Society for Information Mgmt SSD: New Uses for Memory to Accelerate Application

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2 Society for Information Mgmt SSD: New Uses for Memory to Accelerate Application Andrew Reichman Senior Analyst Forrester Research November 20 th, 2008

3 Agenda The Use Case for SSD in Storage Nuts And Bolts Of SSD Technology Architectural Options for SSD and Cache Current Vendor Offerings SSD Barriers To Adoption 3 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 The Use Case For SSD in Storage 4 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

5 SSD Offers Reduced Data Access Time SSD storage has much lower latency than traditional hard drives Applications that are extremely sensitive to latency in data access are likely to benefit from SSD Typical applications include Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) databases Data being crunched heavily for analysis that is time sensitive is also a good candidate 5 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

6 Nuts and Bolts of SSD Technology 6 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

7 SSD can be DRAM or Flash Based DRAM (the same media used for server and array cache) has the highest performance profile But, DRAM is the most costly SSD option Also, DRAM is volatile, meaning it must be continuously powered to retain data Volatility of DRAM requires battery backup 7 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

8 SSD can be DRAM or Flash Based Flash has lower performance than DRAM, but is less costly and is non-volatile The cost reduction curve for Flash is steeper Flash has resiliency concerns- limited read-write-erase cycle Flash can be SLC or MLC Performance can be tuned for read or write, but not both- leads to interest split path architecture Most current interest in SSD revolves around SLC flash 8 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

9 But, any SSD Is Expensive There are some environments where cost is no object For the majority though, the cost of SSD would have to be offset by something else SSD can contribute to increased use of SATA SSD can reduce the amount of cache in arrays For environments that are short stroking for performance, SSD can be cost effective SSD often offers power savings over HDD 9 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

10 Memory as Persistent Storage vs. Cache Vendors disagree on whether SSD should be deployed as persistent storage or as cache Persistent storage allows admins to use mature processes for management, often using HDD form factor SSD drives But, admins must manually determine what to put on persistent SSD, and it may be wasted Cache algorithms allow data to move in and out of memory depending on usage Cache could allow better utilization of resources 10 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

11 Architectural Options for SSD and Cache 11 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

12 SSD/Cache can be Deployed in Many Ways Dedicated SSD Array HDD/SSD Hybrid Array SSD Storage in the Server Increased Cache in Array Cache Appliance Virtualization Appliance 12 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

13 Dedicated SSD Arrays 13 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

14 Hybrid HDD/SSD 14 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

15 Persistent SSD Storage in the Server 15 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

16 More Cache in the Array can sit in for SSD 16 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

17 Cache Appliances Create Global Pools of Memory 17 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

18 Storage Virtualization Appliances Can Deploy Added Cache 18 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

19 Vendor Offerings on the Market 19 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

20 Current Offerings on the Market Vendor Compellent Product Storage Center Architecture HDD form factor Persistent Storage with automated tiering DataCore EMC Fusion IO Gear6 IBM Intel NetApp NetApp Solid Data Texas Memory Systems SAN Symphony Symmetrix & Clariion IO Drive CacheFX Blade Center X25 PAM SAA SD/StorageSpire RAM SAN High Cache Virtualization Appliance HDD form factor Persistent Storage Persistent Flash storage in Server Global Cache Appliance Persistent Flash storage in Server Persistent Flash storage in Server Cache Module for Arrays Global Cache Appliance Dedicated SSD Array Dedicated SSD Array 20 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

21 Barriers to Adoption 21 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

22 Barriers to Adoption Cost- SSD still commands a premium over HDD Identifying data for SSD is hard; performance analytics tools are weak and under-adopted Reliability concerns remain for Flash in enterprise Concerns about incompatibility of HDD error codes Lack of architecture consensus slows acceptance 22 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

23 Recommendations 23 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

24 Recommendations Don t get caught in the hype SSD is costly, so be judicious Consider how you will identify which data to place on SSD in a persistent architecture Performance analytics is critical for SSD success Start with applications- if latency is the bottleneck, then SSD might be the answer 24 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

25 Get More from Forrester Dec 1 December 1-5 Jam Session (11:30-12:30 ET daily): How To Succeed In Tough Times: Beyond The Usual Suspects Creating a Leaner IT Visit: forrester.com/mnsim to download this presentation and register for complimentary Webinars: Marc Cecere, Galen Schreck, David West, Alex Peters Dec 2 Dec 3 Dec 4 Dec 5 (Re) Prioritizing the Portfolio Improving Vendor Performance and Relationships Finding Emerging Technologies with Staying Power Tuning Your Own Agenda to Economic Realities Alex Cullen, Craig Symons, Chip Gliedman, Phil Murphy John McCarthy, Duncan Jones, Paul Roehrig, Ray Wang Ted Schadler, Liz Herbert, Mike Gualtieri, Bobby Cameron Jeff Scott, Matt Brown, Khalid Kark, Laurie Orlov 25 Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

26 Thank you Andrew Reichman Entire contents 2008 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.