Flash memory and storage
Top Stories
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Feature
22 Mar 2023
Understand how the CXL SSD can aid performance
Although CXL SSDs are only in the research phase, their performance shows promise. When used as simple memory extensions, they should improve programs that manage large data sets. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Mar 2023
How SSD data reduction can help enterprises
Data reduction techniques have been difficult to achieve on SSDs, but vendors appear to be making progress. The more effective the data reduction, the more affordable SSDs become. Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2017
E8 Storage scales higher with new HGST NVMe SSDs
E8 qualifies HGST SN200 6.4 TB PCIe drives for D24 NVMe all-flash system. The 2U enclosure houses 24 SSDs and scales to 140 TB of usable capacity. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Apr 2017
The status of NAND flash memory now and in the near future
Flash memory chips have driven a revolution in storage, and faced a recent shortage because of huge demand. That's easing, and advances in NAND technology show a great future. Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2017
Awaiting NVMe flash surge, Pure Storage preps FlashArray//X
Pure FlashArray//X NVMe flash array will be generally available starting in July. It packs 1.1 PB of raw storage in 3U, and 15 PB in a standard 42U rack. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Apr 2017
The present and likely future of the NVMe protocol
The NVMe and PCIe combination of protocol and interconnect was an inevitable development once solid-state drives were created, as was moving NVMe to fabrics. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2017
Flash, hybrid RealStor added to Seagate storage arrays
Hybrid and all-flash Seagate RealStor arrays are sold to original equipment makers to build branded storage systems. The all-flash pricing is pegged at less than $50,000. Continue Reading
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News
03 Apr 2017
Dell EMC XtremIO adds speed to Red Sox IT lineup
A Dell EMC all-flash array knocks a home run for the Boston Red Sox organization, improving management and analytics of ever accumulating data, and speeding performance. Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2017
Entry-level Brocade FC switch enables NVMe flash fabric
New Brocade SAN switch turns Fibre Channel into NVMe fabric for all-flash storage. The G610 device is targeted at converged infrastructure, small SANs and rack-based flash servers. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Mar 2017
Reduxio Systems snares venture funds, moves closer to IPO
Storage startup Reduxio Systems has bulked up its venture capital, a stepping stone to a potential IPO. On Monday, the hybrid flash vendor nabbed $22.5 million in Series C financing from private ... Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2017
Intel Optane SSD starts shipping to select customers
New Intel Optane SSDs based on long-awaited 3D XPoint technology ship to early customers, promising up to eight times the performance over NAND flash-based NVMe PCIe SSDs. Continue Reading
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News
20 Mar 2017
HPE 3PAR all-flash target allows persistent containers
HPE 3PAR flash container reference architecture bundles Mesosphere orchestration software with ProLiant blades, 10 GB SAN FlexFabric and StoreServ 8200 arrays. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Mar 2017
Five factors to consider before buying all-flash storage arrays
Before purchasing all-flash array storage, you should determine whether your site plans to integrate AFA storage into its existing infrastructure or to start a new storage silo. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Mar 2017
Enterprise HDDs launch from Seagate, Toshiba
Flash may dominate the storage headlines, but there are still signs of life with HDDs. Seagate showed off 12 TB helium-based enterprise HDDs at last week's Open Compute Project Summit in Santa ... Continue Reading
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News
10 Mar 2017
Startup Excelero shares server-based NVMe flash
Excelero's NVMesh Server SAN is generally available after two years of proofs of concept by hyperscale data centers. The product builds SAN capacity from server-based NVMe flash. Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2017
DSSD D5 flash appliance sales cease, Dell EMC says
The DSSD D5 for PowerEdge servers from Dell EMC was the first product from the merged vendors. DSSD instead will be used to accelerate existing and new all-flash systems. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Mar 2017
Building a business case for all-flash array storage
To make a business case for purchasing AFA storage, you must first understand what your applications need in terms of IOPS, latency and throughput. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Mar 2017
HPE’s Nimble Storage acquisition expands its struggling portfolio
Hewlett Packard Enterprise today made its second major storage acquisition of 2017, spending $1.2 billion on all-flash and hybrid array vendor Nimble Storage. The Nimble Storage acquisition comes ... Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2017
Riverbed SteelFusion edge devices embrace NFS
Riverbed adds NAS support to SteelFusion to broaden the reach of the remote office storage appliance, which already supports SAN and object storage. Continue Reading
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E-Zine
03 Mar 2017
The state of flash storage performance
All-flash arrays have virtually eliminated flash storage performance issues, for now. But applications and user expectations will eventually catch up. Innovations in flash technology -- such as nonvolatile memory express and storage-class memory (flash DIMM) -- promise to keep solid-state storage ahead of the curve, however. We discuss these technologies and more as we explore the current and future states of flash storage performance.
DevOps allows developers to rapidly create, develop, amend and deploy applications using Agile methodologies. DevOps resources, including storage, are consumed differently, though, taking more of a cloud-like approach.
Security and compliance concerns are big obstacles to public cloud storage adoption. Reliability, data movement and poor application performance, frequently from irregular spikes in network latency, are other important caveats. We provide tips on how to overcome these and other issues.
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Feature
03 Mar 2017
The state of flash storage systems
Making flash storage performance even faster has little to do with the media itself and more to do with the storage infrastructure that surrounds it. Continue Reading
- 03 Mar 2017
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Feature
22 Feb 2017
AFA storage has total cost of ownership advantages over HDDs
All-flash array storage TCO advantages, including reduced power and cooling and increased performance, can help an organization justify its use to store their active workloads. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Feb 2017
AFA storage advances may mean the end of the hybrid market
Flash price drops and speed boosts make the all-flash array the smart choice over hybrid storage arrays for most enterprise users, not just those with high-performance computing needs. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Feb 2017
Tegile Systems IntelliFlash HD
Tegile Systems IntelliFlash HD intended to appeal to medium and large enterprises looking to consolidate multiple workloads on a single all-flash array. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Feb 2017
Nimble Storage All Flash Arrays (AF-Series)
Nimble's first all-flash array family scales from 20 TB to petabyte and 8.2 PB of usable storage and 1.2 million IOPS per four-node cluster. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Feb 2017
Hitachi Data Systems Virtual Storage Platform VSP F800
Modular rack-mounted Hitachi Data Systems VSP F800 runs the vendor's SVOS operating system software and is equipped with custom-designed flash storage modules. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Feb 2017
Nimble Storage Adaptive Flash Arrays (CS-Series)
Nimble Storage jumped on the all-flash bandwagon in 2016, but didn't forget its disk fans by upgrading its CS-Series mixing flash and hard disk drives. Continue Reading
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News
08 Feb 2017
Kaminario K2 array boosts performance, capacity
New Kaminario all-flash array features higher performance and capacity, improves data reduction guarantee to 4:1 and offers faster storage networking options. Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2017
NetApp AFF A700s flash array slims down A700 footprint
NetApp launches small-footprint A700s version of its high-end All Flash FAS A700 with built-in SSDs, updates all-flash capacity guarantee for A-Series flash storage line. Continue Reading
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News
26 Jan 2017
Dense Pure Storage FlashBlade storage zeroes in on web-scale analytics
FlashBlade system-on-a-chip from Pure Storage converges compute, flash storage and software-defined networking. The arrays use custom flash modules instead of solid-state drives. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2017
Enterprise flash storage to speed up in 2017
CTOs at leading storage vendors predict speed and latency breakthroughs with new NVMe-based enterprise flash and upcoming memory technologies in 2017 and beyond. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jan 2017
IBM DS8880 arrays adopt PCIe 3 in all-flash versions
The expansion of the IBM DS8880 hardware line introduces all-flash models designed around the vendor's High-Performance Flash Enclosure Gen2 to support PCIe 3.0, but not yet NVMe. Continue Reading
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Opinion
09 Jan 2017
All-flash array market advances outpace demand, create opportunities
Scott Sinclair says high-density, high-capacity all-flash storage arrays are a disruptive technology ahead of customer demand for now, but businesses will realize they need it. Continue Reading
- 09 Jan 2017
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News
06 Jan 2017
All-flash storage system 2016 Products of the Year finalists
Our seven all-flash storage system 2016 finalists include products from flash-only vendors, as well as vendors that offer all-flash versions of existing hybrid arrays. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Nov 2016
How eMMC 5.0 can improve your organization's small storage needs
The latest eMMC specification puts the tiny flash storage devices on a level playing field with many SSDs when it comes to speed -- but eMMC is still the smallest flash drive. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Nov 2016
Differences between SSD caching and tiering technologies
Brien Posey looks at popular ways of using SSD as cache, including write-around, write-through and write-back, as well as how the technology compares with SSD tiering. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
25 Oct 2016
HPE launches new XP7 based on Hitachi technology
Hewlett Packard Enterprise launched its high-end enterprise storage array upgade today at the same time as Hitachi Data Systems. The HPE XP7 and HDS Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) use the same ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
30 Sep 2016
Dell EMC to 'stay the course' with flash storage portfolio
Dell EMC plans to “stay the course” with its flash storage portfolio despite overlapping products at the midrange and low end, an executive at the newly combined company confirmed. Daniel Cobb, a ... Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Sep 2016
Flash storage caching boosts application performance, requires balance
Chris Evans discusses the benefits to caching flash storage, the trade-offs involved and flash cache models, as well as a handy cheat sheet. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
24 Aug 2016
Nimble says customers quick to embrace all-flash
Nimble Storage, which was relatively late selling all-flash arrays, is trying to make up for lost time since launching its Predictive Flash platform in February. The vendor received a jolt from ... Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2016
IBM flash storage expands with midrange all-flash products
IBM's all-flash portfolio grows, with a new midrange and entry-level option, and the vendor adds a migration program aimed at EMC-Dell customers. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jul 2016
Almost time for SSD flash storage to be used with object storage
As the price of flash SSD storage continues to fall, it becomes more attractive for object storage, which otherwise counts on big, slow and cheap HDDs. Continue Reading
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Opinion
06 Jul 2016
NAND flash technology is just the beginning
NAND flash adoption has been as fast as the speed it offers, but faster storage techs such as 3D XPoint and phase-change memory are on their way. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
28 Jun 2016
How to measure flash storage's true value
Flash storage, or using the broader term, solid-state storage, suffers from an inadequate measure of value. Flash storage provides a step-function improvement in the ability to store and retrieve ... Continue Reading
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Answer
12 Apr 2016
How can you increase SSD lifespan and keep performance?
Solid-state drives offer high performance, but their cost remains prohibitive. Here are some ways to prolong your SSD lifecycle while maintaining performance. Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2016
Propane provider gives SAN the gas with Violin flash array
Ferrellgas' switch from a hybrid array to a Violin flash storage array brought a boost in performance as well as surprising reductions in cost and management. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
15 Mar 2016
HPE turns 3PAR array from all-flash to hybrid
For years we’ve seen storage vendors take systems designed for hard disk drives (HDDs) and add solid-state drives (SSDs) to them. Now Hewlett Packard Enterprise is taking hardware that ran all SSDs ... Continue Reading
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News
14 Mar 2016
Pure FlashBlade tackles scale-out unstructured data
Pure Storage launches a blade-based, scale-out unstructured data all-flash system that handles NAS and object storage. The vendor also brings out an entry-level version of its SAN flash array. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
03 Mar 2016
Pure Storage accelerates flash revenue
Pure Storage is looking at more competition and more opportunity than ever, and handling both well. The all-flash vendor bucked industry trends by growing revenue significantly last quarter despite ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
08 Dec 2015
Tintri adds entry-level all-flash, teases analytics
Virtual machine-storage specialist Tintri rounded out its all-flash product line today with an entry level version priced at $125,000 for 5.34 TB of raw capacity. The VMstore T5040 is the third ... Continue Reading
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Answer
20 Nov 2015
Will most 3D NAND flash products continue to feature TLC?
Vendors are using TLC flash in their 3D NAND flash products, which allows for greater capacity at a lower cost, according to Brien Posey. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Oct 2015
Server-side caching has new data center role
Some server-side caching products have evolved into complete software-defined storage platforms that can aggregate flash across multiple servers. Continue Reading
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News
30 Sep 2015
Utility watchdog deploys all-flash SolidFire storage array
California Public Utilities Commission was stuck at about 80% server virtualization before adding all-flash SolidFire storage to remove latency problems. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Aug 2015
EMC XtremIO storage array
The XtremIO storage array from EMC is an all-flash system that offers scalability and high performance. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jun 2015
Examine your computing environment before you buy flash storage
The decision to buy flash storage can overcome many performance issues, but other areas of your computing environment could be contributing factors. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 May 2015
Will memristor technology replace NAND flash?
Brien Posey says that with HP working on a memristor-based computer it plans to launch by 2020, the technology could eventually succeed NAND flash. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2015
New Dell storage array, software-defined options added
Dell Storage ships new entry-level SCv2000 arrays, ups performance and density in PS6610 and adds a new Microsoft-based software-defined storage option. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Apr 2015
SanDisk sees PCIe flash take a dive
SanDisk became the PCIe flash market leader with its 2014 acquisition of server-side flash pioneer Fusion-io. Less than a year later, there is a lot less to that market and that is having a ... Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Mar 2015
Four tips to maximize the lifespan of your flash memory storage
The lifespan of flash memory storage is not the hot-button issue it once was, but you should perform these tasks to prolong the life of your drives. Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2015
SanDisk InfiniFlash launches company's all-flash platform
SanDisk launched the InfiniFlash all-flash platform this week. The system is said to deliver flash storage for less than $2 per GB before data reduction. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Jan 2015
How does RDMA work and why is it advantageous with flash?
Remote Direct Memory Access is a good way to reduce latency in flash environments and works with InfiniBand and some Ethernet connections. Continue Reading
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Answer
26 Jan 2015
What's the difference between 'usable' and 'effective' flash capacity?
Vendors often publish numbers for 'usable' capacity versus 'effective' capacity. Can you explain this and how can you plan flash capacity needs with these numbers in mind? Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Jan 2015
What you should know about using flash to complement DRAM
George Crump discusses emerging technology that enables using flash as memory, why it matters and its applicable use cases. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
20 Jan 2015
EMC gives ViPR flash-related upgrade
EMC last week quietly upgraded its ViPR software-defined storage and ScaleIO hyper-convergence software, broadening support for platforms and emerging technologies. One of the selling points of ... Continue Reading
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Guide
28 Oct 2014
Essential guide to desktop and laptop solid-state drives
Essential guide to laptop and desktop SSDs Continue Reading
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Answer
28 Aug 2014
What is the relationship between cache technology, CPU and RAM?
As flash memory caching is on its way in because of its cost and non-volatile nature, RAM may be on its way out the door, says analyst Jon Toigo. Continue Reading
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Answer
26 Aug 2014
What should I consider when using SSD cloud?
Using solid-state in the cloud can boost performance, but first be sure you look past cost per gigabyte and are aware of any constraints from providers. Continue Reading
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Answer
16 Jul 2014
NVDIMM vs. memory channel flash storage
Marc Staimer of Dragon Slayer Consulting compares NVDIMM and memory channel flash, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each. Continue Reading
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Answer
16 Jul 2014
Memory channel flash storage vs. PCIe flash storage
Marc Staimer compares memory channel flash storage with PCIe connected flash and offers insight on the advantages and disadvantages of each. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Jul 2014
What you need to know about flash caching
Using solid-state storage as cache can boost server and application performance dramatically, but the kind of flash cache you choose is critical. Continue Reading
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Answer
21 Feb 2014
Pros and cons of file- and block-based flash caching
George Crump of Storage Switzerland discusses pros and cons of file and block flash caching and how they can be implemented in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 Jan 2014
Comparing performance and cost of DRAM vs. NAND
George Crump of Storage Switzerland compares the performance and cost of DRAM to NAND flash in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Podcast
30 Jan 2014
How NAND flash degrades and what vendors do to increase SSD endurance
Storage Switzerland senior analyst Eric Slack digs into the technical aspects of SSD cell degradation and how vendors are increasing SSD endurance. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Jan 2014
How DRAM or NVRAM cache can reduce flash SSD write amplification
DRAM/NVRAM caching provides SSD systems with better performance while reducing flash SSD write amplification. Continue Reading
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Answer
16 Jan 2014
Comparing write-through, write-back and write-around caching
George Crump of Storage Switzerland compares three common types of caching -- write-through, write-back and write-around -- in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Answer
18 Oct 2013
Comparing DIMM-connected flash vs. PCIe flash benefits
Leah Schoeb of Evaluator Group discusses DIMM-connected flash as compared with PCIe flash benefits in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Answer
15 Oct 2013
The variety of enterprise SSD options available today
Leah Schoeb of Evaluator Group discusses the variety of enterprise SSD options available today in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2013
Micron adds RPMC support to NOR flash devices for improved security
Micron announced its Replay-Protection Monotonic Counter (RPMC) feature is now available for its serial NOR flash memory devices. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Aug 2013
Fact or fiction? Flash SSD storage is faster than HDD storage
The general perception of SSD storage is that it's always faster than HDD storage. Marc Staimer examines whether that's actually true. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jul 2013
Problems with using SSDs for write caching and how to avoid them
Marc Staimer looks at using SSDs for write caching and explains why most storage SSD caching is write-through and not write-back. Continue Reading
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Answer
10 Jul 2013
Why is persistent cache important?
Leah Schoeb, partner with Evaluator Group, discusses the importance of persistent cache in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jul 2013
Best practices for SSD technologies
No longer a luxury item for well-heeled data centers, SSD technologies are more affordable than ever and come in a variety of form factors with a choice of deployment options. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Jul 2013
How cloud providers are using NAND flash technology today
Leah Schoeb, senior partner with Evaluator Group, discusses how cloud providers are using flash today in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 May 2013
How to align laptop flash drive partitions in Windows
Marc Staimer outlines how to ensure that your laptop flash drive partitions are aligned properly in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading
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Opinion
03 May 2013
MRAM technology likely choice as post-flash solid-state storage
NAND flash-based storage is becoming a common alternative, but NAND flash could soon be replaced by newer forms of non-volatile memory like MRAM technology. Continue Reading
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Answer
01 May 2013
Manufacturing NAND flash chips
NAND flash chips are made in fabrication plants known as fabs. Market oversupply or undersupply can cause manufacturers to alter production plans. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Oct 2012
Comparing SLC SSD with DRAM SSD when it comes to IOPS
Find out how DRAM SSD and SLC SSD compare when it comes to IOPS and if you need a DRAM solution in this Expert Response from Marc Staimer. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 May 2012
Define SSD: Top terms you need to know
How do you define SSD? Check out this list of important SSD terms. The list includes terms you should know and some that may seem obscure. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Mar 2012
RAID with SSD: A primer
While RAID is still a storage standard, questions remain about RAID’s relevance with SSDs. This tip will explore the basics of using RAID with SSD. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Apr 2011
The impact of SSD technology on the network and CPU
SSD technology can have a noticeable effect on the network and CPU utilization. Learn how increased traffic loads can change the bottlenecks in your environment. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Jan 2011
Is PCIe SSD right for you? Deploying PCI Express SSD devices
Learn about the PCI Express (PCIe) solid-state drive (SSD) market, how and where to deploy PCIe SSD in your environment, and challenges with the technology. Continue Reading
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Quiz
25 Jun 2008
Solid-state drives quiz
While solid-state disk (SSD) devices offer faster speeds and consume less power than hard disks, the high price of solid-state memory has kept the devices confined to limited use in the data center. Storage professionals are now seeing more situations where the advantages of SSDs outweigh their cost. But how much do you really know about these high-speed storage devices? Continue Reading