Demartek provides real-world, hands-on research & analysis by focusing on industry analysis and lab validation testing of server, network, storage and security technologies, for the small and medium business (SMB) environment and the large enterprise.

Dennis Martin likes to include results from the Demartek lab when he speaks at conferences and user group meetings.

Demartek Presents Solid State Storage Half-day Seminars

January 2012

In a relatively short time, solid-state storage has become a viable alternative for enterprise storage applications. It offers far superior performance over magnetic media while using much less power and creating little heat. Solid-state storage is, however, still considerably more expensive than spinning disk, so a cost-effective approach to implementation is required. In this free, multi-city, half-day seminar, Dennis Martin, President of Demartek will cover the key solid-state technologies and the specs that users need to know, along with the various implementation alternatives.

In part one of the seminar, we will explore the different types of solid state technology that are used and discuss the use cases for each. We will delve into the physics of these technologies and compare them to spinning hard disk drives, and we’ll look at the performance and capacity characteristics of each. After examining the technology, we will explore data placement techniques, including caching and tiering, and how each of these work. Some solid state storage technologies include things such as compression and other techniques to help squeeze the most efficiency from these technologies. The following topics will be addressed:

A brief definition of solid-state storage, including DRAM, NVRAM and NAND flash
The three types of NAND flash — SLC, MLC and eMLC — will be described including performance and endurance characteristics
Key ways solid state differs from conventional magnetic media
Using auto-tiering to use solid-state storage cost effectively
How built-in compression algorithms can lower the cost per GB ratio of solid-state storage

In part two, we’ll focus on the specific implementation alternatives for solid-state storage. Solid state storage is available in a number of form factors including types that are inside a server or computer and types that are external to the host computer. We discuss the pros and cons of each and the specific benefits of each approach:

Array-based, in mixed configurations with hard disk drives
Server-based using the PCIe interface
All-solid-state arrays
Caching appliances

Some performance data from lab tests comparing solid state storage and hard disk drive storage will be included in the sessions. In addition, attendees will be provided printed excerpts from the upcoming Demartek SSD Deployment Guide 2012.

Cities and Dates for these 2012 Half-day Seminars

Tue. Mar. 6 — Los Angeles, CA
Thu. Mar. 8 — Minneapolis, MN
Thu. Apr. 5 — Toronto, ON
Tue. Apr. 17 — Denver, CO
Thu. Sep. 13 — San Diego, CA
Thu. Sep. 20 — London, UK
Tue. Oct. 16 — Washington, DC

Registration

Click the link to get the complete agenda and registration information for these free, half-day TechTarget Solid State Storage Seminars. Stay current with the latest news for this seminar by following the Twitter hashtag #SSDseminar.