UPDATED 14:02 EDT / MAY 03 2017

INFRA

Flash memory producer Micron intros its own storage system

In addition to supplying flash memory for other companies’ storage arrays, Micron Technology Inc. now wants to sell its own storage systems.

The semiconductor giant today unveiled a new top-of-rack platform called SolidScale that targets modern data centers where applications require the ability to pull up large volumes of information in a hurry. According to Micron, the system comes in a 24U form factor, about half the size of a standard server rack, and is designed to house storage modules equipped with its MLC flash cards. The drives are a generation behind top-of-line alternatives from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. that use the newer 3D NAND flash architecture, but they still pack a punch.

The storage modules in SolidScale can each provide up to 76.8 terabytes of raw capacity and include support for the speedy NVMe data transfer protocol. The technology can speed up the flow of information so much that E8 Storage Inc., one of the players that have implemented it in its hardware, claims to deliver 10 times better performance than traditional alternatives.

The SolidScale can handle up to 10 million I/O operations per second in a three-node configuration. For perspective, the system has been tested to work with 256 nodes. Micron further claims that the platform can maintain its throughput with latency that is just 1 percent higher than that of flash drivers attached directly to the servers they support.

This is facilitated in large part by the fact that the platform implements an emerging architecture known as Server SAN, which was originally put forth by Wikibon in 2014. According to Micron, SolidScale’s design lends itself to a wide range of applications ranging from databases to machine learning workloads.

The platform could help the chip maker open a new revenue stream amid increasing competition in the memory segment. Longtime analyst Dave Vellante, co-founder of Wikibon and SiliconANGLE Media, said Micron is coming under increasing pressure from market leader Samsung, which is generating record-breaking profits on the back of its flash business.

But Micron’s expansion into the storage equipment market may come at a cost. The question at stake, according to Vellante, is whether SolidScale will end up competing with platforms from the storage companies that buy the chip maker’s memory chips. Such a dynamic could create tension in its ecosystem, but Micron admittedly wouldn’t be the first flash maker to try and walk the line: the Western Digital Corp.-owned SanDisk likewise sells its own storage system under the brand InfiniFlash.

SolidScale is expected to hit general availability early next year.

Image: Micron

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