HPE: In-Memory and Block Storage

This article was written by Dr. Tom Bradicich VP, HPE fellow, global head of software lab, edge-to-cloud and IoT.

In-memory and block storage – a potent combination for manufacturing agility
Learn how in-memory and block storage combine to bring greater agility to manufacturing.

When I’m watching a sports game on television with friends, I strive to be the optimal host by ensuring the snacks and drinks are always within arm’s reach of my guests. When more is needed, I’ve optimized my remote access to replenishments via their careful arrangement in my refrigerator and pantry. This twofold efficiency ensures not even a moment of the game is missed, and my as-a-service delivery of snacks and drinks maximizes our recreational outcomes.

So how does this apply to manufacturing?
Allow me to use this watching-the-game scenario as a metaphor, and impute it on the manufacturing industry. This will illustrate the interplay among the newly announced HPE GreenLake for Block Storage, and its economic complements, HPE Alletra, and our partner SAP.

As an example, consider new product pricing and warranty simulations that must be done within a specified timeframe, so as to establish price and warranty terms before the product is taken to market. The faster these multiple simulations, the more simulations can be done adjusting for different economic variables and factors. This in turn increases the probability of selecting the right price, thus maximizing profit.

Manufacturing plant operations require mission critical applications and database and storage architectures with consistent I/O speeds and low latency connectivity. The faster the product test analytics, visualization, and robotics controls, the faster products are shipped out the door to generate revenue and satisfy customers. Suited for such is the SAP HANA high-performance database which resides in memory, within “arm’s reach” access by the CPUs and GPUs. Data replenishment and access often goes beyond the main memory, extending to local or remote, networked storage systems. This is where Alletra and GreenLake for Block Storage carefully arrange and manage the data, optimize manufacturing floor operations and related business outcomes.

The little use of metadata in block storage optimizes storage assets, hence there’s more room for the data and therefore fewer storage devices. This means lower cost, lower energy, and faster data access. Adding to this cost optimization is the GreenLake for Block Storage services which reduce IT resource and capital expenses. The storage management is abstracted with a cloud experience on premises, a 100% availability guarantee, and its SAP HANA certified.

Read our blog on the latest enhancements: HPE GreenLake for Block Storage: Mission-critical storage service at midrange economics