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All Flash Arrays: Controllers Are The New Bottleneck

Today's storage array market contains a wild variation of products: block storage, file storage or object storage; direct attached, SANs or NAS systems; fibre-channel, iSCSI or Infiniband... Even the SAN section of the market is full of diversity: from legacy hard disk drive-based arrays through the transitory step of tiered disk+flash hybrid systems and on to modern All-Flash Arrays (AFAs). If … Continue reading All Flash Arrays: Controllers Are The New Bottleneck →

New Installation Cookbook: Oracle Linux 6.7 with Oracle 11.2.0.4 RAC

I've updated my install cookbooks page to include a new cookbook for installation of Oracle 11.2.0.4 Real Application Clusters on Oracle Linux 6.7. This is also the first one I've published since I left the employment of Violin Memory to work for Kaminario, so this install uses a Kaminario K2 All Flash Array. However, it applies very well … Continue reading New Installation Cookbook: Oracle Linux 6.7 with Oracle 11.2.0.4 RAC →

How the Next Generation of Flash Storage is Changing the Economics Of SaaS Businesses (Recorded Webinar)

This week I had the opportunity to record a webinar on a subject very close to my heart, the Software-as-a-Service industry. From 2003 to 2007 I managed the production infrastructure for a global SaaS company through the transition from startup to acquisition (partly by Salesforce.com). At the time, SaaS was a relatively new phenomenon, predating any concept … Continue reading How the Next Generation of Flash Storage is Changing the Economics Of SaaS Businesses (Recorded Webinar) →

Understanding Flash: The Fall and Rise of Flash Memory

This month sees the four year anniversary of some interesting events. Commonwealth countries around the world celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Whitney Houston was tragically found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel. The Caribbean was hit hard by sargassum seaweed invasion. And I made the decision to leave the comfort of Oracle databases and join the exciting … Continue reading Understanding Flash: The Fall and Rise of Flash Memory →

All Flash Arrays: Hybrid Means Compromise

Sometimes the transition between two technologies is long and complicated. It may be that the original technology is so well established that it's entrenched in people's minds as simply "the way things are" - inertia, you might say. It could be that there is more than one form of the new technology to choose from, … Continue reading All Flash Arrays: Hybrid Means Compromise →

All Flash Arrays: SSD-based versus Ground-Up Design

In recent articles in this series I've been looking at the architectural choices for building All Flash Arrays (AFAs). I surmised that there are three main approaches: Hybrid Flash Arrays SSD-based All Flash Arrays Ground-Up All Flash Arrays (which from here on I'll refer to as Custom Flash Module arrays or CFM arrays) I've already blown metaphorical raspberries at … Continue reading All Flash Arrays: SSD-based versus Ground-Up Design →

All Flash Arrays: Where’s My Capacity? Effective, Usable and Raw Explained

What's the most important attribute to consider when you want to buy a new storage system? More critical than performance, more interesting than power and cooling requirements, maybe even more important than price? Whether it's an enterprise-class All Flash Array, a new drive for your laptop or just a USB flash key, the first question … Continue reading All Flash Arrays: Where’s My Capacity? Effective, Usable and Raw Explained →