Neha Patil (Editor)

Hybrid array

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A hybrid array is a form of hierarchical storage management that combines hard disk drives (HDDs) with solid-state drives (SSDs) for I/O speed improvements.

Hybrid storage arrays aim to mitigate the ever increasing price-performance gap between HDDs and DRAM by adding a non-volatile flash level to the memory hierarchy. Hybrid arrays thus aim to lower the cost per I/O, compared to using only SSDs for storage. Hybrid architectures can be as simple as involving a single SSD cache for desktop or laptop computers, or can be more complex as configurations for data centers and cloud computing.

Implementations

Some commercial products for building hybrid arrays include:

  • Adaptec demonstrated the MaxIQ series in 2009.
  • Apple's Fusion Drive
  • Linux software includes bcache, dm-cache, and Flashcache (and its fork EnhanceIO).
  • Condusive's ExpressCache is marketed for laptops.
  • EMC Corporation VFcache was announced in 2012.
  • Fusion-io acquired ioTurbine in 2011, and the product line it acquired by buying NexGen in 2013.
  • Hitachi Accelerated Flash Storage (HAFS) used together with the Hitachi Dynamic Tiering software
  • IBM Flash Cache Storage Accelerator (FCSA) server software
  • Intel's Smart Response Technology for desktop
  • Intel's Cache Acceleration Software for servers and workstations
  • LSI CacheCade software for their controllers
  • Marvell's HyperDuo controllers
  • Microsoft's Automated Tiering (since Windows 2012 R2)
  • NetApp's Flash Cache, Flash Pool, Flash Accel
  • Oracle Corporation markets products such as Exadata Smart Cache Flash, and the FS1 flash storage system.
  • Microsoft ReadyBoost allows personal computers to USB flash drives as cache.
  • Nvelo DataPlex SSD caching software was announced in 2011, and was acquired by Samsung in 2012.
  • SanDisk FlashSoft for Windows, Linux, and vSphere
  • Products are offered by vendors like AMI StorTrends, Tegile Systems, Reduxio, and Tintri.
  • ZFS using hybrid storage pools, are used for example in some Oracle Corporation products.
  • References

    Hybrid array Wikipedia


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