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Fusion-io Storage: 'Screamingly Fast'

Solid-state storage from Fusion-io is proving to be "screamingly fast" in early testing by one data center veteran. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has just joined the company as chief scientist.

Storage startup Fusion-io is making headlines this morning with the news that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is joining the company as chief scientist. The Salt Lake City company makes enterprise solid-state storage offering faster input/output performance. While we're often cautious about claims made in press releases, an industry veteran has some first-hand experience input on Fusion-io's products. Steve O'Donnell from The Hot Aisle has recently begun using the company's ioDrives, and reports that it is "low cost, screamingly fast, and low energy." Here's more:

Initial tests show a sustained throughput rate of 100,000 IOPS which is staggering considering that this is just a simple 4 core, nothing special server. ... The idea is that ioDrives plug directly into the PCIe bus in a server, no SCSI or SATA drive interface, no iSCSI or Fiber Channel connections, just straight server motherboard speeds. Each ioDrive can be configured with up to 320GB of solid state, write leveled storage, multiple drives can be patched together to make a large array.

Steve is testing the ioDrives with a large SQL Server database that had been experiencing performance problems, and says he will post updates as his work progresses. SSDs are semiconductor-based storage devices with no moving parts, theoretically reducing the risk of mechanical failure and latency. They also come with a higher price tag.

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