It s Time to Move Your Critical Data to SSDs Introduction by the Northamber Storage Specialist Today s IT professionals are well aware that users expect fast, reliable access to ever-growing amounts of data from web content, to videos, to business intelligence data and more. Meeting the challenges of this exponential growth is nearly impossible with existing, spinning media storage technology. Hard disk drives (HDDs) have been the standard in data storage for decades, but they can no longer satisfy. They create bottlenecks in data access, they fail to meet the growing demands of higher user expectations, and they consume too much power. IDC describes a third platform for IT growth and innovation [as one] built on mobile devices, cloud services, social technologies, and big data. According to IDC, The third platform is transforming the IT industry, and solid state drives (SSDs)... are altering the overall storage landscape and making the third platform a reality. 1 Micron and other industry leaders are looking forward to a solid future based on recordbreaking past successes. SSDs are offering unprecedented capabilities, capacities, and value. This white paper explores using SSDs to build better data storage platforms and the improved total cost of ownership (TCO) for enterprise data storage solutions. Growing storage challenges will require IT professionals to strategically identify and plan for specific data requirements within their organisations and to balance the cost and value of storage technology solutions. As greater numbers of IT professionals turn to SSDs for higher performance, better efficiency, and lower TCO, this white paper will illustrate how storage choices are driven by current and future needs.
Data Storage Challenges: Where Are We Now? A dramatic increase in the sheer volume of data has outpaced the existing infrastructure that IT professionals currently use to manage it. This exponential growth has caused performance issues for users and headaches for IT professionals. A recent Flash-Based Storage Adoption Research Report conducted by Spiceworks delves into the use of flash-based memory in laptops and desktops. More than a third of organisations surveyed are considering moving to flash technology to take advantage of its reliability and higher performance. Although currently only about a quarter of companies surveyed are using flash-based storage in their data centres, this number is expected to continue increasing as SSD benefits are demonstrated in laptops and desktops. 2 As the volume of data continues to expand, flooding in from the web, social networks, sensors, video and more, the constraints of traditional data storage become even greater. This is where SSDs provide a clear advantage for IT professionals in managing, accessing, and storing data. Today, many storage environments are optimised for HDDs. However, designing storage environments to include SSDs can overcome bottlenecks created by spinning media performance issues. As the volume of data that IT professionals manage continues to expand, flooding in from the web... the constraints of traditional data storage become even greater.
Are SSDs Really Worth It? As data storage requirements continue to grow, IT professionals must constantly understand, incorporate, and manage new technologies and strategies. As IT becomes more aware of SSD technology benefits, especially for the most demanding, missioncritical applications, adoption has increased. According to the Spiceworks survey, performance issues with their existing storage drives is the primary reason IT professionals have adopted SSD storage. Performance is the most substantial of all issues easily managed by SSDs. 2 As users consume ever-increasing amounts of data whether content delivery, database management, or virtual environments, users expect faster data retrieval and more consistent application responses on a daily basis. The survey shows that the majority of IT professionals have not done a complete TCO (total cost of ownership) analysis of SSD usage, but research also shows that the value is there. 2 How? SSDs provide a lower TCO and a balance of performance, endurance, features, and price. SSDs also alleviate human resource costs. They offer reliable 24/7 performance for demanding workloads and improved throughput with accelerated random read/ write capability, solving key challenges that IT professionals face regarding cost and productivity. According to the Spiceworks survey, the top benefits organisations experience and expect to experience with flash-based storage include improved performance and speed, increased energy efficiency, smaller/lighter form factor, and increased reliability/resistance to shock and vibration. 2 50% 100% Improved performance/speed 81% Smaller/lighter form factor 54% Increased reliability/resistance to shock & vibration Improved Application Responsiveness Reduced noise 41% 46% 45% Extended hardware longevity 30% Enhanced support for virtualisation 29%
...cont Intended to replace older, spinning media technology or to be put into place next to existing technologies, SSDs expand and enhance storage capacity and performance. A storage strategy that includes adding SSDs into a storage area network (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS) improves the security, performance, and reliability of the system. Among the IT professionals surveyed, 75% reported using flash-based storage, and most expect to expand its use. While the areas in which organisations are most likely to expand flash usage are laptops (88% at least somewhat likely) and desktops (77% at least somewhat likely), many also expect to expand flash use in their data centres (74% at least somewhat likely). 2 Although CapEX concerns continue to be at the forefront for those just getting started with SSDs, the clear OpEX value they bring is overwhelming. From initial evaluation to deployment and through long term use, IT professionals can expect: Improved Application Responsiveness Improving application responsiveness is where SSDs really shine. With no moving parts in the SSD, applications have nearly instant access to all the data users need, when they need it. Manageability and Reliability Although there used to be concerns about SSD wear and how to manage that wear, those have been largely assuaged. Purpose-built SSDs that are optimized for specific, common workload families (like read centric, write intensive, or mixed-use ) and standard methods of communicating remaining lifespan have enabled Enterprise SSD use to quickly migrate to the storage mainstream. Endurance Micron SSDs are engineered to provide the optimal balance between endurance (rated in drive writes per day) and cost for their intended use.
Micron s SSD Portfolio: The Right Solutions for a Broad Range of Workloads and Deployments SSDs can offer much lower TCO when compared to HDDs through significantly reduced power consumption, enhanced IO capabilities, lower overall storage costs with reduced bottlenecks and maximised throughput, high reliability and quality, and workload-optimised endurance. Intended to complement one another, Micron offers a broad range of Enterprise SSDs designed for read focused, write intensive and mixed use workloads supplying them in a broad variety of standard interfaces: SATA, SAS, and PCIe (NVMe). Read focused SSDs stand out based on their lower cost per GB. They are available in all common host interfaces including SATA, SAS, and PCIe (NVMe). extended write capability, extreme amounts of random IO and greater endurance. Micron s write intensive SSDs are also available in SATA, SAS and PCIe (NVMe). Write focused SSDs stand out based on their lower cost/write IOP. Mixed use SSDs own the range between. Micron s mixed use SSDs offer substantially more read and write performance than HDDs can. They are designed for balance between cost and performance, between capacity and an ability to manage unforecasted demand. Micron s SSDs differentiate themselves through broad use (read focused, write intensive and mixed use) and interface options (SATA, SAS, and PCIe/NVMe) all providing excellent TCO for multiple applications and multiple workloads. Write intensive SSDs are designed to support Content Delivery Virtual Environments Database Management Read focused SSDs are perfect for content delivery such as web serving, DVD storage, or video and data on demand. The capacity/performance/price balance makes these products affordable options that ensure consistent latency, solid read performance, good endurance, and enterprise-class data protection with outstanding value. Mixed use SSDs are the ideal choice for virtual desktops and virtual server infrastructures that utilize image storage and management, as well as backup remote replication, or virtual SAN. Exceptional small block random reads, balanced read/write IOPS, low latency, and easy integration provide a reliable solution for virtual environments Write intensive SSDs provide better and faster response for OLTP database applications or any storage platform with substantial write traffic. They are an energy-efficient option for database management while their solid random read and write performance and extended endurance make them an exceptional value.
...cont For IT professionals requiring predictable performance and reliable data protection in SATA, SAS and PCIe (NVMe) interfaces, Micron s SSD portfolio provides exceptional solutions: SATA: Robust features, extended endurance, and competitive price point make Micron s SATA SSDs ideal for a broad range of deployments. With optional TCG Enterpriselevel data at rest encryption, SATA SSDs economically provide superior data security without sacrificing performance. Get the solid value you need from SSDs you can deploy nearly anywhere. SAS: When your business runs on information, you need the assurance that your data is always available. Nothing beats the proven reliability of Micron SAS solutions. These SSDs deliver enterprisehardened, dual-port redundancy, encryption, anti-counterfeiting measures, and secure erase capabilities coupled with topnotch performance. Your demanding enterprise applications will be fast and secure. PCIe NVMe: Delivering dramatic results to your business, Micron s mainstream PCIe NVMe SSDs provide workload-focused endurance and just the right capacities for your Enterprise. Micron s PCIe NVMe SSDs are purpose-built to deliver data, fast letting you process your data more efficiently (based on publicly available 4K IOPS data, a single PCIe NVMe SSD is up to 25X faster than an array of 24 HDDs capable of 15,000 RPM). PCIe NVMe SSDs are offered in half-height, half-length (HHHL), U.2 and M.2 industry standard form factors in multi-tb capacities. Like Micron s SATA and SAS SSDs, its PCIe NVMe products are available in either read focused, write intensive or mixed use designs for the perfect balance of performance, endurance and price. All Micron SSDs across all interfaces feature: Targeted endurance As datacentre architectures have evolved to better utilise the value of SSDs, the SSDs have also evolved to better enable those architectures. By offering a broad range of endurance classes, full portfolio SSD manufactures like Micron have engineered designs to better enable broader SSD use. Focus on applications Micron s SSDs are optimised for many write-light, write-heavy and mixed-use workloads ranging from Big Data and Hyper-convergence, to scale-out and scale-up storage and compute, to VDI and Server virtualisation and Virtual SAN, to content delivery, database management and HPC. Right cost and performance The balance of cost across multiple workloads and interfaces successfully aligns with today s enterprise light and data center environments. Micron offers SSDs that are specifically designed for demanding 24/7 enterprise workloads along with the world class support, proven quality and reliability that can only be offered by a truly vertically integrated SSD supplier. Sources 1. IDC Predictions 2013: Competing on the 3rd Platform, IDC, November 2012. http://www.idcresearch.com/getdoc.jsp?container-id=wc20121129 2.Spiceworks survey of 179 IT professionals at companies with at least 100 employees in the U.S. and Canada, on behalf of Micron, May 2015 2016 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. All information is provided on an AS IS basis without warranties of any kind. Statements regarding products, including regarding their features, availability, functionality, or compatibility, are provided for informational purposes only and do not modify the warranty, if any, applicable to any product. Drawings may not be to scale. Micron, the Micron logo, and all other Micron trademarks are the property of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.