EMC extends flash leadership new server flash cards deliver record 1.13 million IOPS

EMC  today extended the EMC Xtrem Family of Flash-optimized server and storage products with the introduction of EMC XtremSF, a new family of PCIe-based Flash cards that dramatically accelerate application performance. With the addition of XtremSF to the Xtrem Family, EMC is delivering the industry’s only best-of-breed portfolio of Flash products. 

XtremSF is server Flash hardware, available in a broad set of eMLC and SLC capacities. It can be deployed as either direct attached storage (DAS) that sits within the server to deliver high performance, or it can be deployed in combination with EMC XtremSW Cache (formerly EMC VFCache) server caching software to turbocharge network storage array performance while maintaining the level of protection required of mission-critical application environments. XtremSF joins EMC’s growing portfolio of extreme-performance Flash products, which include Flash optimized hybrid storage arrays, EMC Isilon, EMC VMAX and EMC VNX, as well as the EMC XtremIO all-Flash scale-out enterprise storage array. 

Today EMC also announced the release of XtremIO to select customers. XtremIO is purpose built to leverage Flash and deliver new levels of real-world performance, administrative ease, and advanced data services. Its scale-out architecture delivers higher levels of "functional IOPS" to applications that require high levels of random I/O performance, such as OLTP databases, server virtualization and VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure). Functional IOPS are measured under the real-world operating conditions found in today’s demanding production environments—which is typified by sustained mixed read/write, long-term, sub-millisecond latency, fully random transaction patterns with all data services enabled and operating while filled nearly to capacity. 

In these real-world conditions, the XtremIO system exceeds 150K functional 4K mixed read/write IOPS, and 250K functional 4K read IOPS for each 'X-Brick' (the scale-out building blocks for the XtremIO array), and over 1.2 million functional IOPS and 2 million functional 4K read IOPS when scaled out to a cluster of eight X-Bricks. The XtremIO array delivers this level of performance with consistent sub-millisecond response times while running the industry's richest set of integrated and Flash-optimized data services including Flash-specific data protection, thin provisioning, global inline data reduction, accelerated VMware provisioning through VAAI, and writeable snapshots.  

XtremSF Technology Highlights 

The XtremSF Family of server-based PCIe Flash devices deliver customers with: 

Leading Performance: TheXtremSF Flash devices are proven to deliver a record 1.13 million IOPS in a standard form factor—an achievement unmatched in the industry. The XtremSF device’s next generation design delivers 2X higher throughput than other offerings in the market to enhance real-world applications such as Oracle, Microsoft MySQL and Microsoft Exchange. 

Unmatched Flexibility: TheXtremSF Flash device is available in a broad range of eMLC (550 GB and 2.2 TB) and SLC (350 GB and 700 GB) capacities. 

New Levels of Efficiency: TheXtremSF Flash devices deliver customers the industry’s lowest TCO—up-to 58% better TCO than other offerings. All XtremSF products, including the 2.2TB offering, are standard half-height, half-length 25w PCIe cards—providing the highest storage capacity in the smallest footprint for maximum performance, best density, and lowest power consumption—reducing CPU utilization by up-to 50%. 

EMC Flash Software Strategy 

In 2012, EMC delivered XtremSW Cache. This was the first step in EMC’s long-term server Flash strategy, delivering a server-side storage product featuring a combination of XtremSW Cache software running on an SLC-based PCIe Flash device. The XtremSW Cache software turned the server Flash DAS into a cache, enhancing the performance of a wide variety of mission critical transactional and decision support applications. 

With this announcement, XtremSW Cache can now run a wide variety of eMLC and SLC XtremSF Flash cards. In the future, EMC expects for XtremSW Cache to be able to build upon the software’s functionality with the addition of capabilities like cache coherency, and membership in a broad, device-independent Flash software suite, the EMC XtremSW Suite. 

The XtremSW Suite will extend XtremSW Cache’s focus on caching functionality for PCIe devices, and over time will offer advanced data services to Flash as memory and Flash as DAS. Beginning with a release later this year, EMC will provide customers with pooling, cache coherency, deeper EMC storage array integration and specific enhancements for VMware environments.  

Availability and Services  

XtremSF 550 GB and 2.2 TB eMLC capacities are currently available globally. EMC expects to make 700 GB and 1.4 TB capacities available on EMC price lists later this year. EMC will extend the XtremSF family with even higher capacity offerings in the future.