IT Solutions | Flash Storage – Supercharge Your Performance
OneNeck IT Solutions |
Flash storage is critical for businesses that emphasize performance and move quickly. When milliseconds matter, flash just might be the solution to boost your I/O performance and stay ahead of the competition…
Flash storage is any device that uses flash memory, such as a USB flash drive or video game. Flash works by storing data on a charge on a capacitor and is usually packaged in surface-mounted chips fixed to a printed circuit board. As there are no moving parts in a device, this allows flash memory to retain data in the absence of a power supply. Offerings in flash storage now include an all-flash array (AFA), a data storage system that holds multiple flash memory drives.
In many ways, an AFA is an improvement over spinning disk hard drives (HDD). An AFA allows a business to use about 1/11th of the rack space than for HDD. Flash storage cools easier and faster, and it requires less staffing than other methods of storage. The primary reason an AFA uses less energy is it contains no moving parts. The device generates less heat and consumes less power, and it also requires less maintenance. Since it has less potential for spontaneous breakdown, an AFA is less likely to need repair. Finally, flash storage usually takes less than an hour to set up, and is compatible with cloud services.
Understanding the Benefits of Flash Storage
Flash storage provides 12 realized benefits to your bottom line:
- Flash storage works well for applications that have intense input/output (I/O) workloads.
- Flash storage benefits applications that require lower latency. Latency is the amount of time that it takes for a message to reach a system. Since flash storage runs smoothly, it causes few spikes in latency. Technology has developed a great deal and delays are now down to microseconds.
- Flash storage allows data to transfer at faster rates than HDD. With flash, your system can perform real-time analytics. Flash operates three to 10 times faster than HDD. Even with the increase in speed, you should see better performance than that of HDD, including faster startup times and better network performance.
As an example, without flash, it took one government agency about an hour and a half to run a report. With flash, the agency can run the report in under five minutes. Being able to gain more insight more quickly will help you meet your customers’ needs and show that you can lead in your field.
- Flash storage is known for its ability to protect data and maintain a system that functions reliably. It has built-in protections that ensure data will be guarded even if the system fails or needs to be maintained. This makes flash ideal for disaster recovery, while also helping you keep property taxes and insurance costs low.
- Flash storage does not require a lot of maintenance, so it frees time for your IT staff to perform other responsibilities.
- Flash helps your data remain secure. You can transfer data between cloud services and on-premises technology, and the appliances in your office become a proxy. Using encryption at rest and in transit, you ensure that the information your business utilizes remains safe.
- Flash storage is scalable. You can install a single server or an array. It is also cheaper than DRAM and is block addressable. There are many price, performance and cost options for flash.
- Flash is compatible with a wide variety of systems, from legacy systems to next-generation digital apps. No matter what type of infrastructure you have, you can automate it with flash.
- You can use flash on its own or combine with DRAM, NVDIMM and hard drives. This helps you address the different needs of your business without driving up cost.
- Your data center sees a reduction in power, cooling and floor space costs.
- Flash storage is very light, so your portable devices are easy to carry. You can also make your server rooms smaller and more manageable.
- Unlike HDD, flash operates silently and electronically, so you will see a decrease in noise reduction.
What can flash-based storage do for you?
Are you interested in experiencing some of these benefits firsthand? OneNeck offers cloud-based storage that is 100% flash-based, ready to scale-out as needed for your enterprise storage array. This top-tier storage option delivers not only high levels of performance and scalability, but also brings new levels of ease-of-use to your SAN storage. We have seen customers maximize their performance for consistent low-latency response times and supercharge their databases from milliseconds to microseconds – benefit you can measure!
At OneNeck, we are constantly innovating to offer you options to meet your specific needs. Our cloud-based storage offerings deliver performance based on your unique environment and your business’s demands. Let’s talk about whether or not a flash storage solution could help improve the performance of your environment, enabling you to respond faster to your business demands.
LEARN MORE: 10 Considerations When Choosing Flash Storage
