A new combined server and storage architecture is emerging from the large cloud hyperscale companies that promises to simplify storage while combining many of the core advantages of DAS and SAN, writes Wikibon Principal Research Contributor Stuart Miniman in “Server SAN Market Definition”.

This new architecture is extremely scalable and simple to manage. As a hyperscale system it can run on commodity compute-based architecture, which means that external or separate storage arrays are eliminated. It is a software-defined, networked solution, which eliminates much of the hands-on management of traditional arrays and attacks the traditional separation of storage and compute in the IT organization. It automates storage placement and performance, creating further operational savings. Its elastic nature reduces migration costs between generations of arrays, which Wikibon research shows accounts for more than 20% of the lifetime cost of an array.

Server SAN, writes Miniman, “sits at the intersection of the hyperscale, convergence and flash trends.” The advent of high speed, low latency networking, flash, big data, and new application designs are providing an opportunity to redesign the IT infrastructure, and Server SAN is part of that redesign.

Miniman defines Server SAN as a pooled storage resource comprising more than one storage device directly attached to two or more separate servers through a high-speed interconnect such as InfiniBand or Low Latency Ethernet, with coherency managed by software. It can use both flash and spinning disk storage and is ideally configured in enterprise applications to ensure high availability. His Alert examines the advantages and challenges involved in this new architecture and looks at the market that is developing around it.

This full Professional Alert, the first of three Miniman plans on this subject, is available without charge on the Wikibon Web site. IT professionals are invited to register for membership in the Wikibon community. This allows them to participate in Wikibon events and research and to post comments, questions, tips, and their own research.