FMS: Lite-On Storage Unveils Boot Storage Technology For Upcoming NVMe Boot Solution

At FMS9, Lite-On Storage announced the upcoming release of a cost-effective NVMe boot solution for enterprise customers.

Called BEST (Boot Enhanced Storage Technology), the breakthrough is an add-in card (AIC) that utilizes existing PCIe slots on the motherboards, so it doesn’t have to be plugged into a SATA slot. It’s built in the cost-effective and widely used PCIe NVMe M.2 form factor. It is also compact yet scalable. And it can accommodate two PCIe NVME M.2 based SSDs, enabling backup and redundancy of critical systems.

BEST technology is expected to be available on select company’s SSDs toward the end of the year.

“Lite-On is constantly pushing the envelope with SSD technology that helps customers operate more efficiently and cost effectively, and this BESTinnovation is right in-line with that,” said Darlo Perez, MD, Americas region, Lite-On Storage. “While other emerging boot drive vendors claim they can do this, BESTis the first solution built upon the most popular form factor, PCIe NVMe M.2, which translates into better latency, lower TCO and more long-term value.“

BESTuses the Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. 88NR2241, which can perform RAID-1 mirroring across two M.2 NVMe SSDs. If one M.2 boot drive fails, the server turns to the second drive. This is critical for enterprise organizations, which simply cannot afford to have a server out of operation for long periods of time. In addition to the impact on operations, this lack of availability can lead to financial loss.

Critical programs needed to launch a server, including OSs reside in boot drives. Many enterprise organizations still invest in more economical options, like HDDs. As new standards come along offering improved features, speeds and reliability, SSD-based boot drives are becoming the go-to approach for companies.

“Enterprise organizations don’t always put as much thought as they should into boot drives, but they’re actually one of the most important IT buying decisions they can make,” said Gregory Wong, founder and principal analyst, Forward Insights. “We estimate the market for NVMe-based drives will continue to expand at a CAGR of 42% between now and 2022. Lite-On appears to be well positioned in this space, delivering a small form-factor SSD built around the emerging PCIe standard instead of SATA, which is increasingly being relegated to legacy applications.“