Pure Storage unveils 24.7TB QLC flash array

All-flash storage arrays are quite common in mission-critical environments where response time is critical. But if we look a notch below, in the archiving activity, we still find many hybrid storage arrays combining hard disk and SSD. Indeed, hard drives have retained an advantage over flash memories: capacity. Hard drives from Seagate and Western Digital reach 20 TB (in 3.5-inch format), which is far from being the case with Flash media (some PCIe cards, however, go up to 36 TB). But Pure Storage has another way to solve this capacity problem: to make its second generation FlashArray//C a true competitor of hybrid storage (hard disks/SSDs) by giving it a capacity equivalent to that of a hybrid array , but in 100% flash configuration. And according to Pure Storage, this capability of FlashArray//C will allow companies to do without hard disk storage, which consumes more power than an SSD and generates more heat.

The FlashArray//C platform is intended for Tier 2 workloads run by hard drives, such as data backup and protection, test and development environments, and workload consolidation. The Flash Array//C is positioned just after the Flash Array//X subsystem, designed for Tier 1 critical workloads and using faster NAND chips. FlashArray//C uses what Pure Storage calls a “100% Quad-Level-Cell (QLC) enterprise-class flash storage array.” These memories cost 30% less than similarly sized hybrid storage arrays on the market today. The FlashArray//C platform ships with QLC DirectFlash modules of 24.7 TB, and soon 49 TB. The latter is the largest module in the industry to date.

QLC flash and deduplication

The 24.7 TB module has five times the capacity of the first generation FlashArray//C. Maximum raw capacity is quadrupled from 366TB to 1.8PB in RU9, and effective capacity after data deduplication is also quadrupled from 1.3PB to 5.2PB. the second generation of FlashArray//C, we are proud to once again demonstrate our commitment to innovation and to ensuring that ever more varied use cases can benefit from the advantages of flash, with an advantage that will relegate hybrid storage to the technology category of the past,” said Scott Baker, vice president of product marketing for FlashArray at Pure Storage, in a statement.

One of the concerns about QLC NAND flash is that it has a shorter lifespan than TLC memory due to more frequent writes. Purity OS software shipped with the array manages quality of service and wear and tear to ensure consistent performance and endurance. Purity enables policy-based replication, snapshots, and migration between Pure Storage arrays and public clouds. Customers using both FlashArray//C and FlashArray/X can synchronize data storage, with data being moved between the FlashArray//X used for high-performance workloads and the FlashArray//C for high-performance workloads. level 2 work, capacity oriented. Common data services across the FlashArray platform make it quick and easy to access, manage, and secure data for multiple workloads, geographies, and clouds. With Pure-as-a-Service, Pure Storage is fully in line with the trend of on-demand, pay-as-you-go services based on the quantity of services consumed. (In reality, the storage array is still needed). This second generation FlashArray//C is available today from Pure and resellers.

Fight against Covid-19

Pure has also participated, in its own way, in the search for a cure for Covid-19. The [email protected] distributed processing project, managed by the chemistry department at Washington University in St. Louis, has developed a client application that anyone can install on their computer. The client makes it possible to perform simulations of chemical compounds when the computer is not used, and to test the most effective bonds with the virus, the goal being to block its replication. This project, set up 20 years ago, had only a handful of users. But the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly revived its interest, to the point of being suddenly overwhelmed by millions of users eager to help research. Results: [email protected] project’s hard disk storage servers were overwhelmed, only for writing results to disk. In order to allow the [email protected] project to track all the results it received from several million contributors, Pure donated a FlashBlade system.