QLogic just started shipping FabricCache, the first solution that’s built on its revolutionary Mt. Rainer technology. Wikibon analyst Stu Miniman discussed the new product, and the competition, on this morning’s SiliconAngle NewsDesk show with Kristin Feledy (full video below).

Server-side flash delivers better performance and less latency than traditional solutions, but it does have its downfalls: like with all direct-attached storage, capacity cannot be shared between servers. Miniman says that FabricCache changes all that by making it possible to connect embedded SSDs with SAN – he elaborates by outlining how the new offering will impact QLogic’s market position.

“QLogic is an arms supplier to the storage world. It makes adapters, and this is really another adapter. While it is related to flash QLogic is not making flash, not getting into the flash business. What this is today is a bundle of their adapters with flash on it, so that the channel can sell the solution. In the future we expect QLogic to be able to partner with all of its OEMs and the flash suppliers so that its adapter can work with any PCIe or SSD flash in the server.”

Miniman also expects that QLogic will eventually implement Mt. Rainer in an Ethernet solution.  He adds the company’s networking-based approach to tearing down the server-side barrier is the first of its kind, but notes that other companies have also come up with their own unique solutions for the same problem: Virident recently introduced a solution that allows multiple servers to access its PCIe cards, and PernixData existed stealth with a software-based storage virtualization platform just one month ago.

Miniman predicts that the rise of flash will abolish demand for high-speed disk-based systems within three to four years. Enterprises will still turn to disk vendors for cheap capacity, but flash will prevail in the rest of the market.

See Miniman’s full analysis below: