Editor's note
All-flash storage arrays may differ on capacity, drive type, networking options and storage-savings features, but the one thing they all do is improve performance.
The 15 flash storage product lines profiled in TechTarget's all-flash array guide claim maximum read IOPS ranging from 200,000 to 9 million, peak read throughput from 2.4 GBps to 46 GBps, and read latencies from 50 microseconds to 1 millisecond.
But performance numbers can be tricky to compare. Vendors use differing configurations, workloads and block sizes to test their products. Plus, their test cases may not even remotely resemble a given customer's actual environment. The aforementioned top figures for IOPS and read throughput apply to one flash storage vendor's maximum 100-node configuration.
Price comparisons are also tough. Prices per gigabyte vary among vendors based on their products' configurations and whether or not they factor in data reduction technologies, such as deduplication and compression. Prices per IOPS are no easier, with differing sets of variables to weigh.
And finding the array with the highest performance or the lowest overall cost may not matter if the system lacks the features that an enterprise wants or needs. Some all-flash storage arrays are rich in capabilities that are typically found in traditional arrays that use hard-disk drives (HDDs). Others leave out such features as inline deduplication and inline compression that might have an impact on performance.
So, in putting together our guide, we collected a wide range of information to help you compare all-flash storage arrays. We asked the vendors to supply details on their product's specifications, flash media, warranty and support in addition to storage-saving and management features, performance and price. We also provide some of the finer-grained details that you won't find on their product pages, such as which storage features they charge an extra fee for and whether they replace flash drives that wear out before the warranty expires.
Whenever possible, we tried to ensure that vendors' responses were consistent to enable comparison. And whenever questions went unanswered, we hounded them.
1Devil in the details? Snapshot profiles of all-flash array vendors
We profiled 13 vendors of all-flash arrays and spotlighted their products' areas of distinction and deficiency compared to the others.
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Article
EMC touts performance in scale-out XtremIO, aims VNX-F at price-conscious
EMC Corp. positions its purpose-built XtremIO all-flash array for customers in need of predictable, low-latency performance and scalability. The company's target for the VNX-F is users that prioritize price per gigabyte and price per IOPS. Read Now
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Article
NetApp offers all-flash EF-Series, FAS systems while prepping new FlashRay
NetApp Inc. sells all-SSD options with its EF-Series and fabric-attached storage (FAS) systems, but the company is designing a new flash array from scratch in hopes of becoming a more serious player in the solid-state market. NetApp's FlashRay is due for general release this year. Read Now
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Article
Violin extends focus beyond speed, plans enterprise storage features
All-flash pioneer Violin Memory Inc. stood out with its own flash memory module, flash-optimized RAID technology and flash fabric architecture. The company has now started to expand its focus from all-out speed to also encompass enterprise storage features. Product plans call for the addition of such features as inline deduplication, inline compression and replication. Violin also has jointly developed a Windows Flash Array with Microsoft. Read Now
2Experts weigh in on all-flash arrays
We asked industry analysts and consultants to offer advice and delve into some of the fine points about all-flash arrays to provide a deeper level of insight into the product market.
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Article
All-flash arrays: Performance vs. function
George Crump of Storage Switzerland offers criteria to help you decide whether performance or function is more important when you choose all-flash storage arrays. Read Now
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Article
When to consider the purchase of an all-flash array
Mark Peters, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group Inc., cautions again looking at all-flash arrays just because they're "new, shiny things." Features, capacity, scalability and ease of use will factor into the equation, but perhaps the most important consideration is the financial one. Read Now
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Podcast
Making sense of all-flash array vendors' wild performance claims
Interpreting the performance claims of all-flash array vendors can be difficult because the test conditions vary widely and rarely if ever mimic the environments of end users. Dennis Martin, president of Demartek LLC, which operates an on-site test lab in Golden, Colorado, explains how to sift through through IOPS, throughput and latency for varying workloads, what to look for with block size and workload type, and when a million IOPS or microsecond latency might matter. Listen Now