Two New All-Flash Arrays From Violin Memory

Violin Memory, Inc. announced worldwide availability of the Flash Storage Platform (FSP), including the new 7300 and 7700 all flash arrays, Concerto OS 7, and Symphony 3 management control.

The Flash Storage Platform is designed to run all primary storage and active workloads below the cost of traditional disk. It achieves the consolidation and simplification of next generation data center workloads by delivering high performance storage at low CAPEX and OPEX.

All Flash, All Workloads, All Performance, All at Cost Lower than Disk
At the heart of this engineering achievement is Concerto OS 7, which combines Violin’s system-level flash management and control, block-level de-duplication and compression data efficiency engine, and a set of data management, protection, and recovery services, into a single, integrated OS. Concerto OS 7 is managed by the user through Symphony 3, delivering the flexibility and granular control on a per workload, application or LUN level of all features with simple, single pane of glass storage management solution.

The 7300 and 7700 designs reduce the effective cost-per-gigabyte by more than 75% over Violin’s prior generation of arrays, and are more than 25% lower in cost-per-gigabyte than the competition. For large deployments the system delivers all-flash storage for $1.50 cost-per-gigabyte, making it possible to upgrade all primary storage to all-flash, opening up the roughly $15B primary storage market to all-flash based solutions.

The Flash Storage Platform’s fourth generation Flash Fabric Architecture (FFA) sets new levels of performance, scale and density. The capacity of the 7300 FSP is 217TB effective in a three rack unit space, while the 7700 FSP six-shelf configuration exceeds 1.3PB effective, delivering industrial scale and density of 2.2PB effective in a rack. The platform achieves one million IO/s at sub-millisecond latencies delivering capacity and performance for workload consolidation.

“The Flash Storage Platform is a game changer for our customers and the industry as it creates the tipping point for enterprises to capture the promise of flash for all primary storage workloads, and to migrate and refresh disk storage to all-flash cost effectively. At the same time, customers gain 10X performance improvements for most applications. These performance improvements deliver efficiencies that can completely change the competitive dynamics of most industries by removing the latency and bottlenecks created in the data center by legacy disk,” said Kevin DeNuccio, CEO, Violin Memory.

“The Flash Storage Platform delivers the performance of flash, and enterprise-grade data services, including user selectable block-level, inline de-duplication and compression at end-user costs that compete with traditional disk array prices on a single, simple, powerful platform,” DeNuccio concluded.

“For the first time, customers no longer need complex solutions with multiple components running different software environments and fragmented feature sets. With Concerto OS 7 as the foundation for the Flash Storage Platform, data protection, data reduction, performance, and scalability for the vast majority of primary storage needs are met in a single enclosure running a single OS managed through a single pane of glass,” said Steve Dalton, Violin’s SVP engineering.

7300 Flash Storage Platform: Native, Block-level, Inline Data Reduction
In addition to integrating a range of data services into the OS for performance, reliability, and scalability, Violin has added user selectable, block-level inline de-duplication and compression on the 7300 FSP to give customers maximum storage efficiency. Delivering up to 217TB of effective capacity in 3 rack units at a data reduction rate of 6:1, the 7300 FSP supports mixed and multiple workload environments across an entire range of primary storage requirements.

The 7300 FSP combination of performance and data-reduction makes it a cost-efficient solution for VDI deployments, supporting up to 5,000 persistent virtual desktops per system.

“Our selectable, block-level inline de-duplication and compression is enabled by default,” said Said Ouissal, SVP product management and strategy, Violin Memory. “This approach maximizes storage efficiency while allowing users the option of selectively turning off de-duplication and compression on a per application basis to further optimize performance, providing the only single platform capable of consolidating tier-0, tier-1 and tier-2 workloads.”

7300E Flash Storage Platform: Pay-As-You-Grow
The Violin 7300E FSP provides the same capabilities and features as the 7300, but at an entry-point at 34TB effective. With pay-as-you-grow capacity licensing model, the 7300E can be expanded and without any additional hardware upgrades all the way up to 125TB effective in 3U rack unit foot print.

“The availability of the Flash Storage Platform from Violin Memory addresses real customer challenges – balancing our client’s storage Capex with their increasingly competitive business requirements,” said Kevin McConnell, sales director, TransACT Technology Solutions Ltd. “There is little room for discussion when you compare the cost of flash to disk and realize that often the ROI on flash is higher and achieved in shorter time than with traditional enterprise disk storage.“

7700 Flash Storage Platform:
Flash for Large and high Available Tier-1 Storage Needs
The 7700 FSP is the latest generation of the company’s high-end modular array line up, engineered for performance, scalability in an all-flash platform that natively delivers a zero data loss architecture. It is targeted at large, multi-petabyte and multi-site deployments for customers that look for scale, availability and flexibility.

Powered by Concerto OS 7, the 7700 FSP provides over 1.3PB of effective capacity or serves 20,000 persistent virtual desktops across six shelves, and adds synchronous replication and stretch cluster capabilities to the menu of data protection services.
 
It also provides an investment protection path for existing Violin 6000 series and 7000 series all-flash array customers, as these all-flash arrays can now upgrade to a 7700 FSP, taking advantage of the Concerto OS 7 feature set and Symphony 3 storage management experience.

Concerto OS 7 All-Flash Storage OS
The 7300, 7300E and 7700 Flash Storage Platforms run Concerto OS 7 storage OS, an all-flash storage OS developed for primary storage. It combines the best of vMOS 5, Violin’s previous OS, and the Concerto data management and inline data-reduction capabilities into a single and integrated software image that powers all current and future generations of Violin’s platforms.

“This release of our field-proven, battle-hardened Concerto OS 7 OS integrates data reduction, data protection and BC features directly into the OS. It allows users to deploy a single, easily-managed, flash-based platform as their primary storage solution below the cost of traditional HDD-based arrays,” said Dalton. “We’ve eliminated the final cost and feature barriers to mainstream flash and the Flash Storage Platform as the industry’s best choice for primary storage.”

Symphony 3: Management of Petabytes
on Flash Storage Platforms and All-Flash Arrays
The Symphony Management Console, bundled with the 7300 FSP and 7700 FSP, enables simple management of Flash Storage Platforms from a single interface. With granular control over enterprise-grade data services, customized health monitoring, real-time analytics and reporting, Symphony 3 delivers detailed, automated and centralized management of a customer’s entire Violin environment.

“Violin’s new Flash Storage Platform helps maximize CPU performance by eliminating storage bottlenecks; high-utilization helps reduce storage costs – and low energy consumption helps cut power bills making it an option for primary storage flash arrays are the wave of the future for efficient storage and low cost memory,” said Joe Clabby, president, Clabby Analytics .

“While some companies claim to offer granular control and simplified management of array functions, Violin Flash Storage Platform delivers on the promise. New users quickly discover they can spot bottlenecks and optimize performance for critical applications with ease,” said Joseph Martins, MD, Data Mobility Group.  

“The new inline granular block-level deduplication and compression features of Concerto OS 7 – in combination with some of the highest raw flash capacities available from any vendor – will enable the Violin 7300 and 7700 to cost-effectively deliver the performance and the capacity required to replace HDD-based storage for all active workloads in many enterprise data centers,” said Ken Clipperton, managing analyst, DCIG.

“In 2015 leading CIOs are identifying technologies that can deliver the greatest business value for their organizations, both now and in the future. Violin’s Flash Storage Platform creates a compelling value proposition for primary storage that goes way beyond the traditional cost per gigabyte analysis. Its advanced hardware architecture together with enterprise data services that include selectable, inline block level deduplication and data compression, has the potential to positively impact businesses by providing sustained performance at a reduced cost,” said Scott Sinclair, analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.

“Scalability is key for data centers to keep up with the influx of information that continues to push the limits of existing architectures. The Violin Flash Storage Platform offers an easy way for existing customers to integrate the new data service and management capabilities without disruption, and offers a simplified migration strategy for new customers to take advantage of the performance and management available,” said Leah Schoeb, senior partner and analyst, Evaluator Group.

“The trend with the more successful All Flash Array vendors is to deliver a high performance, highly available solution that has a full suite of data services integrated natively into the platform. As customers push more and more to use these arrays for dense mixed workload consolidation, having the full enterprise storage management feature set integrated directly into the storage OS kernel will provide optimum efficiency,” said Eric Burgener, storage research director, IDC.

“All flash arrays can now truly be considered viable options for primary storage, and the Violin Flash Storage Platform maximizes the technology advantages inherent with flash, while integrating features like data reduction and protection, scalability and simple, unified management,” said David Hill, founder aand principal, Mesabi Group.
 
“Users often focus on the cost of flash, but not on what data services flash offers. Violin’s new Flash Storage Platform builds on its maturity in flash solutions and provides users with a full enterprise storage experience, with the performance of flash,” said Benjamin Woo, founder and MD, Neuralytix.

“The enterprise flash array market has grown in sophistication, evolving from simple high-IO/s boxes into total systems that combine fast storage with powerful software and data services such as snapshots and replication that are essential to storage admins. Violin Memory has done a great job of addressing these needs with its Flash Storage Platform, positioning the company well in this highly-competitive market,” said Jim Handy, chief analyst, Objective Analysis.
 
“With its new Flash Storage Platform, Violin Memory now delivers a powerful tool to efficiently maximize primary storage requirements. By allowing users to manage inline block deduplication and compression at a granular level through a single interface, this new platform offers tremendous flexibility in allowing data centers managers to meet the demanding and varied requirements of today’s IT environments,” said James Bagley, senior analyst, SSG-Now.  

“Many flash arrays will meet the performance requirements of most data centers today, but will be challenged to keep up with more densely populated VMs or high user-count databases. The Violin Flash Storage Platform seems to be able to meet this requirement, and still provide all the data services that data centers expect from primary storage,” said George Crump, president and founder, Storage Switzerland.
 
“To make an all-flash array compete head-on with high-end HDD-based or hybrid storage arrays as primary storage, an effective in-line data deduplication and compression capability is a must. Violin’s Flash Storage Platform can now make this claim boldly, and its pay-as-you-grow offering will be welcomed as a bonus,” said Mike Matchett, senior analyst and consultant, Taneja Group.
 
“Today’s solutions partners demand simplicity and predictability from their storage vendors. Those essentials and a strong value proposition for professional services are the new standard for engaging with solution providers. Violin’s strategy and offerings for the channel appear to meet those exact requirements and should pay a strong dividend to engaged partners,” said Cyndi Privett, principal, Viewpoint Research, Inc.

“Over the last year, Violin has focused on introducing enterprise data services to support their flash products, and the Flash Storage Platform is another good step forward for the company. The low-latency flash paired with a new OS and management features elevates the Flash Storage Platform as a good option for enterprise primary storage,” said David Floyer, CTO and co-founder, Wikibon.

“Violin’s Flash Storage Platform is about making the shift from a point solution to an incredibly cost effective replacement for traditional primary storage. In order to run mixed and multiple workloads for massive economic returns, Violin’s Flash Fabric Architecture really makes a difference. As proven by our actual end-user customer deployments, Violin’s Flash Storage Platform is transforming business processes and delivery systems, while helping our customer create new revenue streams not possible with traditional enterprise storage,” said Stele Anthony M. Subbiah, SVP, Infotech.

“Violin Memory is bringing to market technologies that address real customer pains and provides us additional revenue opportunities. The Flash Storage Platform achieves comprehensive enterprise data services, storage performance, HA, and densities that are transforming enterprise and cloud data centers into a competitive advantage for our customers – and doing so at radical economic savings,” said Steven Robb, president, LaSalle Solutions.  

“Violin’s Flash Storage Platform is about making the shift from a point solution to an incredibly cost-effective replacement for traditional primary storage. If you’re running mixed and multiple workloads, Violin’s Flash Fabric Architecture is a game-changer. As proven by our actual end-user customer deployments, Violin’s Flash Storage Platform transforms business processes and delivery systems, while helping our customers create new revenue streams that were unthinkable with traditional enterprise storage,” said Joseph MacLellan, associate VP, Tata Technologies.
 
“To realize the increased performance and functionality delivered by the new Violin Flash Storage Platform, organizations need to assess their storage network to make sure it is not a bottleneck. By including a redundant pair of Brocade Gen 5 FC switches in the high-end 7700 model, customers can be assured their mission-critical application workloads will realize these improvements in availability, bandwidth and predictable low-latency,” said Jack Rondoni, VP, storage networking, Brocade Communication Systems, Inc.  

“It’s a crowded market, which means product differentiation and profit potential are key to winning the hearts of the channel. Violin has delivered a solution for our customers – a differentiated solution and a new channel program that promotes profitability and sustained growth. Arrow and Violin customers are getting high-performance flash storage technology combined with Arrow’s extensive services and support. We look forward to collaborating with Violin to bring their Flash Storage Platform solutions to the EMEA marketplace,” said EMEA Jesper Trolle, EMEA VP sales, marketing and services, Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions.

“Our partnership with Violin has raised our profile as a leader in delivering world-class solutions to our mutual customers. Our customers are looking for solutions, not point products. The Flash Storage Platform is a transformative force in the deployment, management, and economics of enterprise and cloud data centers and Violin Memory is the clear leader in this space. The Flash Storage Platform with Enterprise Data Services, that includes application consistent snapshots, CDP, and data reduction services, is the ideal platform for primary storage,” said Marcus Stier, senior product manager, Cristie Data Limited.
 
“Businesses as well as customers look for solutions or platforms that drive their costs down, and increase their revenue margins flash storage is that new technology, but Violin is the pioneer in providing a comprehensive platform that delivers enterprise features at an economics that is truly transformative,” said Fredrik Gustafsson, Fujitsu Sweden.

“Innovation and flexibility are key when you need to penetrate our local markets. Violin Memory clearly leads in the all-flash storage space with innovation, enterprise data services, and a unique flash architecture. We have had good traction with the Violin portfolio and the launch of Violin’s new flagship solutions will further align with the economics of our customer profile and promises to further grow our business flash for primary storage and enhancing the performance of applications is a compelling message that we will be delivering to the market,” said John Walters, MD, NextGen Distribution.  

“We are excited to enhance our Toshiba Total Storage Platform portfolio with Violin Memory’s new 7300/7300E Flash Storage Platforms series, which utilize Toshiba’s state-of-the-art NAND technology, and augment its comprehensive data service capabilities with the sophisticated inline deduplication and compression functions. We will continue to strengthen our relationship with Violin Memory to deliver flash memory solution to the market,” said Koichi Kagawa, GM, cloud and solutions, Toshiba Corporation.