This morning, Micron announced their "RealSSD" P320h SSD, bringing them into the PCIe storage market for the first time. Already a leading supplier of both consumer and enterprise SATA SSDs, as well as the world's leading supplier of NAND flash in partnership with Intel, this move puts Micron in direct competition with existing suppliers like media darling Fusion … [Read more...] about Micron Bursts Into the PCIe SSD Market
Fusion-IO
Commodity Hardware Always Wins
The history of technology moves in fits and starts, but one trend trumps all else: An inevitable shift from fine-tuned specialized gear to general-purpose commodity building blocks. We see it in both hardware and software, and at all levels of the industry, from chips and wafers to operating systems and networking devices. Take a step back and you'll certainly agree: Commodity … [Read more...] about Commodity Hardware Always Wins
Unconventional SSDs: PCI Express Mini Card (Mini PCI-E)
With Apple almost certain to introduce a new MacBook Air, questions have turned to the specifics of the hardware to be used. A leaked pre-production photo features an odd memory configuration (not to mention four batteries), a device I immediately recognized as an SSD-on-a-stick. With this high-profile introduction of a new SSD stick form, I thought it was time to cover these … [Read more...] about Unconventional SSDs: PCI Express Mini Card (Mini PCI-E)
Hybrid SSD/Hard Disk Drives: This Time For Sure!
Hard disk drive makers are adding flash storage to their conventional spinning-platter drives to improve performance and are targeting the performance PC market. Wait a second, haven't we seen this before? As Rocky eventually said to Bullwinkle, "but that trick never works!" Flash as a Cache Using flash memory as a disk cache is a pretty good idea. Flash has awesome random … [Read more...] about Hybrid SSD/Hard Disk Drives: This Time For Sure!
Is Flash A Disk Or A Cache?
There is a battle shaping up in the enterprise storage industry. On one side are those who see flash storage as an upgrade for the disk drive, and on the other are those who see it as a cache between the CPU and the drive. It's a fundamental difference of opinion - flash chips can be used either way, and each approach has its unique benefits and drawbacks. The Register did a … [Read more...] about Is Flash A Disk Or A Cache?