Why FlashBlade Suits Unstructured AI Workloads

Brian asks what FlashBlade provides; Peter explains FlashBlade's scale-out, disaggregated design, and metadata handling for high-performance file serving.

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Brian invited Peter Skovrup, VP of Product Management for Pure Storage, to continue their conversation from the Pure //Accelerate Las Vegas event in June. Brian and Jordan spent a few days with Pure, learning the latest for what’s new with Pure Storage technology – like their 150TB flash module!

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>This is another live event where the audience gets to ask Brian’s guests questions as they arise throughout the conversation. In case you missed it, our first two live events had a few hiccups, but we seem to have ironed those out now. This jam-packed session covers hardware and software, the all-important NPS scores, flash technology, and how it all fits together with Pure Storage solutions.

This is an exciting conversation that also tends to be a learning experience. If you have the time, it is worth listening to this entire podcast. However, if you are short of time or need to find details on a particular topic, we have created an easy way to jump around the podcast to get to the issues that are most interesting to you.

The podcast timestamps have been broken down into five-minute increments to make finding what you are looking for easier.

00:00 Introduction

Brian introduces Peter and talks a bit about Pure //Accelerate
Advancements in Pure Storage, flash modules, AI integrations, and Evergreen enhancements
The importance of NPS

06:00 Core Products

Where Peter is focused
- FlashArray for Scale-up
- FlashBlade for Scale-out
- Operate as a unified storage system
System Architecture
DirectFlash Module (DFM)

10:00 Why DFM is important to Pure

Personal anecdotes about football
What is it
What does it do
Global management for flash storage
Online Community

15:00 Energy Efficiency

DFM benefits
Reducing flash power consumption at DFM level two
Simplifying design by limiting DRAM
Centralizing processing
DRAM becomes part of the controllers
Increasing density and efficiency in storage systems

21:00 Questions from the Live Audience

What are the speed trade-offs?
Challenges managing increased data storage
Performance impacts
Pure’s approach to non-disruptive updates
Business aspects for non-disruptive operations

26:00 Pure Storage Evergreen//One

Clarification on how Evergreen programs work for customers
Discussion on the financial and operational benefits of continuous upgrades
Explanation of subscription models and their flexibility
Benefits of Evergreen One and subscription-based storage solutions
Focus on delivering performance SLAs and scalability

30:00 Back to the importance of NPS

Traditional hardware investment model vs. Evergreen program
Emphasis on the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of Pure Storage’s upgrade process
Financial planning benefits of Evergreen programs
Importance of the clarity and visibility of costs
Non-disruptive upgrades and flexibility for customers

36:00 Introduction of Pure One