#234 – Introducing Pure Storage FlashBlade//S and Evergreen//Flex with CTO Rob Lee (Sponsored)

Chris EvansAll-Flash, Guest Speakers, Object Storage, Pure Accelerate techfest22, Pure Storage, Sponsored, Storage Hardware, Storage Unpacked Podcast

In this episode, Chris talks to Rob Lee, CTO at Pure Storage about today’s announcement covering FlashBlade//S and Evergreen//Flex. FlashBlade//S is a new hardware platform that evolves the solution into a disaggregated architecture. The design enables compute and storage resources to be scaled independently, while incorporating existing DFMs (DirectFlash Modules) that are currently used in the FlashArray family. To exploit the benefits of FlashBlade//S, Pure has also announced a realignment of the Evergreen programme, including the new Evergreen//Flex option. //Flex customers can retain hardware ownership while benefiting from “component” mobility.

The hardware changes in FlashBlade//S compared to the first hardware iteration of FlashBlade are considerable. We discuss them in this blog post. The benefits to the customer are greater flexibility in picking the right hardware configuration, with ongoing investment protection through Evergreen//Flex. From an environmental standpoint, separation of compute and storage helps reduce e-waste, while from the customer perspective, reduces the volume of data rebuilds when hardware is replaced. Of course, there’s much more, but you have to listen to find out.

The updates to Evergreen fill the gap between hardware ownership and ongoing upgrades and the full “as-a-service” offering. Evergreen Gold is now rebranded Evergreen//Forever, while Pure as-a-Service becomes Evergreen//One.

We’ve been able to follow the progress of FlashBlade since inception (including an early podcast with Rob). Check out the details in our related posts below, or get more information from the Pure Storage website.

Elapsed Time: 00:39:17

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 – Intros
  • 00:00:30 – Rob Lee last recorded to discuss FlashBlade 2.0
  • 00:01:30 – Pure has two announcements – FlashBlade & Evergreen
  • 00:02:50 – FlashBlade is the scale-out object & file platform
  • 00:04:15 – FlashBlade//S transitions the platform into a family of solutions
  • 00:05:30 – What does //S signify? Speed, Simplicity, Scale & Sustainability
  • 00:07:00 – What’s new in FlashBlade//S – disaggregation
  • 00:09:00 – Customers love the bladed architecture and integrated networking
  • 00:10:30 – FlashBlade software always intended for the current product evolution
  • 00:12:15 – Each blade supports up to 4 removable DirectFlash Modules
  • 00:14:00 – FlashBlade//S and FlashArray provides component mobility
  • 00:16:10 – Pure1 provides the data to make informed rebalancing decisions
  • 00:18:00 – Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor in product choice
  • 00:20:05 – Standardisation will bring power efficiencies to FlashBlade//S
  • 00:23:00 – The new FlashBlade design allows optimisation for multiple use-cases
  • 00:26:30 – How is Evergreen changing to address the new consumption requirements?
  • 00:27:00 – Evergreen Gold becomes Evergreen//Forever
  • 00:27:30 – Pure as-a-Service becomes Evergreen//One
  • 00:27:40 – Evergreen//Flex is new and fits the gap between both options
  • 00:33:30 – //Flex gives customers the benefits of efficiency and optimisation
  • 00:35:15 – Do customers follow a journey of service consumption?
  • 00:37:40 – When will the new products & solutions be available?
  • 00:38:45 – Wrap Up

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