Maximizing Asset Efficiency by Sharing Flash Storage

In today’s data-centric world, businesses are continuously grappling with the challenges of managing an ever-increasing volume of data. With global data expected to reach over 166 zettabytes by 2025, it’s clear that the demand for scalable and efficient data storage solutions is rapidly growing. For organizations, one of the biggest obstacles is not just where to store this data, but how to do so cost-effectively while maintaining performance.

As data continues to grow, so do the challenges of how to manage storage, especially with shrinking IT budgets. This is where asset velocity comes into play. By utilizing flash storage effectively, businesses can maximize their storage investments, enhance performance, and reduce inefficiencies. Flash storage, particularly Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe), is increasingly being adopted by data centers to accelerate workloads. However, simply adding more flash is not always the most efficient solution. To truly optimize storage performance, businesses are looking to disaggregate and share flash storage across various applications and workloads.

Understanding Asset Velocity and Its Importance

Asset velocity refers to the ability to extract the highest value from your storage resources, ensuring that every piece of equipment is being utilized to its maximum potential. By improving asset velocity, businesses can reduce costs while improving overall return on investment (ROI). Unfortunately, many organizations are not fully leveraging their flash storage, which leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for optimization.

For instance, in hyper-converged infrastructures (HCI), resources like compute, storage, and networking are bundled together in a single node. While this can be an effective solution when workloads are predictable and stable, it becomes problematic when applications require unpredictable bursts of resources. These systems are often over-provisioned, meaning that additional resources, such as storage, may go underutilized, wasting both energy and capital.

The Benefits of Disaggregating and Sharing Flash Storage

To address the inefficiencies of HCI and other scale-out systems, organizations are turning to composable disaggregated infrastructure (CDI). This approach separates flash storage from the server hardware, allowing storage resources to be shared across multiple applications and workloads on-demand using technologies like NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF).

NVMe-oF enables flash storage, typically connected via the PCIe bus, to be accessed externally over high-speed Ethernet connections. This technology unlocks several advantages:

1. Reduced Capital Expenditure (CapEx)

By separating flash storage from the server, businesses only add storage as needed, reducing unnecessary investments in other resources. This can be particularly beneficial when applications require more storage without a corresponding need for more compute or networking resources.

2. Access to Cutting-Edge Flash Technology

As new and faster flash technologies emerge, NVMe-oF allows businesses to adopt the latest storage solutions without waiting for the next refresh cycle of the server hardware. This flexibility ensures that companies can keep their storage systems up to date without unnecessary delays.

3. Improved Resource Utilization

By disaggregating flash storage and pooling it across multiple applications, businesses can significantly improve resource utilization. This is especially beneficial for companies with fluctuating workloads, as it allows for more efficient allocation of storage without the risk of underutilizing resources.

4. Greater Flexibility

Disaggregating flash storage allows businesses to scale their infrastructure more flexibly. As demand for storage grows, companies can add more flash devices without disrupting existing services, ensuring that their storage needs evolve alongside business requirements.

5. Enhanced Performance

NVMe-oF allows flash storage to be shared seamlessly across multiple applications, resulting in lower latency and higher performance. This is particularly important for high-demand applications like machine learning or artificial intelligence, where rapid data access is crucial for optimal performance.

Why NVMe-oF is the Future of Storage

The adoption of NVMe-oF is on the rise, and it’s expected to continue growing in the coming years. This technology enables storage architects to build high-performance environments with latency comparable to direct-attached storage (DAS), while allowing for more efficient use of flash storage resources. By enabling the sharing of flash devices, NVMe-oF allows businesses to maximize their storage capacity, improve performance, and minimize waste.

In conclusion, sharing flash storage through disaggregation and using NVMe-oF technology offers businesses a more flexible, cost-effective, and efficient way to manage their storage needs. As workloads become more demanding and data volumes continue to grow, embracing this approach will be essential for organizations looking to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.