#188 – Is Intel Optane Ready for Primetime?

#188 – Is Intel Optane Ready for Primetime?

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Garbage Collection, Intel, NVMe, Persistent Memory

This week, Chris and Martin dig deeper into the adoption of Intel Optane technology in both the consumer and enterprise markets. Optane is a new persistent memory technology that offers greater performance and lower latency compared to NAND flash, but currently is more expensive and offers smaller capacity devices. As Optane becomes more prevalent in both markets, how is it being adopted and what needs to change to increase adoption levels? Note: Since recording, Chris has tried out the Intel H10 device and the results were disappointing. Read more here. Elapsed Time: 00:31:49 Timeline 00:00:00 …

#185 – Pure-as-a-Service 2.0 (Sponsored)

#185 – Pure-as-a-Service 2.0 (Sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, Pure Storage, Sponsored, Storage Hardware

This week Chris and Martin talk to Rob Walters, GM for Pure-as-a-Service at Pure Storage. The company has recently announced upgrades and expansion of the “as-a-service” model, formerly known as Evergreen storage. The name change and the widening of the portfolio represents an opportunity for customers to see transparent pricing and a greater depth of service offerings. In this sponsored episode, we review the origins of the service and look at how that has evolved into the capability for customers to consume Pure block and file products as true services. We discuss the challenges in …

#175 – IBM FlashSystem Deep Dive (Sponsored)

#175 – IBM FlashSystem Deep Dive (Sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, IBM, Sponsored, Storage Hardware

This week Chris catches up with Ralf Colbus from IBM to talk about the evolution of FlashSystem. The FlashSystem platform is an enterprise-class block-based storage solution that scales from SMB/SME offerings to high-end all-NVMe and SCM capable devices. At the heart of the design is the software behind Spectrum Virtualise, the SAN Volume Controller or SVC. FlashSystem now offers a standardised portfolio based on SVC. This starts with the 5010 and 5030, both SAS-based solutions that can be all-flash or hybrid flash & HDD. The 5100 upwards (including 7200 and 9200) introduces NVMe and IBM’s …

#164 – Introduction to StorONE S1: All-Flash Array.next with George Crump (Sponsored)

#164 – Introduction to StorONE S1: All-Flash Array.next with George Crump (Sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, Software-Defined Storage, Sponsored, Storage Hardware, StorONE

Storage startup StorONE has introduced the S1: All-Flash Array.next (also known as S1:AFAn) which accelerates performance using Intel Optane technology. In this podcast, Chris and Martin discuss the benefits of Optane within the S1 platform in a conversation with George Crump, CMO at StorONE and formerly the founder of Storage Switzerland. S1 is a software-defined storage solution that optimises the use of hardware resources to deliver an efficient and low-cost multi-protocol shared storage platform. The architecture of S1 enables Intel Optane to be used as a tier of storage that acts as the primary target …

#157 – Introduction to Dell PowerStore (sponsored)

#157 – Introduction to Dell PowerStore (sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, NVMe, Sponsored, Storage Hardware

In this sponsored episode, Chris and Martin look at the newly announced midrange storage platform from Dell Technologies. PowerStore is a new all-flash midrange storage solution that offers both scale-up and scale-out capabilities. As we find out in the discussion with Dan Cummins and Devon Reed, this is only one aspect of the new technology. Through a feature called AppsOn, customers can run their own applications on a native ESXi hypervisor. In building a new storage platform, how did Dell Technologies leverage the assets already in the portfolio? We find out that XtremIO, SC Series …

#154 – Hitachi Vantara VSP E990 NVMe Midrange Appliance with Colin Gallagher (Sponsored)

#154 – Hitachi Vantara VSP E990 NVMe Midrange Appliance with Colin Gallagher (Sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, NVMe, Storage Hardware

Today, Hitachi Vantara announced the VSP E990, a midrange all-NVMe storage appliance. The new solution, available immediately, offers up to 5.8 million IOPS, I/O latency as low as 64µs with up to 64PB effective capacity. In this episode, Chris Evans chats remotely to Colin Gallagher about the new platform. VSP E990 extends the existing solutions in the VSP family, from the F350 up to the 5000 series enterprise-class solutions. The “E” denotes NVMe – other platform models have “F” (flash) and “G” (general) designations. The quoted 64µs latency figure is lower than the VSP 5000 …

#133 – FlashArray//C Deeper Dive with Pete Kirkpatrick

#133 – FlashArray//C Deeper Dive with Pete Kirkpatrick

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, Pure Storage

This episode was recorded live at Pure Storage offices in Silicon Valley. Chris talks to Pete Kirkpatrick, Chief Hardware Architect at Pure Storage about the FlashArray//C platform. FlashArray//C is a new solution announced at Pure Accelerate 2019 that offers a lower-cost all-flash solution for less latency-sensitive workloads. FlashArray//C uses QLC technology, a cheaper, but slower flash alternative to SLC, MLC or even TLC that is being used in all-flash arrays today. Developing a solution using QLC requires more flash management, however using DirectFlash compared to standard SSDs offers Pure Storage cost and management advantages. How …

#130 – Making Money in the Storage Business

#130 – Making Money in the Storage Business

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Garbage Collection, NVMe, Storage Hardware

This week, Chris and Martin reflect on changes in the storage industry and the ways in which vendors can make money from storage hardware and software. It’s been a tough time for storage vendors of late and the discussion starts by looking at the challenges of making money in a market where components are commodity and decline in price each month. How should vendors adapt to these challenges? There are alternative strategies than simply piling it high and selling it cheap (although that is one model). All-flash systems offered the ability to charge higher margins, …

#123 – Hitachi Next 2019: VSP 5000

#123 – Hitachi Next 2019: VSP 5000

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, NVMe, Storage Hardware

This is the first of a series of podcast episodes recorded at Hitachi NEXT 2019 in Las Vegas. Hitachi announced the next generation of VSP storage arrays, the VSP 5000 at the show. The new platform provides greater performance and capacity than previous systems at lower latency. Chris meets with Colin Gallagher (VP Product Marketing for the Infrastructure Portfolio) and Dan McConnell (SVP of Infrastructure Product Management) to discuss the details. VSP 5000 offers up to 21 million IOPS at 70µs and up to 69PB of internal capacity. This level of performance can be delivered …

#118 – Pure Accelerate 2019 with Patrick Smith

#118 – Pure Accelerate 2019 with Patrick Smith

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, Pure Storage, Storage Hardware

This week, Chris is in Austin, Texas at Pure Accelerate 2019. Prior to the event, Chris catches up with Patrick Smith, Field CTO for EMEA for Pure. Patrick moved to Pure after being a customer. The initial discussion covers why flash as a platform offers better reliability and consistency than traditional disk based storage. At Accelerate 2019, Pure announced FlashArray//C, DirectMemory modules and the GA of Cloud Block Store. Patrick previews these changes and what benefits customers can expect to see from these new products. Elapsed Time: 00:30:07 Timeline 00:00:00 – Intros 00:03:00 – What …