Solid-state storage devices — both RAM-based and NAND (Not And) flash-based — have held promise as worthwhile alternatives to conventional disk drives for some time despite the healthy dose of skepticism they inspire. By no means new, they will be integrated into IT only when the technologies fulfill their potential and go mainstream.
Volatility and cost have been the Achilles' heel of external RAM-based devices for the past decade. Most come equipped with standard DIMMs, batteries, and possibly hard drives, all connected to a SCSI bus. And the more advanced models can run without power long enough to move data residing on the RAM to the internal disks, ensuring nothing is lost. Extremely expensive, the devices promise speed advantages that, until recently, were losing ground to faster SCSI and SAS drives. Recent advances, however, suggest RAM-based storage devices may pay off eventually.
As for flash-based solid-state devices, early problems — such as slow write speeds and a finite number of writes per sector — persist. Advances in flash technology, though, have reduced these negatives. NAND-based devices are now being introduced in sizes that make them feasible for use in high-end laptops and, presumably, servers. Samsung's latest offerings include 32GB and 64GB SSD (solid-state disk) drives with IDE and SATA interfaces. At $1,800 for the 32GB version, they're certainly not cheap, but as volume increases, pricing will come down. These drives aren't nearly the speed demons their RAM-based counterparts are, but their read latency is significantly faster than that of standard hard drives.
The state of the solid-state art may not be ready for widespread enterprise adoption yet, but it’s certainly closer than skeptics think.
-- Paul Venezia
What do you think of the viability of solid-state drives for the enterprise?
Related articles
Crackpot tech 2008: Crackpot technologies that could shake up IT
Eight more technologies that straddle the divide between harebrained and brilliant -- each with a promise to transform the future of the enterprise
Crackpot tech 2007: 12 crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise
These technologies straddle the divide between harebrained and brilliant as they promise to shake the pillars of tomorrow's enterprise
Read more about tech culture in InfoWorld's Adventures in IT Channel.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Business Resource Alerts
Recommend This
