Two trends in particular have disrupted the storage market in recent years: Flash and software-led initiatives.  They’re both game-changers, destined to meet along the path to evolved storage architecture.  But will that inevitable juncture be met with harmony or conflict?

When Flash Meets Software-Defined Storage 

Earlier this week we held a tweet chat posing this very question to the community.  It was an opportunity to discuss the definition of Software-Defined Storage (SDS), the role of Flash in SDS, and other market trends that fit into SDS.  If you missed the tweet chat, here’s a recap of  the top questions that were discussed, along with some great articles, videos and case studies on SDS that were shared during the event.

• What is meant by software-defined storage?

Software-defined storage pertains to the storage component of the software-led infrastructure vision.  As Wikibon CTO David Floyer describes, software-led storage enables storage services to be available via API to applications and orchestration software, the benefit of SDS being scalability at lower costs.

Here is a great resource that “sets the record straight” on software-defined storage, part of a restructuring initiative that’s completely rethinking the way the storage business is run.   Software is a big part of EMC’s recent ViPR announcement, rethinking storage to make it more scalable while keeping things manageable.   Here is a video from EMC World that details ViPR in the context of SDS.

• What is the role of flash in software-defined storage?

Flash plays a very integral role in software-defined storage.  SiliconANGLE Editor-in-Chief John Furrier believes that flash will enable more functionality of the stack. Most of all, it will be highly lucrative for professional consulting services.  Flash has become an affordable technology that outperforms tape storage, and this has helped accelerate the distribution of software-led, hybrid storage solutions.  In fact, ‘Flash Everywhere’ has become a useful mantra for this use case on data migration, outlined by IBM Strategist Ron Riffe.

Wikibon co-founder and lead analyst Dave Vellante believes that a Flash-enabled SDS solution could bring a great deal of value to IT, stemming from the application layer that makes the re-architected data center smarter and more adaptable.  He breaks down Flash’s role in SDS in the video below:

• How will flash systems share data in a software-defined world?

This is a matter of scalability, and the question of where Flash most affects storage tiers is where the potential for dissonance begins.  Some of the most active topics discussed in the #Flashahead tweet chat were tier management and IOPS, with an emphasis on the fact that applications must also be able to scale.

Of course, dissonance often leads to resolved harmony, and Wikibon concluded the tweet chat with some ideas on how Flash and SDS will promote new opportunities in IaaS, consulting and the Services market at large.  One tweet even highlighted the QoS opportunity where Flash meets Software-Defined Storage:

RT @dcahill8: @dvellante apply unique storage personality to each VM in infrastructure is compelling QoS opportunity #flashahead <+1

— Momchil V. Michailov (@mvmsan) May 22, 2013

See the Storify collection below for the full recap of the #Flashahead tweet chat.