click to visit StorageSearch.com home page
leading the way to the new storage frontier .....
the fastest SSDs - click to read article
the fastest SSDs ..
high availabaility SSD arrays
HA SSDs ..
fibre channel compatible SSDs
FC SAN SSDs ..
the SSD Buyers Guide - click to see article
SSD buyers guide ..
Rackmount SSDs click for news and directory
rackmount SSDs ..
click to read article - sugaring  MLC for the enterprise
adding e to MLC ....
image shows mouse battering down door to cheese store - click for RAM SSDs  directorypage
RAM SSDs ..
image shows megabyte waving the winners trophy - there are over 200 SSD oems - which ones matter? - click to read article
top 10 SSD oems ..
click to see the collection of  SSD reliability articles here on StorageSearch.com
SSD reliability ..
.....
searching for Storage Area Networks?

how to find SAN content more easily

Editor:- I first published a directory of Fibre-channel adapters way back in 1994 - as one of the many buyers guides within the SPARC Product Directory.

When I moved all the storage stuff here to StorageSearch.com in 1998 - SANs were one of the most popular subjects - and I expanded our coverage to include many other topics which mushroomed around the SAN space such as routers, switches, GBICs, SSDs, training, security etc

Today in 2011 - with hundreds of companies in the SAN market the old long lists which used to be on this page are no longer useful for helping you find SAN content.

Instead I suggest you can use site search below to find SAN related vendors, guides and articles - or click on this link to get a prepulated search for SAN which you can extend by adding your own terms.
In recent years I've been using "FC" as an abbreviation for "fibre-channel" - particularly when it comes to adapters and drives. So using FC in your searches will also get you useful results:- as for example in this link FC SSDs (search).

Because I've written about the SAN market since the technology started I've been consistent about the way I used terms in news stories and vendor profiles.

Therefore NAS and iSCSI - which started as much later ethernet related terms are not going to get scrambled with your SAN search results - unless there's a good reason.

The exception is "IP SAN" - which is a term I resisted using for many years - but has become widely adopted by vendors as a (they think it's cool but I think it's misleading) alternative to the perfectly good legacy terms which existed before.

In the early 2000s I started a list of SAN software vendors. That became irrelevant as a directory after a few years when it became clear that most serious enterprise software vendors had to support storage networks of all types otherwise they weren't doing anything useful in the market.

Although all the content here on the mouse site is transitioning to solid state storage - you'll still find hundreds of articles and thousands of news stories about traditional FC storage products on this site by using the searches above.
.
.
classic SAN articles from storage history

SAN Applications
SAN History's 1st Decade
A Storage Architecture Guide
Tuning SANs with Solid State Disks
.
.
LSI Logic Storage Systems - MetaStor E-Series
MetaStor E4600 SAN
from LSI Logic Storage Systems
(2002)
.
Editor's notes from storage history.

Back in 2002 LSI advertised here on StorageSearch.com. They'd started many years earlier - when the SPARC systems market was important - and we published the SPARC Product Directory.

Clicking on the MetaStor E4600 links above takes you to an archived page which shows the tech specs of the product at that time.
.
other topics on StorageSearch.com

1 inch SSDs
1.8 inch SSDs
2.5 inch SSDs
3.5 inch SSDs
AoE (ATA-over-Ethernet) articles
architecture - SAN, NAS, DAS
ASAPs (SSD)
backup software - articles
bookmarks SSD - suggested by leaders
brands in the SSD market
cables for FC, SATA, SCSI
chips for storage interface
cloud storage
controllers for SSDs
data recovery companies
deduplication FAQs
disk duplicators - vendors and articles
disk to disk backup
editor's blog
endurance in flash SSDs
enterprise SSDs - new perspectives
events and conferences
expressCard SSDs
fastest SSDs
fibre-channel SSDs
flash memory
flash SSDs
firewire
flood damaged drives - recovery tips
glossary of storage
hard drives - articles
heresies - and disagreements about SSDs
history of SSDs
history of the storage market
InfiniBand
integrity in flash SSDs
iSCSI SSDs
jargon (SSDs)
jukeboxes - optical
marketing views
market research
military storage
NAS
news
notebook SSDs
ORGs - industry standards bodies
PATA SSDs
parallel SCSI SSDs
PCIe SSDs
people who shaped the storage market
petabyte SSD milestones & roadmap
price factors SSDs
rackmount SSDs
RAID systems
RAM
RAM SSDs
record breaking storage
reliability articles and news
routers in the storage market
SAN
sanitizers - disks, tape
SAS articles and market
SAS SSDs
SATA
SATA SSDs
security in storage
software
SPARC server history
SSD market analysts
SSD news
tape libraries
top SSD companies
USB SSDs
venture capital
VTLs (virtual tape library) news

SAN (Storage Area Networks)

RAM SSDs
FC SAN SSDs
this way to the Petabyte SSD
auto tiering SSDs / SSD ASAPs
Surviving SSD sudden power loss
flash wars in the enterprise SSD market
see SAN image in Megabyte cartoon
... Inspired by the movie City Slickers
Megabyte was experimenting with
a traditional data round-up technique.
SAN news
QLogic launches FabricCache PCIe SSD

Editor:- March 22, 2013 - QLogic yesterday entered the enterprise SSD market (in the PCI SSD and SSD ASAPs segments) with the launch its first product - the FabricCache 10000 Series adapter (pdf) - which provides transparent sharable and clusterable caching for FC SANs.

The 2 card set (upto 400GB flash, and 2x 8Gbps FC ports) can deliver upto 310,000 initiator IOPS and supports upto 2,048 concurrent logins.


Imation acquires Nexsan

Editor:- January 2, 2013 - Imation today announced it has acquired Nexsan (which among other things is in the rackmount hybrid SSD ASAPs market) for $120 million.


making history at the US Presidential Debate

Editor:- October 22, 2012 - supporting the US Presidential Debate taking place today at Lynn University is a high availability hybrid storage array from Tegile Systems.

"Having won the university's request for proposal process earlier this year we are diligently working to assemble the technology that will bring the debate to millions of people and households," said Rob Commins, VP of marketing, Tegile Systems. "We are honored to be a part of American history in this important way."


future SSD capacity ratios in the server, SAN and archive?

Editor:- September 14, 2012 - Have you ever wondered... how much SSD storage should sit inside servers compared to being located on the SAN?

Obviously the exact ratio depends on the diverse spread of your data processing activities and the type of business you're engaged in.

At the extreme boundary cases the answer will be different if you're Google (say) compared to if you're an international bank.

For most enterprises the ratio will be something in between.

But if you're looking for an ideal magic number - I think an interesting debating point is to look at what people already do in HPC (high performance computing) apps.

In these situations users have already tried to optimize performance and the inevitable constraint of cost - but the starting premise is to place weight on performance.

The storage ratios which emerged from a recently published HPC survey by Intersect360 Research were
  • 36% of storage in compute servers
  • 63% of storage at the site level (NAS or SAN)
Now I have to remind you that those numbers were for storage and not for SSDs. But in not too many years from now when all enterprise storage will be solid state - the SSDs will still follow application and performance heirarchies too - and I think the split shown in that report is a reasonable analog to describe enterprise SSDs in the silos from the ultrafast through to the fast-enough.

But what about bulk archive storage?

That will be SSD too - it almost goes without saying - but if you try to estimate how much SSD storage will be bulk archive (performing similar roles to old style tape libraries and VTLs) compared to active SSD storage - during the next decade - some curious factors creep in.

Today - in legacy storage systems - archive backups and storage are high multiples (in capacity terms) of active working / online storage. You need copies of stuff for legal and compliance reasons, for backup, disaster recovery etc. And in the next 5 years or so that may continue to be the case - because it takes a long time for enterprise architectures to change.

But as we move towards the pure SSD driven economy - most enterprises will be creating new data faster than they ever did before (1 month of new date could be more than the whole year before) and at the same time the inefficiency of architectures like RAID will be replaced by the new efficiencies of large controller architectures - like XtremIO and Skyera. I'm tempted to say cloud -like - but that would be inaccurate - because in raw implementation - there are both very efficient and some inefficient clouds too.

I'm tempted to think that the combined result of these 2 factors coming together will be to shrink down the ratio of raw online to bulk archive storage to one - in best of breed enterprises - (or maybe even less than one - because of dedupe, compression etc).

Are there any useful consequences of any of these insights?

It can be usefule for sizing markets. One example came up on the same day I was writing this article - related to the possible cannibalization of 2.5" PCIe SSDs (including 2.5" SCSIe SSDs) relative to SAS. But there are many others too.


Fusion-io does a few new things

Editor:- August 2, 2012 - the performance and strategic importance of SSD software was reinforced in 2 recent announcements by Fusion-io.

Yesterday - FIO launched its new ION software - which is a toolkit for bulding your own network compatible SSD rack by adding some Fusion-io SSD cards and their new software to any leading server.

The concept isn't entirely new - because oems have been doing this with various different brands of PCIe SSDs for years and this is a well established alternative market segment for PCIe SSDs. What is new - is that it makes the whole thing much easier.

Fusion-io says this new software product "delivers breakthrough performance over Fibre Channel, InfiniBand and iSCSI using standard protocols." (1 million random IOPs (4kB), 6GB/s throughput and 60 microseconds latency in a 1U rack.)

Earlier this week FIO announced it was collaborating on getting interoperability in server-side flash and caching software with NetApp. It's easier now to write a list of major storage systems oems who aren't doing something significant with FIO.


CWCDS offers 5TB version of SANbric SSD JBOD

Editor:- June 19, 2012 - today Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions announced a new version of its FC compatible SSDs the SANbric which supports just under 5TB and weighs about 5 lbs and is designed for deployment in high speed rugged data streaming apps such as on-board wide body aircraft, and helicopter platforms.


waiting for the true arrival of the PCIe FT SAN?

Editor:- February 9, 2012 - What's a storage network?

I thought I knew the answer to that question. Probably you do too. But the topology possibilities enabled by a new generation of PCIe chips will change the way that servers and solid state storage can interact - and open up a new fast lane for data. These concepts are explored in a new article in Who's who in SSD? - PLX.

And why do you need to know about PCIe chips? Remember there was a time when no one cared very much about SSD controllers too. ...click to read the article


highest density FC SAN SLC SSD racks with no SPOF

Editor:- December 6, 2011 - Texas Memory Systems today announced imminent availability of the RamSan-720 - a 4 port (FC/IB) 1U rackmount SSD which provides 10TB of usable 2D (FPGA implemented) RAID protected and hot swappable - SLC capacity with 100/25 microseconds R/W latency (with all protections in place) delivering 400K IOPS (4KB), 5GB/s throughput - with no single point of failure (at $20K/TB approx list).

The new SSD uses a regular RAM cache flash architecture which in the event of sudden power loss has an ultra reliable battery array which holds up the SSD power for 30 seconds while automatically backing up all data in flight and translation tables to nonvolatile flash storage. On power up - the SSD is ready for full speed operation in less than a minute.

Aimed at HA tier 1 storage markets - the RamSan-720 consumes only 300-400 W - which makes it practical for high end users to install nearly 1/2 petabyte of SSD storage in a single cabinet - without having to worry about the secondary reliability and data integrity risks which can arise from high temperature build-ups in such enclosures.

The high density and low power consumption of this SSD made it feasible to stuff over 400TB of usable SSD capacity into a single cabinet without fear of over heating.


finally SAN-bound - Fusion-io inside Kaminario's K2

Editor:- September 13, 2011 - Kaminario announced it has integrated Fusion-io's PCIe SSDs as a new option in its K2 FC SAN compatible SSD product line (which was until now RAM SSD only) to provide flash and hybrid storage options.

Using the new options the K2 can provide from 3 to 30TB of non-stop, protected and self healing, blade server based flash storage in 4U to 12U of rack space with R/W latency of 260 / 150 microseconds at a list price of $30K / TB. ...click to read comments and analysis


SANRAD launches front loadable PCIe SSD accelerators

Editor:- August 31, 2011 - SANRAD today introduced front loadable PCIe flash SSD accelerators as options in its V-Switch storage appliances enabling upto 4TB of flash, together with 2x10GE networking and 2x8Gb FC, all in a single 1U rackmount appliance (or 10TB in 2U).

The unique front-panel installation allows for quick, easy maintenance and upgradeability in the data center. It enables a "pay as you grow" approach, allowing customers to add or replace PCIe flash modules without opening the appliance, similar to the way HDDs are added to a server.


SAN Shared File Systems with SSDs

Editor:- July 11, 2011 - SAN Shared File Systems with SSDs is the subject of a new blog from Texas Memory Systems.

Author Jamon Bowen says in the article - "There is a new option that I have seen getting deployed more and more often: using high capacity SSDs and a SAN shared file system. A SAN shared filesystem provides the locking to allow multiple servers to directly access the block storage concurrently."

Editor's comments:- The "new option" above is narrative license - because I know that TMS has been doing this for years - but this type of configuration is more common now - because of declining SSD costs. I like this article for its conceptual purity (sticks to the theme and doesn't waffle on about SANs or SSDs) - and it has a nice picture too. ...read the article


Oracle acquires Pillar

Editor:- June 29, 2011 - Oracle today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pillar Data Systems - which was already majority owned by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Editor's comments:- I guess I'd say - So what? This simply ends a fiction which no one seriously believed in. Pillar was hampered by its ownership which meant that it could be yanked in any direction at a moment's notice. Pulling the storage skunkworks inside the Oracle corporate fold will work better for customers and as a business - even if it may upset some internal stakeholders.


EMC will enter PCIe SSD market

Editor:- May 9, 2011 - EMC today announced new strategies related to the SSD market.

Among other things EMC said it has created a flash business unit and will enter the PCIe SSD market later this year. The company indicated that its run rate of shipping flash storage array capacity in 2011 is approximately 3x the level it had achieved in 2010.


Dataram doubles memory in XcelaSAN

Editor:- April 6, 2011 - Dataram has doubled the RAM cache available in its XcelaSAN (2U rackmount fibre-channel SAN SSD accelerator) to 256GB (the system price is approx $75,000).

XcelaSAN delivers up to 30x transparent R/W acceleration to attached disk storage arrays with a high-availability architecture (internal performance is upto 450,000 IOPS). Unlike vanilla SSD accelerators, XcelaSAN dynamically caches high I/O activity application data when it is needed, to support multiple applications many times larger than the cache itself.

"With the new capacity upgrade, the XcelaSAN storage optimization appliance allows customers to dramatically accelerate more applications with a cost-effective, easy to install storage appliance," said Jason Caulkins, Chief Technologist, Dataram. "The added cache capacity allows customers to add cache tiering to a wider range of applications in addition to their mission critical applications, resulting in improved performance across their entire business."

Editor's comments:- when Dataram launched the XcelaSAN in September 2009 - they published precious little performance data and they didn't offer a simple high availability option. Now with benefit of customer experience and a reworking of the design Dataram has a lot more info which describes the product including a useful (and overdue) FAQs page. Another factor which has changed in the meantime is that more than 20 other manufacturers now offer ASAPs (Auto-tuning SSD Accelerated Pools of storage) with their own flavors of interface, form factor etc making this a confusing market for potential buyers.

The simple pitch for the Dataram ASAP is:- it works with your existing FC SAN storage arrays and installs in about an hour. Because it does the hot spot tuning automatically it suits medium sized enterprises who may only need to buy a single system. These users are not so attractive to high end SSD oems who for business reasons prefer focusing their technical and sales talent on customers with high multiple repeat business potential.

One amusing thing for me in seeing today's news about doubling the memory in the XcelaSAN is that Dataram has for decades been the first memory maker to offer increased memory capacity for leading servers. Now the company is doing the same thing to itself.


NetApp acquires Engenio

Editor:- March 9, 2011 - Network Appliance announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the Engenio external storage systems business of LSI for $480 million.

The close is anticipated to occur in approximately 60 days subject to customary closing conditions.

Engenio will enable NetApp to address emerging and fast-growing market segments such as video, including full-motion video capture and digital video surveillance, as well as high performance computing applications, such as genomics sequencing and scientific research. NetApp has the channel reach and customer relationships today that require high performance and big bandwidth capabilities that will be well served by Engenio's storage platform. NetApp says these segments are expected to collectively represent a $5 billion incremental market opportunity by 2014.

Editor's comments:- LSI has been trying to sell off Engenio since 2004. NetApp will love them more. For a brief time this past week - searches for Engenio exceeded that for "SSD". In the previous decade over 500 leading storage companies were acquired, changed name or went bust.


Xiotech enters FC ASAP market

Editor:- January 31, 2011 - Xiotech is the latest company to join the crowding SSD ASAP market with the launch of its Hybrid ISE - a 3U FC rack with 14TB of capacity and 60,000 IOPS performance which internally uses a mixture of 2.5" SSDs and HDDs.

Similarly to many other ASAP vendors - Xiotech claims its systems has "fully automated set-and-forget simplicity". The company says that using ROI calculations from weighted I/O counts, automated tiering begins within 1 minute of I/O and continues to manage the performance requirements of applications in real-time.

Editor's comments:- in its Jan 2011 blog - Xiotech disclosed that a customer survey it had done about SSD usage revealed "only 9% in-use or currently evaluating the use of SSD. Another 8% responded that SSDs were in 2011 plans. Of those who've adopted/currently testing SSDs, over half were using SSDs as part of a storage array. Less that 25% were deploying memory cards added to servers."

Those figures indicate the huge upside which still remains for the SSD market.


Inside Texas Memory Systems' 8GB/s FC SSD

Editor:- January 26, 2011 -Texas Memory Systems today announced the availability of 8Gbps fibre-channel interfaces for its RamSan-630 - fast 10TB 3U rackmount SLC SSDs.

Each unit can be configured with upto 10 independent 8Gb FC ports for a total data transfer rate of 8 GBytes / sec. Ports can be mixed - with the previously available (and 25% faster) InfiniBand.

Editor's comments:- I interviewed Jamon Bowen, Director of Sales Engineering for TMS - and learned a lot about the internal design and architecture of this SSD which the company hasn't revealed before. Click here to read - key performance enablers inside the RamSan-630.


the future of enterprise data storage

Editor:- January 23, 2011 - the future of data storage is the lofty sounding but aptly chosen title of a new article published online today in Broadcast Engineering - written by Zsolt Kerekes editor of StorageSearch.com (that's me).

It's a completely new article which synthesizes and integrates concepts from several futuristic articles which have already appeared here on the mouse site and wraps them into a cohesive whole. Anyone who reads it will get a clear idea of where the incremental changes they read about in storage news pages (like this one) are likely to end up. ...read the article


A new way of looking at the Enterprise SSD market

Editor:- October 4, 2010 - StorageSearch.com recently published a new article - Legacy versus New Dynasty - A new way of looking at the Enterprise SSD market

It proposes a new classification method for "enterprise SSDs" which will help you get through the jungle of new SSD web content - and see all new products in a new light.
Storage History.................................................................
SSD ad - click for more info
..

Virident FlashMAX.  - click for more info
Predictable, industry-leading performance.
Scales across diverse workloads, data sets,
and sustains over time.
Learn more about - Virident FlashMAX

...
tier 1 - 1U rackmount SSD
no single point of failure
lowest latency, highest density 1U FC SLC SSD
the RamSan-720 - from Texas Memory Systems

Oceanspace enterprise SSD - click for more info
tier 1 FC SAN SLC SSD storage
Oceanspace Dorado2100
from Huawei Symantec
.
HA enterprise SSD arrays
high availabaility SSD arrays Due to the growing number of oems in the high availability rackmount SSD market StorageSearch.com recently published a new directory focusing on HA enterprise SSD arrays.
.
.

storage search banner

STORAGEsearch is published by ACSL