Flash Upends the Data Center

Ron Wilson, Altera

Perhaps you could call it a tipping point. For years the increasing density of flash memory chips has meant more room for media on smart phones, cameras, and media players. And far more powerful flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs) have enabled new tablet and notebook computers, and have begun quietly appearing in data centers.

But suddenly the rate of technology change has blossomed. Vertical-cell NAND flash is delivering on its promise to move beyond the limits of planar flash to deliver enormous storage capacity per chip. New non-volatile technology—in the form of the Intel-Micron 3D Xpoint memory—is headed into volume production. And rotating disks are striking back with new technologies of their own. One result will be unprecedented change in data centers, beginning in hyperscale clouds and extending down into the enterprise.

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