IBM flash memory outperforms world's fastest disk storage solution by over 250-per cent

29 August 2008

IBM has claimd a major breakthrough that it says outperforms the world'd fastest disk storage solution  by over 250-per cent. The announcement  quick on the heels of the news that Intel will enter the high-capacity solid-state drive business aimed at replacing hard-disk drives in both consumer and corporate markets -  20 years after it introduced its first flash memory--a 256KB flash chip.

The first mass market solid state devices have been used in the form of flash memory cards, though their application has been limited to digital cameras and music players. IBM is now seeking to address the enterprise segment's need for high-speed storage solutions.

IBM said  its breakthrough in flash storage, delivering delivering data transfer speeds of more than 1 million input/output operations per second, two and a half times faster than the industry's fastest disk storage "demonstrated, for the first time, the game-changing impact solid-state technologies can have on how businesses and individuals manage and access information."

The results of IBM's test, conducted at its Hursley development lab in England and the Almaden Research Center in California, were achieved using solid-state technology coupled with its scalable storage virtualisation technology.

Under the codename "Project Quicksilver," IBM achieved groundbreaking results in transferring data at a sustained rate of over one million Input / Output (I/O) per second -- with a response time of under one millisecond (ms).

Compared to the fastest industry benchmarked disk system Quicksilver improved performance by 250 per cent at less than 1/20th the response time, took up 1/5th the floor space and required only 55 per cent of the power and cooling. (Details of the SAN volume controller SPC-1 results are available at: http://www.storageperformance.org/results/benchmark_results_spc1#a00052 when compared with the IBM system storage SAN volume controller using traditional disk storage devices)