Diablo Unveils Faster Approach to In-Memory Storage

With interest in using DRAMs and Flash memory to provide persistent storage on the rise, a lot of IT organizations are looking for new approaches to managing primary storage.

The latest vendor to throw its hat into that particular ring is Diablo Technologies, a long-time provider of memory interfaces, which this week unveiled a Memory Channel Storage (MCS) system that connects directly to the processors in a server or storage array versus a more traditional PCIe slot.

According to Diablo Technologies CEO Riccardo Badalone, in a world where in-memory storage will need to be shared across multiple applications taking advantage of multicore processors, a faster approach to delivering access to primary in-memory storage in going to be required.

Leveraging its memory interface expertise, Badalone says MCS reduces latency times over PCIe by over 85 percent in a way that delivers terabytes of primary in-memory storage at price points that can rival traditional SATA magnetic disk drives.

As multicore processors continue to evolve, it’s only a matter of time before PCIe interfaces that were designed for magnetic storage systems become a comparatively expensive bottleneck. Rather than deploying in-memory storage systems that make use of what amounts to a legacy interface, Badalone is making the case that in-memory storage needs storage interfaces that were specifically designed to handle memory systems.

While there is going to be no shortage of primary memory storage systems, the issue that IT organizations will need to confront is how best to scale those investments. In some instances at least, it will be hard to beat systems that connect directly to processors versus an intermediary interface. That doesn’t necessarily mean that PCIe won’t play a role in the future of in-memory storage; it just means it’s not the only option.