Nowadays, people rely on big data applications to adopt different kinds of services. Take for example the famous Amazon Scout delivery robot. We can now receive packages without human intervention.
It is not difficult to imagine that more unprocessed data will be generated by the increasing demand for various services in our daily lives. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that global data will increase dramatically to reach 175 ZB by 2025. The ever-increasing volumes of data thus become a factor that drives the development of computer storage. It is a state-of-the-art storage system that can speed up data processing, make real-time analysis more efficient, and shorten the waiting time of our package and data.
The distinction between conventional and computing storage models
In traditional computing architecture, data moves frequently between storage systems and application server memory units. The CPU first requests the data from the storage system before the data is transferred to the CPU to perform the calculation. After the CPU completes the processing, the results are sent back to the storage system to be saved. This process can be repeated thousands of times. The high cost of moving data through these repetitive steps can lead to additional power consumption and degrade the performance of big data applications.
Unlike the conventional storage model, the computational storage model shifts the processing to the data system and no data is sent to the processor. This means that data workloads are processed directly on the storage controller. It seeks to analyze and process data where it resides.
This is how it works. The CPU sends a request to the storage subsystem, but the data does not need to leave the storage system. Instead, the operation is performed by the drive itself. Computer storage saves considerable time and energy by eliminating complex and repetitive steps that require the exchange of large volumes of data over a network.
The components of computer storage
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- Computer storage disks (CSD): A CSD is a computer storage device that represents either an ASIC or a microprocessor embedded in a storage device. It can perform calculations in the storage system and supports persistent data storage.
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- Computer Storage Processors (CSP): A CSP is a processor positioned as a controller of an SSD array. It is a component that provides computing services and functions to an associated storage system, but it does not offer persistent data storage
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- Computer storage arrays (CSA): A CSA is a collection of CSDs and CSPs that contains both compute and storage with optional storage devices and control software.
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In a nutshell, computer storage is a storage subsystem that combines multiple processors located on storage media, computer storage arrays, or their controllers.
Three key benefits of computer storage
1. Minimum bandwidth and power: By using computer storage, data is not moved as frequently across the interface, allowing the user to allocate more data on disk. By reducing the movement of data between storage and the main processor, only the end result needs to be delivered to the host. Computing storage provides significant power savings and additional I/O bandwidth.
2. Remove latency: Since storage sizes usually greatly exceed memory, data must be read in blocks. This slows down real-time data analysis and affects the efficiency of high-performance computing. However, computer storage can break these bottlenecks. By putting the processing on the storage subsystem itself, massive amounts of data can be processed where the data originated. It shortens the time required to move, analyze and process data, which greatly improves latency and network bandwidth utilization.
3. Data-Centric Computing: Unlike computer-centric architecture, data-centric architectures are designed to analyze massive volumes of data, emphasizing the first concept of data. By installing processing capabilities directly into the storage application, Computational Storage can free up CPU cycles for high-level functions and tasks and enable parallelism for specific workloads that improve throughput and performance.
Read: Storage for Edge Computing: Bringing Digital Transformation to the Edge
The Phison approach
Talking about all these advantages above, Phison, as one of the leading companies in the IT industry, will soon launch an all-in-one solution for computer storage. Phison has accomplished this to enable wide and immediate deployment of this innovative new technology. We partner with many current server manufacturers to provide customers with turnkey solutions. The new technology can not only reduce network traffic, parallel computing, but also alleviate other stresses on compute, I/O, memory, and storage. Phison will offer the best platform and the widest range of solutions for all data centers and cloud service providers to get the most out of larger data applications.
