What a week for storage, specifically for flash vendors. It started early in the week with news that EMC’s officially unveiled VFCache (formerly “Project Lightning”), a PCIe add-on card for servers. That’s right, EMC’s is entering the flash cache field pioneered by Fusion-io. But rather than targeting web and cloud services providers, EMC wants those […]
SolidFire is the latest flash storage funding winner with $25M
Brisk VC activity surrounding makers of flash storage systems continues apace. The latest funding success is Solid Fire, which just added $25 million to its bank account. It’s not hard to see why it was able to pry open those checkbooks. The Boulder, Colo.-based startup combines two of the hottest trends in IT, SSDs (solid […]
SSDs: Beyond the price premium
Let’s get it out of the way, solid-state drives (SSDs) like Toshiba’s enterprise-class unit pictured above are expensive when you compare them to regular, magnetic hard drives. Old news, but it’s still a huge roadblock toward massive, widespread adoption. But those that are in the platter-free data storage camp are finding benefits that far outweigh […]
Pure Storage enters flash startup race
Hot on the heals of flash storage all-stars Fusion-io and Violion Memory, comes Pure Storage, a startup that’s making some bold claims about its tech, particularly surrounding costs. Pure Storage, which just emerged out of stealth, has attracted $55 million in funding, including $30 million in a just-announced series-C round of funding led by Redpoint […]
Fusion-io’s Flashy IPO
The past couple of years have been good for startups that specialize in flash memory storage systems for data centers. Though they peddle pricey wares, flash chip-based data storage and SSD makers are giving data centers a performance edge with energy savings boot. And in an era that’s unkind to pokey cloud performance and is […]
Funding flash: Fusion-io files for IPO
Fusion-io, a maker of flash memory modules for fast, energy efficient server storage, has filed for an initial public offering in the hopes to raising up to $150 million. And for those watching the flash storage and SSD markets, it’s a pretty big deal. The Salt Lake City-based startup has been a rising star in […]
Flash cache appliance maker Violin Memory bags $35 million
Flash memory companies continue to rake in the investment funds. Among them is Violin Memory, which today announced that it had raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Toshiba and Juniper Networks. Toshiba, like Samsung, has been seeding the market for its own flash memory chips by investing in startups that are dependent […]
Toshiba satisfies the need for speed with new enterprise SSDs
Toshiba took the wraps off new, low-power enterprise class solid-state drives (SSDs) that it plans to bring to market during the first half of next year. Its MKx001GRZB series of 2.5-inch drives — which will be available in 100 GB, 200 GB and 400 GB capacities — will sport the company’s 32nm SLC NAND flash […]
Hybrid hard drives: This time it’s for real
…or so claims market research firm Objective Analysis, a research firm specializing in the semiconductor space. According to Objective Analysis‘ Jim Handy, the hybrid drive market will double every year and reach an impressive 600 million units by 2016. Ultimately, hybrid drives will become the dominant PC storage technology, displacing traditional hard drives. Hybrid drives […]
Green storage: Does the SSD tipping point draw near?
The price per gigabyte ratio keeps swinging in favor of improved solid-state drive (SSD) adoption, but not faster than prices keep tumbling on traditional hard drives. Apart from high-performance servers, storage arrays, a smattering of portables, and of course, PC enthusiasts that spend top dollar for the fastest components, SSDs are still having a tough […]
