Solid state drive (SSD) hardware supplier Fusion-io has entered the networked flash appliance arena with the launch of its ION Data Accelerator software.
Positioning itself in the networked flash acceleration market to compete with the likes of Violin and Texas Memory Systems, the supplier’s CEO David Flynn told Computer Weekly that the ION Data Accelerator array is designed not to lock customers into proprietary hardware and software configurations.
“You are not limited to a specific flash appliance, but instead can choose what works best for your environment. It can be included in existing servers, so you are not forced to buy into a proprietary box,” he said.
The software is designed to run on standard x86 servers and to work inside the cache in shared ioMemory data acceleration appliances. Regardless of existing connectivity, the product runs over fibre channel, InfiniBand and iSCSI using standard protocols.
Flynn said when the software is installed on a 1U-size Nand flash-based server, the ION Data Accelerator can deliver more than one million I/Os per second.
According to Flynn, post-film production media company Prime Focus was able to edit three times as many film scenes a day deploying the ION Data Accelerator.
"All the power in ION is embedded in the Nand flash memory, which can run anywhere. It gives the server personality and more flexibility at a lower cost point. It’s about stitching relevant information together quickly," he added.
Fusion-io claimed the server itself can replace your storage array if it incorporates flash.
The product was unveiled at Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s 62nd birthday party in San Francisco last night. Wozniak is Fusion-io’s chief scientist.
Earlier this week, Fusion-io teamed up with NetApp on a virtual storage platform, which combines server side flash and advanced management tools. The partnership aims to enhance the capabilities between Fusion-io’s IOMemory platform and the Data Ontap with flash cache, flash pool and other caching systems.
