in random access environments.
Some of the fastest performing Flash-SSDs may be used to improve
the transfer performance of Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Network
Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Network (SAN) architectures
by acting as cache disk, complementing or even replacing installed
HDDs.
In examining the applicability of Flash-SSDs for any architecture,
it is helpful to review ways that SSDs are currently being used
in a number of large industries.
Telecommunications Applications
Telecommunications applications such as routers and switches employ
the DAS architecture and generally require storage devices that
can handle a fairly large number of transactions per second in remote
and sometimes hostile environments. Routers used in Wide Area Networking
(WAN) applications have historically used a small form factor Flash-SSD
as the boot device and for back up of routing tables. There is a
compelling desire for even more reliable, denser and higher performing
Flash-SSDs to achieve High Availability Level (HAL) targets and
further reduce fail over time (time to recover from failure) in
some of the more advanced optical switches used in Metropolitan
Area Networks (MAN). High data access rates are critical to achieving
minimized fail over time for large software operating systems used
in telecommunication equipment. Typically the installations require
a HAL of 5 with less than 5 minutes of downtime per year (99.999%
reliable) and less than 30 seconds fail over time.
ISP, ASP and E-commerce Applications
ISP, ASP, E-commerce, and networking applications typically employ
the SAN or NAS architecture and generally require storage solutions
to handle a significant number of transactions per second. Flash-SSD
is normally used as a read/write cache to significantly improve
user response time, in addition to RAID systems as well as being
a storage component of the RAID system. User response time rises
almost logarithmically with the increased operations per second
of the computer server being used. Flash-SSD also provides enhanced
performance to users when used for "hot files", database
indexes, journals and logs. A high performance Flash-SSD front end
to SAN or NAS terabyte installation can be used to provide the service
that these applications typically require. Rather than buying additional
servers to improve the transactions per second, an SSD is all that
is needed; a storage solution with the smallest total cost of ownership.
With Flash-SSD technology improving several folds, it now offers
performance comparable to that of DRAM-SSDs and has the added advantage
of being non-volatile. As mentioned earlier, Flash-SSD does not
require a backup battery or an HDD to save the data in the event
of a power outage. This inherent non-volatility allows Flash-SSDs
to be more compact, have higher capacities and consume considerably
less power than that of DRAM-SSDs. Also, most Flash-SSDs now have
the same form factors as standard HDDs where it can fit into an
existing system without occupying additional floor space, as the
oversized DRAM SSD solutions do. This makes Flash-SSD a very good
choice as a front end to SAN and NAS terabyte installations that
will provide the service that applications typically require.
Financial and OLTP Applications
Financial and on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications
not only have the requirements as mentioned above but also have
a significant cost associated with any system downtime. Again, these
applications typically employ the SAN or NAS architecture. SSD is
used as a read/write cache to significantly improve user response
time, in addition to RAID systems as well as being a storage component
of the RAID system. Banking services, financial services, stock
exchange, reservation systems, health systems, as examples, all
require a HAL of 5. Although the files transported are rather small
(2KB of data or text), these databases are huge and growing continuously
in size. Therefore, reliability, high IOPS, and scalability are
key requirements for these applications. Flash-SSD meets all the
criteria imposed by these applications and can very well be an integral
part of any such storage solution.
Medical Applications
Medical applications typically employ the DAS architecture or RAID
configurations as such applications have great demands on the performance
of its systems, to carry out critical operations to save lives.
Medical systems for magnetic resonance imaging, electro-surgical
equipments, prenatal monitoring and medical-therapy require great
reliability and performance. High-end Flash-SSDs offer the ideal
robust storage solution that easily meets the high-speed data I/O
requirements of embedded image processing systems, resulting in
faster and more accurate diagnosis. Moreover, some Flash-SSDs also
feature additional security and data protection technology, which
help maintain the quality and integrity of medical information.
Aerospace, Industrial, Government and Military Applications
Aerospace, industrial, government, and military applications typically
use the DAS architecture and require a small form factor, ruggedness,
significant reliability and performance standards, and the ability
to withstand hostile environments in field deployments. Many applications
require a HAL of 5 or 6, with downtime of less than 30 seconds per
year and less than 10 seconds fail over time. Flash-SSDs are currently
the only viable product available to these applications.
Some examples of these applications are: air transports such as
airplanes, weather balloons, NASA spacecraft, missiles; water transports
such as ships, amphibious vehicles; submarines; land transports
such as trains, trucks, tanks; arms such as hand held rocket launchers;
military portable computers; industrial equipment such as oil pipeline
monitors, automobile factory robotics, computers for remote areas,
computers for secured government facilities such as embassies. In
addition to having higher performance, the desired small form factor,
reliability, and ruggedness, some Flash-SSDs may also offer additional
security and data protection features required by these applications.
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | NEXT |
