As if it wasn’t obvious already that SSD is the most controversial topic in enterprise storage, here’s Howard Marks and Robin Harris with a great back-and-forth about array architecture. We can’t wait to read the continuing exchange!
Robin started everything with Are SSD-based arrays a bad idea? It’s a simple statement, really:
Building storage arrays from SSDs is opportunistic, not strategic. It isn’t the future for high-end storage, but less-demanding mid-markets may not care.
Howard Marks hit back with Are SSD-Based Storage Arrays Doomed?
Do SSDs have a future in the all-solid-state array market? They sure do. Could a vendor looking for performance at all costs eek a few more IOPS and a few fewer microseconds of latency from custom modules? Probably, but I wonder if it will turn out to be worth it.
Robin responds with SSD arrays: limits of architectural critiques, a punch-by-punch response to Howard’s piece.
Even if an architecture doesn’t support some function, clever engineering can often find another way to achieve the same result. On the other hand, poor implementation makes a mess of the most inspired architecture.
Where will it go from here? We’ll see! In the mean time, you might want to watch the videos from last month’s Solid State Storage Symposium, which included both Robin and Howard!
