eBay Installs 100TB of Nimbus Flash Memory Storage

Nimbus Data Systems, Inc. announced that eBay, the online marketplace, has deployed more than 100 terabytes of Nimbus S-class flash memory to power its VMware virtual server infrastructure.

The scale of the Nimbus deployment at eBay, which started with one system and expanded to 12 systems in less than one year, makes it among the world’s largest consolidated deployments of network-attached flash storage for virtualization today.

The selection of Nimbus came after eBay evaluated its existing hard disk-based storage systems, flash-based caching solutions, and tiered storage architectures. eBay required a storage solution with tight integration with VMware virtual infrastructure, iSCSI connectivity over 10 Gigabit Ethernet, ease of administration, and inline deduplication to reduce storage capacity requirements. In the end, eBay was most attracted to the performance, efficiency, simplicity, and comprehensive SAN and NAS software capabilities of the Nimbus Sustainable Storage platform.

The Nimbus solution delivered near line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet iSCSI performance to the VMware hosts while consuming 78 percent less energy and 50 percent less rackspace than conventional disk-based solutions.

"The scope and scale of the eBay platform requires technology solutions that help us innovate faster and deliver outstanding results to our users, both internally and across eBay.com. Nimbus’ S-class solid state storage system delivers exceptional performance and response time that was not possible before with traditional disk-based systems," stated Michael Craft, Manager, QA Systems Administration. "Most impressively, Nimbus delivered a solution based entirely on flash memory, not a hybrid approach, at a price point comparable to primary disk arrays and with no software licensing fees to boot."

"We are delighted to support eBay’s next-generation VMware infrastructure and efficient datacenter vision with our Sustainable Storage platform," stated Thomas Isakovich, CEO and Founder of Nimbus Data Systems. "Nimbus’ S-class system and HALO storage operating system provide the most comprehensive software capability, the most non-disruptive scalability, the most versatile networking options, and the lowest cost per terabyte of any enterprise flash system. As organizations migrate from spinning disk to flash-based storage, wins like eBay demonstrate the maturity and superiority of Nimbus solutions as well as the market readiness for flash adoption in enterprise SAN and NAS environments."

"This is an impressive win and tremendous validation for Nimbus, a company pioneering network-attached flash storage combined with a complete software platform," stated Jim Handy, Chief Analyst with Objective Analysis. "Nimbus’ win at eBay shows that demanding customers are ready to replace conventional spinning disk arrays with flash even in large-scale environments to capture significant performance, power, and rackspace improvements. Nimbus’ comprehensive hardware and software make it well-positioned to capitalize on this tectonic shift in the storage industry."