Fusion-io Launches Hybrid Storage Solutions

Flash memory vendor Fusion-io used international events to introduce a new suite of hybrid storage solutions, and version 3.0 of its  ioControl software.

At VMworld 2013 in Barcelona, Fusion-io (FIO) introduced ioControl Server Performance Extension (SPX), a new suite of ioControl hybrid storage solutions.  The new SPX solutions deliver shared storage performance for data-intensive application clusters such as VMware and Microsoft SQL Server, in an integrated, turnkey solution.  In VMware environments, Fusion ioControl SPX maximizes VM density for even the most data-intensive workloads by addressing virtualization storage bottlenecks and minimizing latency delays that slow application performance.

“With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, we needed a solution that could guarantee payments to be processed in less than a second to ensure customer experience and retail efficiency at the point of sale,” said Rick Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of BridgePay Network Solutions, which provides cloud payment gateway processing solutions. “By intelligently caching databases locally in servers on Fusion-io flash memory, while maintaining the centralized management and simplified high availability of our shared storage, ioControl SPX delivers integrated performance that enables us to complete transactions in half the time. The Fusion-io support team worked very closely with our IT team in designing and implementing the solution step by step, allowing for a transparent transition to the new technology. In addition, the Fusion-io solution fit our budgetary needs while providing enhanced performance, reliability and storage space. Our customers are extremely satisfied with the speed and stability of the new system.”

Fusion ioControl 3.0

In London Fusion-io announced Fusion ioControl 3.0 hybrid storage solution (formerly NexGen Storage), which features significant software updates that enable Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to manage shared storage according to business priorities with simplicity at scale. ioControl 3.0 delivers powerful Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities with application-level intelligence that ensures performance priority is always given to active data.

Fusion ioControl 3.0 differentiates between active data and data stored previously that has since changed in snapshots, replication, and clones. ioControl 3.0 also introduces a new policy-based user interface that simplifies performance management with a natural, search-driven architecture. The new ioControl user interface administers the system by business policies rather than legacy paradigms, such as tree view.

"Flash storage is becoming an essential element in data centers as we increasingly expect all information to be available in milliseconds - whether it's email, analytics, or video, and whether it's coming from Minneapolis, Munich or Mumbai," said Mark Peters, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "The options for, and intricacies of adding flash can be especially overwhelming for busy IT professionals in small to medium enterprise data centers that need to balance the inevitable performance demands with their invariably limited resources. Fusion ioControl 3.0 features the innovative and compelling ability to deliver intelligent, automated, parameter-driven control of flash in a hybrid system to ensure that the right applications - and the businesses they support - get the right performance at the right time."