SanDisk Upgrades FlashSoft Cache

SanDisk's FlashSoft Enterprise Caching SoftwareSanDisk has rolled out a new revision of its FlashSoft server-side enterprise caching software that includes multiple improvements over the prior versions.  The new release adds:

  • Support for multiple SSDs of mixed sizes and types
  • Concatenation of two or more SSDs into a single caching volume
  • SSD mirroring for “Safe Write-Back” caching
  • A maximum cache size increase from 1TB to 2TB
  • 2,048 accelerated objects can be stored in each cache, up from the earlier release’s 255

The company prides itself in the ease with which the software and a server-side SSD can be added to a system without otherwise changing its storage architecture.

With the “Safe Write Back” feature the FlashSoft software has been upgraded Continue reading “SanDisk Upgrades FlashSoft Cache”

OCZ: Three Solid State Storage Products in Three Weeks

OCZ's PCIe Z-DriveSSD maker OCZ has been on something of a tear recently, introducing three new solid state storage products in three weeks:

  • Two weeks ago the company introduced the Z-Drive R4 CloudServ PCIe SSD, designed for the data center, in single-card capacities ranging from 300GB-16TB.  This product can transfer data at multiple gigabytes per second rates to deliver over a million IOPS.
  • Last week saw the introduction of the OCZ-SANRAD VXL enterprise storage accelerator, after OCZ’s January acquisition of SANRAD.  This product is flash cache acceleration software for VMware ESX and Citrix Xen virtualized environments that allows Continue reading “OCZ: Three Solid State Storage Products in Three Weeks”

Are HDDs Obsolete?

This looks like more fun than reading The SSD GuyAn article in the Storage Newsletter caught The SSD Guy’s eye when it ran in July.  The article consisted of a press release followed by an editorial comment:

While hard drives still have the cost advantage, it appears it’s becoming akin to sticking with a horse-drawn buggy in an age of automobiles by arguing that the upfront cost for a car is so much more than the cost of a horse. At some point, it just doesn’t make sense to ride a horse. How soon until the IT world gets there?

Continue reading “Are HDDs Obsolete?”