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    Micron Weds Flash to DDR4 Memory

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    In a development that should have a significant impact on how primary storage is addressed by enterprise applications, Micron Technology today announced that memory that makes use of DDR4 packaging to provide access to 8GB of persistent Flash storage is now available in production quantities.

    Ryan Baxter, senior manager of business development for Micron, says 8GB DDR4 NVDIMM modules will provide the performance attributes on traditional memory using Flash memory to provide a form of persistent storage. While it may take a while for server vendors to incorporate DDR4 NVDIMM into servers, the implications for both Flash memory installed on a card as well as traditional storage arrays are likely to be profound.

    Instead of having to contend with multiple types of I/O bottlenecks to optimize storage performance, applications will be able to count on having 8GB of NVDIMM storage instantly available. That may not eliminate the need for other types of Flash storage or even magnetic disks, but it does add another tier of primary storage that should serve to make applications faster by another several orders of magnitude.

    Couple that with the 3D XPoint memory that Micron expects to deliver in partnership with Intel in 2016, and it’s becoming clear that advances in memory and storage will soon transform application performance, but also how entire data centers are constructed.

    Ultimately, IT organizations will soon have to rethink how reads and writes are processed in a world where multiple tiers of persistent memory will soon be routinely available. In the meantime, IT organizations would be well-advised to revisit data center plans for the future, if for no reason than the amount of space, energy and cooling they think might be needed could very well prove to be even less than they are currently consuming.

    Mike Vizard
    Mike Vizard
    Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a contributor to publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.

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