Data volumes continue to grow driving deployments of more storage hardware. In this area one clear solution to these challenges is the adoption of flash technology across the data centre, specifically high-density flash storage modules. Flash-optimised storage systems use between 2-5x less power than commodity SSD-based systems and between 5-10x less power than HDD-based systems. Some vendors can reduce energy usage and carbon emissions by up to 85% compared to competing flash offerings. along with 3x industry average SSD reliability and 6x the reliability of HDDs.
More efficient flash storage doesn't just reduce power consumption, it also directly leads to lower data centre cooling and water requirements. Some companies have engineered their arrays to get the absolute most out of flash. For example, some vendors leverage "raw" flash to build their flash arrays, rather than relying on buying commodity solid-state drives (SSDs), which talk to their flash drives in essentially the same way they would a legacy hard drive. This maximises the capabilities of flash and provides better performance, power utilization, and efficiency resulting in up to 95% less rack space than competitor products, especially those based on spinning disk. That all means less power, cooling and water requirements in the data centre.
It also pays to look at ways to reduce waste in the technology lifecycle. Upgrading legacy storage architecture involves a full forklift upgrade to completely replace old hardware. Handling this process end-to-end is a complex undertaking, requiring IT teams to manage physical waste disposal, overcome security concerns and ensure that downtime is minimized. This model is fundamentally incompatible with achieving sustainability goals and reducing e-waste. Non-disruptive upgrades are one alternative designed to avoid obsolescence, with component modules that can be swapped out non-disruptively for 10 or more years. That compares with the typical storage hardware lifecycle of 3-5 years before reliability and support become significant risks. It's also worth considering how reliability contributes to lower e-waste, flash optimised storage modules typically have 3x the industry average SSD reliability and 6x the reliability of HDDs.
Lastly, if you can't see a problem, it can be difficult to address it. As such, companies should look for storage vendors that can provide transparent monitoring of their storage deployments which gives visibility into energy consumption and provides organisations with recommendations on how to maximise energy efficiency.
So when considering new storage to meet the demands of ever growing data volumes it's worth factoring in the impact on the data centre in terms of power, cooling and space but also the environment and targets to reduce GHG emissions and e-waste.