Brian visits HPE in northern California and has a chance to sit down with Rupin Mohan, Sr. Director (GM) Primary OEM Business at HPE. This week, Brian welcomes a true veteran of the storage industry. Rupin Mohan is the Sr. Director (GM) Primary Storage OEM Business at HPE and recently met with Brian at one of HPE’s northern California locations to discuss the HPE XP8 Storage system. Naturally, the main topic centers around the fact that the XP8 has achieved an uptime of ten years without a single outage.  Rupin’s background within the storage industry is extensive. He has spent over 26 years with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and is focused on “results-driven” business outcomes. He possesses a deep technical knowledge of flash memory, Fibre Channel, enterprise storage, and many other facets of storage technologies. Rupin is also a member of the Board of Directors and Marketing Chairman of the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) and a member of the Board of Directors for the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). This is an engaging discussion about how Rupin and his team hit a ten-year milestone of zero downtime on the XP8. Rupin describes his team’s effort to ensure customers’ 100% availability. This shorter-than-usual podcast lasts only 32 minutes, so try to take it all in if you have the time. If you are strapped for time, as most of us are, we have broken the podcast down into 5-minute intervals. So hop around if you need to. Other StorageReview resources: HPE XP8 On-site video XP8 Technical paper 00:00  Welcome and introduction Introducing the HP XP8 Ten Years of Uptime Mission-Critical Environments Scalability, Performance, Reliability 04:40 -10:00 Design For Availability First Disaggregated System Minimum Configuration Customization Hybrid options Uptime and Optimal Performance. 10:00 – 15:00 XP8 in Mainframe and Open Systems HP NonStop Systems Support XP8’s Position in HP’s Portfolio Legacy System Support Lounging Under the GreenLake Umbrella 15:00 – 20:00 Hybrid Strategy Keeping It On-premises Legacy Systems Support MP Personas Built For Diverse Workloads 20:00 – 25:00 Data Migration  XP8 External Storage Feature Simplifying IT Admin Tasks Intuitive Management 100% Service Attach Rate Ensuring Proper Installation 25:00 – 30:00 Financial Impact of Downtime XP8 Market Stability High-End Market Is Not Going Away Keeping Businesses Alive 30:00 – End Collaboration Across Division Alletra MP Discussion Wrap-up Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #136: HPE XP8 Goes Ten Years With No Downtime appeared first on StorageReview.com.

Amazon WorkSpaces delivers a compelling alternative to traditional desktops. This week, Brian follows up on a recent review for Amazon WorkSpaces posted in mid-October with an interesting conversation with Amazon’s Director of Product, End-User Computing, Melissa Stein. Melissa has spent the past four+ years with AWS and specializes in setting product vision and strategy, management, storage, software, and databases, to name a few. Melissa will be speaking at the upcoming AWS re:Invent, covering contact center efficiency with Amazon WorkSpaces (EUC206: Boost contact center efficiency with Amazon WorkSpaces and Thin Client), complimenting this podcast. For our subscribers interested in thin client technology, AWS, and cloud computing, give this podcast some attention. If you need to hop around, we have broken down the discussion in five-minute increments to help you navigate where you need to be. 00:00 – 05:00 – Introduction The podcast covers topics from Amazon’s thin clients, desktop as a service, and changes in the industry. New Solutions for End User Computing Amazon WorkSpaces AppStream Developing thin clients Design goals Keep the costs down Repurpose devices to reduce turnover and improve security Security Imposed restrictions for thin clients Keep data off the thin client Encrypt everything No access for sideloading applications or connecting removable media 05:00 – 10:00 Continue discussion around security The boot process prevents unauthorized access Streamlined fulfillment Pandemic-inspired device availability Simplicity 10:00 – 15:00 Thin clients are shipped with a video and brochure No need for help desk support Simple for hybrid and remote workers Desktop as a service Reminiscent of “dumb terminals” Lag and poor performance are mitigated Amazon WorkSpaces Scalable Easy to manage, easy to use 15:00 – 20:00 Further discussion about scalability Addressing high turnover Shifting computing power to the data center Addressing inefficiencies Leverage cloud-based solutions Reducing costs Catering to seasonal workloads (tax season, open enrollment) Thin clients for smaller call centers Amazon WorkSpaces for persistent desktop needs 20:00 – 26:00 WorkSpaces Pools Cost-effective Great for users who don’t require persistent desktops Close integration between hardware and software Complying with hardware regulations Energy-efficient Efficiencies extend to data centers Reports of a 75% reduction in endpoint expenses 26:00 – 30:00 Customers appreciate: Cost-savings Reduced maintenance Eliminate VPN requirements Thin client strategy is not limited to a single device Future developments with a focus on broader use cases 30:00 – 36:00 What’s happening at AWS re:Invent showcase thin clients Amazon WorkSpaces Amazon Connect AI-driven analytics Testing to ensure performance and reliability Secure browsers Optimize user experience Wrap-up Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #135: Modern DaaS with Amazon Thin Clients appeared first on StorageReview.com.

Chilldyne Podcast – liquid cooling solutions for data centers focusing on leak-proof design and efficiency for high-performance servers. Brian rarely gets to sit down to a podcast with a doctor. However, today, he is joined by Dr. Steve Harrington, CEO of Chilldyne. We have been keenly interested in liquid cooling technologies, and there are more popping up all the time. But we have a soft spot for Chilldyne. Some background on Dr. Steve Harrington. He is the CTO of Chilldyne and the founder of Flometrics. He is an expert and inventor in Fluid Dynamics and thermodynamics, designing pumps, valves, nozzles, flowmeters, aircraft cooling systems, rocket fuel pumps, rocket test stands, turbine flow measurement systems, medical ventilators, air/oxygen mixers, respiratory humidifiers, CPAP machines, spirometers, heat exchangers, vacuum cleaners, oxygen concentrators, motorcycle fairings, infusion pumps, electronics cooling systems, wave machines, data acquisition systems etc. But wait, there’s more. His expertise extends to electronics, programming, optics, nuclear physics, biology, and physiology. Steve has more than 29 years of experience in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics. He has consulted for aerospace, semiconductor, medical device, racing, electronic cooling, and other industries. He has over 25 patents and has completed projects for NASA, DARPA, SOCOM, and USACE. When he is not busy, he is a part-time faculty member at the University of California, San Diego, where he teaches an aerospace engineering senior design class where students instrument, build, and fly liquid rockets. He is also a surfer, a pilot, a scuba diver, a boat and car mechanic, an electrician, and a plumber. There is much to learn about liquid cooling and we think this podcast will help answer some of the questions on the minds of IT and data center professionals everywhere. That should be enough to make you interested in listening to this entire podcast. However, if you are strapped for time, we have broken the pod down into five-minute segments so you can hop around as needed. Get the podcast on video! 00:00 – 05:30  Introduction “Hot” New Technology: Liquid Cooling Brian opens with a pun about liquid cooling being a “hot” technology in data centers. Liquid cooling has come full circle—once abandoned with the advent of CMOS, it’s now making a resurgence due to the intense heat generated by modern processors. From Supercomputers to Jet Engines Steve provides some personal history on his journey to liquid cooling, starting with cooling supercomputers in the 1980s. Fun fact: His expertise in cooling rocket engines and laser systems translated well to modern data center liquid cooling. Why Did Liquid Cooling Leave? Liquid cooling took a break because CMOS technology was thought to have solved the power problem. Surprise! Power demands are back with a vengeance. From Aerospace to Data Centers In aerospace, liquid cooling isn’t just about cooling; it’s about reliability over time—think planes, rockets, and lasers. Data centers, on the other hand, need uptime and longevity, adding unique challenges to Steve’s transition from aerospace. ARPA-E Grant and the 2 Kilowatt Chip Steve’s foresight included partnering with ARPA-E to develop a cold plate for a two-kilowatt chip. This foresight is paying off, as more data centers are bidding for projects with these high-power chips. 05:30 – 10:24  Reassuring the CFO Liquid Cooling: A CFO’s Nightmare? Testing liquid cooling systems can cost millions. Convincing CFOs to sign off on such “experiments” is no easy task, especially since they don’t fit neatly into the financial spreadsheet. It’s like buying a $2 million test drive—it sounds fun but is risky. Sharing Secrets: The Meta Paradox Meta and other commercial giants tend to lock up their liquid cooling secrets tighter than the company’s algorithm. Sharing is caring, but not when there’s competition involved. Chilldyne’s Leak-Proof, Negative Pressure System Chilldyne’s secret sauce: a negative pressure system that’s essentially leak-free. If a leak happens, air enters instead of coolant spilling, keeping the chips safe from a soggy fate. Handling Leaks: When Not to Panic Even with leaks, Chilldyne’s system keeps running. Liquid Cooling Data: The Missing Chapter Industry-wide data on the impact of liquid cooling on wear and tear is sparse. Liquid cooling can feel like more of a mysterious “beer conference” topic than an open discussion. 10:24 – 14:55  Keep the bacteria out of the water The Biodiversity of Data Center Coolant Did you know that the local bacteria in your water supply can mess with your liquid cooling system? Different regions have different microbes, which can wreak havoc on data center coolant systems, leading to clogged plates and overheating GPUs. Coolant Chemistry 101 Chilldyne has a built-in chemistry lab to monitor coolant quality. Forget your sterile water dreams; this is a battle between biology and technology. Coolant Additives: A Budget Dilemma Don’t cheap out on your coolant chemistry unless you enjoy emergency maintenance. PG 25: Gamers’ Friend, Data Centers’ Enemy PG 25 is great for gamers—it doesn’t freeze and prevents bacteria growth. However, it attacks seals, leading to leaks over time, making it less ideal for long-term data center use. Chemistry’s Role in Data Center Maintenance Data centers often forget that liquid cooling isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution. It requires regular monitoring and maintenance. 14:55 – 20:16  The need for low-toxicity additives The Additives That Keep the Cool Chilldyne uses low-toxicity additives: a splash of antibacterial and anti-corrosion chemicals. Say No to PG 25 (Sometimes) PG 25 is a “don’t freeze” lifesaver for gamers shipping their liquid-cooled rigs but less so for data centers. Facility Water is Just the Start When installing a CDU (cooling distribution unit), Chilldyne starts with distilled or reverse osmosis-filtered water. The Cold Plate Clean-Up Crew One customer refused to use recommended additives, leading to a clogged, hot mess in their GPUs. Chilldyne stepped in with a chemical cleanse, but if a cold plate gets too gummed up, sometimes it’s game over—time for replacement.  Liquid Cooling ≠ Set It and Forget It Electronics may run smoothly for years, but liquid cooling? That’s a different beast. 20:16 – 26:03  Water is still the best for cooling Water: The MVP of Cooling Fluids Why stick with good ol’ water? It’s cheap, non-toxic, and performs well—especially in single-phase systems. Immersion Cooling: The Slow Burner Immersion cooling with engineered oils has some potential, especially in edge zones or moderate power servers, but it’s just not efficient enough for today’s two-kilowatt monsters. When Pipes Get Silly Big Watch for logistical nightmares as cooling systems scale up. Electrical Limits: The Real Bottleneck While liquid cooling systems can scale, there’s a limit to how much electrical current a chip can handle. Don’t Forget the Chiller While cooling towers are ideal in many places, some regions require chillers due to water scarcity. Go with a cooling tower. 26:03 – 29:44  Is that a leak? The Leaks Won’t Tell You Unlike server components, liquid cooling systems aren’t yet smart enough to give you advanced warnings about leaks. The Problem with Positive Pressure Positive pressure systems that detect leaks with special tape are reactive—they shut down servers when something goes wrong. Negative pressure systems like Chilldyne’s, however, keep the servers running even with minor leaks, avoiding costly downtime. Compatibility Chaos The issue with buying parts from multiple vendors is compatibility problems. Plumbing Isn’t an IT Skill Data center operators are skilled in networking, cybersecurity, and power management—but they’re not plumbers or chemists. That’s where specialized vendors come in. Switch-Over Valves: The Fail-Safe Chilldyne uses switch-over valves to provide redundancy in cooling systems. These valves work like airplane safety mechanisms—if one system fails, the other kicks in without the servers even noticing. 29:44 – 35:22  Make sure liquid cooling is what you need Scale Matters: The 100kW Threshold Steve suggests that liquid cooling isn’t worth the hassle unless you’re dealing with over 100kW of compute power. Fortune 500 and Beyond Big companies are already there, but even mid-tier enterprises are starting to feel the heat. The power consumption of GPU-packed servers means that liquid cooling will soon be a necessity for many organizations. The Rack Scale CDU That Wasn’t Chilldyne has a design for a 50-100kW rack scale CDU, but no takers yet. The Four-Inch Pipe Problem Liquid cooling systems max out at around 1-2MW before the plumbing gets unwieldy. Keeping the system manageable is key. Electrical vs. Cooling Limits We’re approaching the point where electrical limits are more problematic than cooling capacity. 35:22 – 40:16  Is it hot in here? The Heat Disposal Conundrum It’s not enough to cool the gear—you’ve got to deal with all that heat. The Chip Temperature Tango There’s a balance between cooling efficiency and chip performance. Design systems that can go colder if needed because the next-gen chips might perform 20% faster with lower temperatures. Data Center Math is Getting Hard Factor in cooling tower efficiency, GPU performance, fan speeds, and a whole lot more. The math behind today’s cooling solutions is critical for optimization. HVAC and IT: Strange Bedfellows HVAC engineers and IT teams used to operate separately, but liquid cooling is bringing them together. Keeping the IT Guys in the Loop Encourage collaboration between hardware providers and cooling experts to ensure the solution won’t melt under pressure. 40:16 – 43:35  Wrap-up Get Started with Liquid Cooling Now Steve recommends starting small, but start now.  Get a system, run it, and learn from it before you’re in too deep. The Danger of Overconfidence Some companies are planning massive liquid-cooled data centers without ever testing smaller systems. Lead Time: It’s Real Lead times for liquid cooling systems can range from 16 to 52 weeks. So, better get those orders in early! Spec Confusion with New Racks NVIDIA’s new MVL racks are on the horizon, but specific water temperature and chemistry guidelines are still unclear. Home Lab Mentality: Get Your Reps In Steve encourages enterprises to take the “home lab” approach: start small, mess around with it, and learn. Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #134: Leak-Proof Liquid Cooling appeared first on StorageReview.com.

Closed-loop liquid cooling from JetCool delivers power efficiencies and increased CPU/GPU performance. Liquid cooling continues to gain traction in the enterprise, especially with the intense compute requirements associated with AI. CPUs and GPUs are running hotter, and traditional air cooling struggles to keep those temperatures down. We have covered several liquid cooling systems over the past few years, with JetCool being a standout player. After running into JetCool during SuperComputing 2023, we brought their technology into our Ohio lab, nestled inside an R760. To say we were impressed would be an understatement. To gain more insight into this technology, Brian invited JetCool founder and CEO Bernie Malouin for this podcast. Bernie describes himself as a technical professional with demonstrated experience from concept studies through deployment. By the way, Bernie also holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering. That’s impressive, but before he founded JetCool, Bernie spent eight years at MIT Lincoln Labs. He was the technical and programmatic lead for a multi-sponsor research project to implement advanced cooling technology in high-power RF devices for advanced electronics applications. Although this podcast is less than 40 minutes long, Brian and Bernie cover a lot of ground. It’s worth viewing or listening in its entirety, but if you are short on time or need specifics on a particular topic, we have broken down the conversation into five-minute chunks so you can skip around.  00:00  Introduction The landscape It’s AI’s fault – or is it hype  GPUs and CPUs need to cool it It’s about efficiency What’s the power budget? Wait! Liquid-Assisted? 06:00  Clarify Liquid Assist, please Getting technical Cold plates, closed-loop, and radiators, oh my Efficiencies in cooling with JETCOOL Arrays of tiny fluid jets Surgically removing heat Now, where are those heat nodes? Profiling the CPU 10:00  Relationships with the chip makers Staying ahead of the curve Chip makers – partners in design Details on where to cool Tiny pumps micro DC brushless pumps circulating fluid throughout the server 15:00  Let’s talk about pumps, cold plates and radiators Radiator technology Modified technology in Formula One racing Proven reliability Cold plates Originally developed for aerospace applications What about the liquid? JETCOOL uses PG 25 (Propylene glycol) Benefits non-corrosive natural antifreeze non-toxic ready to use Top off the fluid can you go to a jiffy lube? 22:00  What happens when the hose breaks Leak tests Overpressure tests Only 8-10 Oz of fluid in the system Small puncture faulty seal might experience a few drops, but they evaporate the telltale sign that there is a problem CPU temperature rises Leak detection mechanisms 25:00  Looking for the signals OCP is dedicating two days for liquid cooling for their next conference Partners can do a better job of educating customers about liquid cooling Upgrade through the channel driving the pull-through 30:00  Yeah, but how much does it cost? An upgrade is about ten percent of the system price ROI within about six months Suitable for co-location services gaining efficiencies in co-lo facilities On-premises deployments limited space limited budget power constraints Heavy lifting performed by the Intern and Kevin 37:00  Silence is liquid gold One of the best benefits Simple to try Wrap-up: Stop by JETCOOL at OCP in October! Full Video on YouTube Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #133: Effortless Liquid Cooling with JetCool appeared first on StorageReview.com.

This week, Brian is joined by Matthias Haas, IGEL’s Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Storagereview Contributor, and preeminent EUC expert Tom Fenton. IGEL Technology is a virtual desktop and end-user computing leader focused on thin client development.  Check out Tom’s recent coverage of IGEL Disrupt. This week, Brian is joined by Matthias Haas, IGEL’s Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Storagereview Contributor, and preeminent EUC expert Tom Fenton. IGEL Technology is a virtual desktop and end-user computing leader focused on thin client development.  Check out Tom’s recent coverage of IGEL Disrupt. Matthias describes himself as an “EUC visionary helping customers to future-proof their endpoint deployments at scale for a multi-cloud-enabled world.” He has been in IT for over 15 years, starting as a System Engineer focused on Linux security. During his tenure in software development, Matthias developed a deep technical understanding he used to create customer-oriented solutions. These products and solutions had a clear technical strategy but also answered customers’ day-to-day challenges. Although a successful business model, IGEL has moved away from the hardware business typically associated with thin client technology and developed a secure, purpose-built thin operating system. Creating a thin operating system addresses the current transformation in multicloud deployments. The disruption to virtualization generated by Broadcom’s recent VMware acquisition adds angst to users dependent upon cloud technologies. Of course, many of the major hardware. Many enterprise software and hardware vendors have jumped on the VMware migration bandwagon. Still, IGEL has addressed this effect on end-user computing, creating a secure, easy-to-use, thin operating system. For those unfamiliar with Tom’s work, he has over twenty years of experience working with virtualization and cloud technologies and over twenty-five years of Enterprise IT experience. He has a track record of keeping up with new technologies and presenting solutions to complex problems. Tom has been a key contributor to Storagereview.com. This is an essential topic since EUC touches most of us daily. Although shorter than most of our podcasts, it is packed with information. If you have the time, give this a complete view, but if you are strapped for time, we have provided a time-stamped breakdown of the transcript.  00:00  Introduction Tom gets a compliment from Brian Matthias provides some IGEL history Disruption due to Covid 05:00  What do you mean it doesn’t support Windows 11? IGEL Disrupt announcements Fully integrated Partnerships IoT IGEL Disrupt 2024 dates App Create Portal 10:00  Build that app Build and sign on the App Create Portal Content streaming Pushing the Edge Building the Insight Module Secure the app 15:00  It’s agnostic Reducing the attack surface Talking about browsers Managing the footprint Make it permanent or temporary Managing the identity 20:00  What’s needed to run a system? Run it on top of Windows or macOS? Providing the best user experience Developing local apps Zoom Teams WebEx Supporting AI 25:00  Neural Processing Units Functionality Inferencing AI is a moving target for end users GPUs in the cloud Leveraging the capabilities 30:00  Running workloads on an endpoint Or should workloads run in the data center or on a GPU? Browsers will continue to be important Secure browsers Enterprise browsers 35:00  Digital signage infrastructure Learn more from the IGEL website (link below) IGEL slack community Run IGEL OS 12 Runs anywhere 39:00  Wrap up Podcast on YouTube IGEL Technology Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #132: IGEL Future-Proof Solutions For End-User Computing Deployments appeared first on StorageReview.com.

This is another live podcast in which Brian checks in with long-time friend and industry veteran Jonmichael Hands for this fast-paced, technically focused podcast. Jonmichael is currently the Senior Director of Product Planning at FADU but has an extensive storage, networking, and blockchain background. This is another live podcast in which Brian checks in with long-time friend and industry veteran Jonmichael Hands for this fast-paced, technically focused podcast. Jonmichael is currently the Senior Director of Product Planning at FADU but has an extensive storage, networking, and blockchain background. He also has a patent for Accelerated data recovery in a storage system, a recipient of  The Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology Award, and, while at Intel, was a member of the NVM Express marketing group.  Brian and Jonmichael are passionate about flash technology and seem on the same page. Jonmichael brings some deep and varied industry knowledge to the conversation, making this a candid learning session. If you are interested in flash technology and want to hear more about the future of SSD in this AI universe, you will enjoy this one. But if you are only interested in a few topics, we have highlighted them in five-minute increments. 0-5 minutes Introduction and Background Introducing Jonmichael, noting their long history and expertise in the industry.  Reminisces about their last meeting involving Topo Chico and discussing chia, blockchain, and crypto. Ongoing crypto craze and Jonmichael’s return to the SSD world. The challenging market conditions for IPOs and crypto over the last two years. Transition back to tech and improvement in the SSD market, potentially leading to the best year for SSD revenue. 5-10 minutes NAND Prices and AI Impact  NAND costs during COVID, recent increases in SSD prices. The cyclical nature of Nand prices and renewed challenges. AI’s impact on data center storage demand and the importance of flash. Emphasis on increased CapEx for data centers and the unsung hero status of storage in AI.  Upgrading legacy SAN infrastructure for high-end AI GPU work. 10-15 minutes Meta Engineering and AI Storage Comments from listeners and viewers. Meta’s engineering efforts in AI storage solutions, Building exabyte-scale storage. There is a need for more extensive flash capacity for training large multi-modal models. Emphasis on the cost and importance of fast SSDs in training servers. The complexity of modern AI data centers and advanced storage solutions. Significance of high-end SSDs and storage technology in AI training servers. 15-20 minutes Storage Technologies and Market Trends Power requirements and storage challenges in data centers. Advantages of high-performance SSDs The need for efficient networking.  Broadcom’s high-speed NICs and the importance of network bandwidth for GPU clusters. The role of switching in supporting AI workloads and infrastructure.  Benefits of running GPUs locally and the competitive advantage of private data sets. 20-25 minutes AI Strategy and Industry Insights  AI strategies and the importance of GPUs. Setting up AI tools like Nvidia’s AI studio for private data use.  Running AI models on affordable NAS systems for private data protection. Importance of AI tools for improving productivity and creativity.  SSD form factors and the evolution of E1 and E3 standards. 25-30 minutes Form Factors and Industry Adoption  E1 and E3 form factors in hyperscale and enterprise markets. Transitioning to new form factors and customer preferences. Benefits of E3 form factors. Form factors for industry adoption. 30-35 minutes Hyperscale and Enterprise SSD Adoption E1.S form factor in hyperscale and enterprise training servers. Limited availability of Gen 5 E3 drives. Transition challenges to Gen 5 E3 drives. Potential improvements for Gen 6. Demise of Gen 4 for U.2 drives. E1.S and E3 form factors. Thermal management and capacity options. 35-40 minutes Client-Side Storage and Form Factors Slow uptake on client-side for Gen 5 drives. Inefficiency of M.2 for high-performance Gen 5 drive. Differences in performance requirements between laptops and desktops. Potential of E3 form factor in consumer desktops. Benefits of PCIe cabling standards. 40-45 minutes Flexible Data Placement (FDP) Technology Flexible Data Placement (FDP) technology. Benefits in reducing write amplification factor (WaF). FDP allows data to be tagged and placed more efficiently on the SSD. FDP can be implemented without requiring software to be FDP-aware. Comparison of FDP with zone namespaces. Complexities involved in the zone namespaces. Flexibility and benefits of FDP for different workloads. 50-55 minutes Host Management vs. Drive Management Rely more on host systems for storage management. Complexities of host-level management. Understanding SSD internals. E1.S, benefits for dense storage arrays. Upcoming 128TB and 256TB drives. Expected market impact. 55-60 minutes Controller Technology and Performance Importance of controller technology in SSD performance. Advantages of 16-channel controllers for power efficiency and performance. Performance per watt as a critical metric in SSD evaluation. Ongoing developments and the future potential of FTP technology in the market. Wrap-up of the discussion and promotion of blogs and future sessions on related topics. Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #131: SSD Industry Vet Jonmichael Hands – The Latest on Enterprise SSDs appeared first on StorageReview.com.

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! 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! 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 Introduction of Pure One Data visibility features Simplifying storage management Management-as-a-service capabilities Copilot Workload planner, anomaly detection, and security assessment Benefits of Pure One for operating and optimizing storage environments at scale 42:00  Finally, mentioning AI AI workloads and the importance of data support Nvidia’s presence at the event Collaboration with Nvidia and the certification of Superpod 45:00  SuperPod at scale Importance of 400 gig Ethernet for AI workloads Flashblade’s scalability and performance for AI and HPC environments Hardware requirements for AI workloads and the advantages of Flashblade Flashblade’s architecture and its benefits for AI and unstructured data Flashblade versus other parallel file systems Importance of metadata operations in high-performance file storage 51:00  Data Management Challenges of managing data for AI Importance of a comprehensive storage solution SLA-based solutions for AI workloads Long-term investments in AI Guiding customers Pure Storage’s technology for large AI deployments 58:00  Managing data for AI Pure Storage scalability Small deployments Pure Fusion Edge and Distributed deployments Non-disruptive operations Optimization and Utilization Evergreen programs 62:00  Wrapping up Brian and Peter begin wrapping up the discussion Let’s talk real football—The EUROs Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #130: The Latest from Pure Storage – ’24 //Accelerate Highlights appeared first on StorageReview.com.

Brian goes for another live podcast this week featuring Jakob Dellinger, the “air cooling guru” at Noctua. We have featured Noctua fans in a number of our reviews, most notably our recent “Noctua Unveils NH-D15 G2, Thermosiphon, and Next-Gen Fans” and the HomeLab45 update “The HL15 Homelab Server Goes Shhhhh with New Noctua Kit.” Brian goes for another live podcast this week featuring Jakob Dellinger, the “air cooling guru” at Noctua. We have featured Noctua fans in a number of our reviews, most notably our recent “Noctua Unveils NH-D15 G2, Thermosiphon, and Next-Gen Fans” and the HomeLab45 update “The HL15 Homelab Server Goes Shhhhh with New Noctua Kit.”  Noctua has taken fan assembly to a higher level with products for everything from laptops to data centers. They pride themselves on innovation and reducing fan noise levels across the spectrum. Based in Austria, Noctua (the Little Owl) was founded in 2005 and quickly became one of the most acclaimed suppliers of premium-quality quiet cooling products that are apparently inspired by, but do not smell like, coffee. This is another live podcast where our YouTube audience joined the conversation and submitted questions to Jakub and Brian. We are pushing the boundaries on these live podcasts, inviting our audience and guests to have a genuinely interactive conversation on topics that interest them. After dealing with several hiccups at the show’s beginning, Brian got down to business. His first question was, “Why do people love your products so much?” 00:00  Introduction Attention (obsession) to detail Quality and Performance Started as an OEM Focused on quiet, highly efficient, quality components Engaged with Taiwanese partner to develop cooling components 05:00  Finding the inspiration The CEO hated loud PCs Fix it before the machine is powered on Recap Vince’s video series for his Home Lab (Unleash the Hush: Noctua Fans and Eaton Sound Proof Rack Combine for a Peaceful Studio) Why are Noctua Fans beige and brow? 10:00  Scratch ‘n Sniff Brian shares a tidbit from his youth and asks Yakub to create a fan that emits an espresso aroma That is on the punch list Comments from the audience Computex Delivering new products Square frame Fan radiator Socket support NVIDIA prototype Yakub goes deep 16:00  Squeezing Enterprise boards into workstations Training LLMs Edge servers where quiet matters Liquid cooling There’s a place for air-cooled systems, too 20:00  PC and Workstation case design Thermal design Not just for workstations Getting creative Let the users do crazy stuff with the fans Heat sinks and heat distribution Applying thermal paste Potential to lose performance with poorly adhered heat sync 26:00  How to check for performance loss Yakub gets into a deep discussion about cooling options More than one option for every situation 31:00  Questions from the audience Aftermarket contact frame Better results from the 1mm washer mod More from Computex Noctua power supply 35:00  Showing off new products Even in the early development cycle Family-owned and run business No Shareholders to report to Delivering to the customer 40:00  Cooling GPUs DIY water cooling Voiding the warranty Mixed results Preconfigured workstations seem so loud Consumer-level cards are more advanced today 46:00  More on the HomeLab 15 Fan design Thicker fan materials provide alternative options Thicker may not be better Fan size does matter 50:00  Wrap up Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #129: Keeping Your Cool With Noctua appeared first on StorageReview.com.

For this show, Brian sits down with Anthony Cusimano, Director of Technical Marketing, at Object First. If you are not familiar with Object First, you can check out our deep dive earlier this month, Object First Ootbi: Simple Ransomware-Proof Backups For Veeam. Another live podcast! Thank you to all who attended. For this show, Brian sits down with Anthony Cusimano, Director of Technical Marketing, at Object First. If you are not familiar with Object First, you can check out our deep dive earlier this month, Object First Ootbi: Simple Ransomware-Proof Backups For Veeam.  Here’s a brief intro to Object First. It was founded by the original founders of Veeam and introduced its flagship product, Ootbi (Out-of-the-Box-Immutability), in 2023. Despite the common skepticism surrounding the notion of “ransomware-proof” technology, especially in the context of backups and storage, the technical prowess and on-premise testing of Ootbi suggest they can make this promise a reality for many organizations. Anthony has been with Object First for over two years and serves as its Chief Evangelist and Director of Technical Marketing. Prior to joining Object First, Anthony spent six years in sales and marketing with Veritas Technologies. Throughout his career, he has focused on security and preventing cyber attacks. This is an engaging discussion covering the departure of Veeam founders to establish an appliance hardware company, that runs Veeam! Customers enjoy enhanced security by controlling both the software and hardware. If you don’t have the time to watch end-to-end, we have highlighted segments below. 00:00  Introduction Object First background What was once old is new again Focus on Veeam customers Ootbi short intro 05:00  Getting more information A little detail on our deep dive It’s all about security Immutability Flag 11:00  Security Measures Why immutability is important Educating the masses Making life easier Getting some of your time back 16:00  Questions from YouTube viewers Implementing security The reasons for immutability Educating the users How to make it more secure 20:00  Beating the drum for Zero Trust Zero Trust Data Resilience Research paper download to enhance security Update cadence 25:00  Cooking what’s next Enhancements Easy updates Solid hardware Solid software Hinting what’s coming 30:00  Looking at mid-enterprise Options for more enterprise customers Reaching out for feedback 35:00  Hey! What about AI? Compliance and analytics Hold on to that data 30 minutes in, and this is the first AI conversation Things can only get bigger Slow backup vs slow recovery 40:00  Attacks work because they are clever And devastating It’s more than just data Organizations need to practice the plays just like a football team Practice the processes Attacks cause surgery delays Comments from Chrome Donkey and Beard of Knowledge 45:00  Talking hardware Appliance configuration How it works Eliminate bottlenecks What guides hardware decisions Taking customer feedback 50:00  The case for smaller customers There’s no value in free Ensure true immutability Internal malice 55:00  Cutting the tube Anthony talks about the SR liquid cooling video Assume breach, verify integrity Internal breaches Accidental deletions Beware of puppetry 60:00  Neverending Story Anthony’s banner How it relates Brian’s luck dragon with wings Wrapping up 65:00  Wrap up Full Video Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #128 – The Best Storage for Veeam with Object First appeared first on StorageReview.com.

Brian welcomes Andy Klein to the Podcast this week. Andy is the Principle Storage Cloud Storyteller at Backblaze. In addition to the storyteller role, Andy currently serves as the Technical Marketing Director. Andy has been associated with storage and security technology for most of his career and has been with Backblaze for over 12 years. Brian welcomes Andy Klein to the Podcast this week. Andy is the Principle Storage Cloud Storyteller at Backblaze. In addition to the storyteller role, Andy currently serves as the Technical Marketing Director. Andy has been associated with storage and security technology for most of his career and has been with Backblaze for over 12 years. Brian and Andy discuss storage technology and direction and how Backblaze uses and qualifies drives for use in their data centers. This did prove to be a lively discussion around storage products, but not necessarily data center storage products. Backblaze is a service adored by home users.  Andy is one of the techs behind the Backblaze-generated quarterly storage report. The annual report details failure rates for hard drives and, in a limited sense, SSDs in use at Backblaze. Backblaze is one of the best in being open and communicative about drive usage and failures. We decided to go live with this podcast and invited our Discord to join. Of course, since it was live, ran into a bit of an issue getting started, so there had to be a restart to get back on track. 00:00 Introduction Details from Q1 storage report Backblaze indexes over 300k hard drives High-level overview Drive-farming Drive insights delivered that are unavailable elsewhere 05:00 Operational details 16K 4TB drives 20K 1TB drives Drives stay relevant because they work Different drives have different failure rates 45 drive chassis  drive chassis Densities Cost per TB Reference to Podcast #124: The Path to 50TB HDDs with Frickin Lasers 10:00 Procurement Process Testing them all No smart drives Heavy performance penalty Delete and rewrite Encouraging users to delete files Smart drives don’t fit the Backblaze model Catching the drives destined to fail Weeding out the drives that won’t fit the model Discord question Aggregating drive families or even brands Every drive has a different personality Inconsistent model numbers 15:00 Making it easy to track drive changes The report is geared to making it easy to follow trends, changes, failure rates Firmware versions Configuration changes Skew changes Buying the least expensive drives Drives that arrive DOA Let’s go to Costco or Best Buy Oops! Banned from Costco 20:00 Transitioning to Enterprise drives Warranties And then voided warranties You never get a new drive for replacement Learning the drive history! Using Flash Still buying the cheapest Use cases 25:00 Operational considerations Another trip to Costco Burning out drives BEFORE they fail Write, delete, write, delete, use, delete Kinda like a restore server All data goes to hard drives Flash drives are for short stashing Operationally efficient 30:00 Form factors Discord question How do form factors influence purchases Densities can be managed with HDDs Influenced by environment Adding a new tier Dream it, price it Keep it simple HAMR Scheduled Pulled back 35:00 Experimental Tech Watching and Waiting Planned Helium drives Filled a small vault Vault=1200 drives Striping across 20 systems Legacy question from Discord Storage servers are contracted out Supermicro servers 40:00 Protocol for failure Cloning Read-only servicing Recovering data Liquid cooling A data center without AC Nautilus Pulling water from the river Some light banter about pulling water from the Ohio for the Cincy Lab! 45:00 Finding the right chassis Not all Chassis are equal Savings from water-cooled data center Running smart software Servers remember what they were doing in the event of failure Bringing them back online Resiliency Telemetry 50:00 Using Solid Technology Exposure to just about everything Staying in sync Rebuilding on the fly Discord question What’s the network fabric Interconnects Shard integrity checks Rebuilding drives Sustainability Giving away outdated drives Recycling 60:00 What’s exciting for the future? How will larger drives affect business Costs What’s on the bookshelf? Wrap-Up Full Video Engage with StorageReview Newsletter | YouTube | Podcast iTunes/Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | RSS Feed The post Podcast #127 – Backblaze Drive Report appeared first on StorageReview.com.