White paper - Alternative Storage Technologies

Alternative Storage Technologies Whitepaper

Disruptive storage technologies

New technologies have emerged moving away from the primary drivers of increasing capacity and speed. They aim to make storage smarter, more flexible and easier to manage.

Even though these technologies are not digital storage mediums, they enhance the performance and management of the storage functions. These technologies include NVMe, storage class memory, and intent-based storage management. NVMe/NVMe-oF NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express) is a power- ful communications protocol targeted specifically at high-speed flash storage systems. It offers signifi- cantly higher performance and lower latencies for existing applications than legacy protocols (SATA and SAS). It enables new capabilities for real-time data processing in the data centre, cloud and edge environments. NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics) creates a very high-performance storage network with latencies that rival direct attached storage (DAS). As a result, flash devices can be shared, when needed, among servers. A lack of robustness and maturity have so far limit- ed NVMe/NVMe-oF adoption. However, new en- hancements, such as the newly announced NVMe over TCP, is accelerating the adoption. STORAGE-CLASS MEMORY (SCM) SCM allows for some processing to be performed at the storage layer rather than in the host CPU's main memory. This computational storage increas- es efficiency and performance. SCM is faster than NAND-based flash alternatives in the range of

1,000-times faster, meaning microsecond latency, not millisecond. Extensive adoption has not hap- pened yet; however, Intel has launched the Op- tane DCPMM persistent memory module, which could accelerate the adoption. INTENT-BASED STORAGE MANAGEMENT Intent-based storage management improves the planning, design and implementation of storage architectures, particularly for organizations coping with mission-critical environments. Intent-based approaches can deliver the same benefits as in networking, like rapid scaling, operational agility, and emerging technology adoption. A developer who specifies a desired outcome (such as, "I need fast storage") isn't consumed with administrative overhead and can provide containers, microser- vices or conventional applications more rapidly. As with any disruptive technology, the downside to intent-based storage management is the hurdle of deployment versus promised value. "Intent-based storage is not a one-size-fits-all technology. While improving the efficiency, performance, and management of business processes through stor- age optimization, these disruptive technologies don't solve the imminent problem of survivability of the storage medium and the content into the future.