Many of the applications that can benefit most from all-Flash memory arrays also need to scale over an extended period of time. Case in point would be desktop virtualization, where an all-Flash array can be the difference between successful implementation and revolt by end users who are suddenly less than happy about the performance of some of their applications.
The challenge is that no one can be sure how much Flash memory any application is going to need. With that issue in mind, SolidFire, a provider of all-Flash arrays, is making good on its promise to move into the enterprise. The company has announced that it has created a reference architecture for VMware View desktop virtualization environments.
According to Jay Prassl, vice president of marketing and sales for SolidFire, the VMware View reference architecture should be embraced by both its traditional base of cloud service provider customers and IT organizations building high-end, private clouds. In fact, Prassl says that because SolidFire is based on scale-out architecture, one of the things traditional enterprise IT organizations will appreciate is how easily the all-Flash environment can scale over time. SolidFire arrays, says Prassl, scale out to 100 nodes, which are capable of providing 3.4PB of all-Flash storage at price points below $3 per gigabyte. In the case of VMware View, Prassl says that translates into roughly $50 per desktop.
Prassl contends that when it comes to scalability, many of the all-Flash products on the market have yet to stand the test of time. SolidFire, in contrast, is widely used by cloud service providers that are building out all-Flash cloud computing environments.
The good news is that the enterprise has no shortage of all-Flash array options. The issue now is figuring out which one is based on architecture that your organization can live with for years to come.