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All-flash storage systems are getting both faster and less expensive, if “cheaper” isn’t exactly the right adjective.
Violin Memory, a pioneer of all-flash storage for primary workloads, on Dec. 2 added two new arrays to its frontline set of new-gen storage machines that fit both of these descriptions.
The additions of the FSP 7600 and the FSP 7250 are aimed at solving the inherent difficulties that come up in workloads around diverse types of content and varying storage requirements.
The FSP 7600 is a high-density array designed for performance and to address the high-end needs of the all-flash array market, mainly for heavyweight computing and extremely fast data movement. In contrast, the FSP 7250 isn’t as fast but is optimized with always-on data reduction to provide an entry-level cost point below $100,000 for an all-flash storage system.
All-flash systems generally range anywhere from $200,000 to $1 million and higher, depending upon how many arrays fill the racks. NAND flash media prices have been going down steadily for about five years, helping to bring these higher-end systems into closer price alignment with new conventional spinning disk arrays.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Violin claims the FSP 7600 features extremely low latency and high I/O density and can provide a whopping 140TB of raw flash in three-rack units. The FSP 7600 has been benchmarked to provide 1.1 million IOPS with under 500-microsecond latency — reducing latency by half, as compared to conventional flash arrays.
The difference, Violin told eWEEK, is in both the leaner code and the proprietary architecture that the company’s engineers provide.
This allows customers to consolidate mixed and multiple workloads in the smallest data center footprint available, Violin said. With the FSP 7250 as a “starter” array, users can transition to flash with a lower entry price with the flexibility to scale in performance or capacity as their data center needs grow, the company said.
The FSP 7600 is available with between 35TB and 140TB of capacity; the FSP 7250 is available with a starting capacity as low as 8TB.
Both the FSP 7250 and the FSP 7600 will be available this month. For pricing and more information, go here.