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Pure Storage's next-generation flash array offers high-availability option

16.05.2012
Flash array start-up Pure Storage, whose marketing pitch is selling flash at the price of enterprise disk, the second generation of its all-flash array that now includes a highly-availability (HA) configuration.

The Pure Storage FlashArray 300 Series now comes with multiple storage controllers clustered using the InfiniBand protocol, which allows for active/active I/O handling on all ports of all controllers.

The new configuration also allows for all components, including flash drives and RAM modules, to be swapped out without any downtime.

Pure Storage has also added "always on" encryption with zero key management, a new Web user interface, command line interface, and VMware vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI) support.

The FlashArray 300 Series, released in August 2011, uses consumer-grade multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory versus more expensive single-level cell (SLC) or enterprise-class eMLC NAND. Pure Storage's own FlashCare software uses a type of wear-leveling algorithm that writes data to the flash in a way best for performance and endurance, according to Matt Kixmoeller, vice president of products for Pure Storage.

"Even with MLC flash, we're comfortable offering a five-year warranty," Kixmoeller said. "Even if you run it at maximum performance for that time, it will not exhaust the life of the flash."