EMC's X project will have a broad impact on the data center

EMC plans to sell flash arrays across the data center and combine all of these flash components with development software.

EMC is planning to build a full flash array of code name x project (http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/3022.html ">project x") using Xtremeio Company's technology acquired earlier this year , the array will be available next year. In addition, the storage platform will be equipped with the appropriate software, EMC plans to use this software to the flash array can also be used in other environments, including the server and the server network.

The X project provides an opportunity to design a storage architecture from the outset, based on flash memory, without having to use the traditional hard disk platform, said Zahid Hussain, senior vice president and general manager for Flash products at EMC. This new design will help the platform maximize the advantages of flash memory.

Hussain says that in a clean, full flash architecture, you can do more things, including ensuring quality of service and online de-duplication. He used the example of pure electric cars and hybrids to compare the two types of storage products, thinking that they all have their own market opportunities and limitations.

Many companies have used NAND flash as part of their storage architecture, hoping to benefit from faster data access, less space and lower energy consumption, although the cost per bit of flash technology is much higher. EMC says that the storage array products it delivers are half with a partial flash memory built into it. The company has been developing flash products since 2005 and has launched its first flash product in 2008.

EMC's efforts in Flash are focused primarily on components to improve the speed of external storage based on hard drives, while some smaller vendors, such as Fusion-io, use it as a fast interface for servers to maximize server performance. Today, EMC has started offering its own server flash products, the vfcache, and says this is the best location to integrate into the overall enterprise storage architecture.

In May this year, EMC acquired the full flash array manufacturer Xtremeio of Israel, with an acquisition amount of USD 430 million. The X project, the first major product that EMC has developed using Xtremeio technology, is now in beta testing and plans to go on a massive market next year. The array will be a full flash array of built-in x86 processors and standard SSD, with standard Ethernet and Fibre Channel storage NICs. However, the core of the product is software that can be applied to other flash elements within the enterprise.

Hussain said, "The software is based on x86 architecture, can give full play to the advantages of multi-core, a deep understanding of the characteristics of flash, using modular and scalable design." This is a very powerful product for our new beginning. ”

"This basic technology for X projects is not only for storage arrays, but we will use them for servers over time," says Daniel Cobb, CTO of EMC's Flash department. "The software contains highly valuable intellectual property rights related to data deduplication, next-generation raid, easy scaling of flash systems, and cost-saving Multilevel-cell flash management," Cobb said.

EMC says the software can manage all flash products within the enterprise. At the same time, the company will continue to develop the Vcache and Thunder Project (Project Thunder), a flash device designed to optimize hardware performance and density, which will remain focused on the server network, Hussain said. (Wave Compilation)

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)