On Monday, Violin Memory Inc. announced the 6264 flash Memory Array, its next generation of flash memory storage that delivers 64TB of capacity in a mere 3U footprint. And to complement the 6000 Series Arrays, the new Violin Symphony Management System was also introduced.  Symphony aims to enable enterprise-wide management of Violin Memory Arrays through a single pane of glass view – from any device, anytime.

“Competitive architectural approaches based on SSDs short change the actual performance capabilities of flash memory,” said Don Basile, CEO of Violin Memory. “As semiconductor process geometries shrink, flash memory gets slower and more error-prone. Violin’s unique flash management IP enables us to increase performance and capacity in the same footprint while ensuring the data resiliency required in Tier 1 enterprise storage deployments. Our goal is to deliver memory storage at the cost of legacy disk.”

Aside from managing petabytes of data through a single pane of glass, Violin Symphony also offers Scale out Flash management that presents aggregated performance, capacity and health information across all the arrays in a Smart Group: Delegation of administration and control, Visibility into top arrays and LUNs, and Group level health monitoring; Personalized dashboard experience, advance analytics for informed decision, and ensure application performance with Proactive Health Monitoring.

With flash array predicted to become the defacto standard for arrays in 2015, Violin is clearly striving to be at the forefront of this market.

“I think probably the most important thing about the flash array is that you don’t have to manage it that much.  You set the applications on it, you set it up and because of the performance of it, you really don’t need to spend that much time on it,” Wikibon Co-founder and CTO David Floyer stated during an appearance on our Live NewsDesk Show this morning.

Floyer also stated that Symphony is a good addition to Violin’s offerings, especially for managing multiple arrays especially having control using a mobile device.  this would allow you to remotely control arrays in different locations even on the go.

As for being cost effective, though Symphony is an important tool and 6264 flash Memory Array delivers 64TB of capacity, it’s in the higher end division.  With the fact that you still need an IT technician to manage it, the cost of using this service may not go too well on the pocket.  It’s hasn’t achieved that much of simplicity yet.

For more of Floyer’s Breaking Analysis, check out the NewsDesk video below:

Flash market continues to grow

And just to prove that flash isn’t going away anytime soon, SanDisk, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, announced the addition of the nimble and power-efficient SanDisk X210 SSD to enhance its solid state drive line-up for businesses.  This SATA-based X210 SSD is an alternative solution for IT decision-makers looking to maximize data center performance or enhance the responsiveness of PCs and notebooks.

“Since launching SanDisk’s commercial SSD channel earlier this year, we have received a tremendous response from businesses that have seen significant advantages from incorporating SanDisk solid-state technology into their data center and workplace PCs and notebooks,” said Tarun Loomba, vice president of Storage Solutions marketing at SanDisk. “Leveraging SanDisk’s most advanced flash memory technology and smart power-saving capabilities, the X210 SSD is an exceptionally fast and cost-effective storage solution for this growing market, and a great addition to our SanDisk SSD portfolio.”

X210 SSD provides up to 512GB of storage, offers up to 505MB/sec sequential read and up to 470MB/sec sequential write speeds, features automated power management, including DEVSLP capability, enabling mobile computing users to experience outstanding performance, without sacrificing battery life, and features the company’s proprietary high-performance tiered system architecture, which includes the exclusive nCache acceleration technology.