Pure Storage reveals NVMe flash storage array

Pure Storage has debuted its all-NVMe, enterprise-class all-flash array to help enterprises boost their flash storage with features that purportedly make arrays easier to manage.

FlashArray//X combines Purity DirectFlash software and NVMe DirectFlash Modules, built upon the company's architecture to offer a platform that allows businesses to superpower the data they hold.

Pure Storage's Purity DirectFlash software offers global flash management at system level, taking it out of the SSD and into the Purity Operating Environment. DirectFlash Modules connect to the FlashArray controllers via NVMe, making the entire flash in module available to the FlashArray, thereby offering the maximum possible storage. For example, the 18.3TB DirectFlash Module will enable FlashArray//X to deliver more than 1PB of effective storage within a 3U base chassis, Pure Storage said.

The final part of the offering is //X70 Controllers, which is the way in which NVMe communicates with the FlashArray's midplane and chassis.

"Cloud-era web scale applications and a massively increased focus on data analytics across nearly every industry demand a new generation of all-flash storage, designed to power tomorrow's innovation," said Matt Kixmoeller, VP of product at Pure Storage.

"Today, infrastructure underpins the number one priority we hear from our customers The need to put their organisational data to work."

Pure Storage explained the entire set up will reduce latency by half, doubling bandwidth and increasing performance density by four times.

"To handle the performance and scale requirements in this new era, the flash-optimized array architectures of the past will need to give way to flash-driven architectures that retain none of the limitations of the prior SCSI era," Eric Burgener, research director of storage at IDC said.

"The All-Flash Arrays of the future will be based around much higher performance, much more efficient NVMe technology, will emphasize software-driven designs, and provide the multi-tenant management framework to handle dense workload consolidation at cloud scale."