What do solid-state devices (SSD) and real estate have in common? Turns out that prices for both are a function of supply and demand, and location matters.
A little bit of SSD in the right location can bring good value or benefits going a long way, as we discussed in an earlier blog SSD Is in Your Future: Where, When & With What Are the Questions. Likewise, a lot of SSDs can be good, but at a high cost. Or, like real estate, it could be low-cost property. Comparing real estate based on square footage is like looking at SSD on a cost per GB basis in that it reflects neither the value nor potential benefit. Similar to real estate, all things are not equal in the datacenter and with SSD.
Just as with real estate, there are many types of SSDs in various packaging options that can be deployed in different locations for various usages. Some are optimized for larger capacity with fewer writes or updates at a lower cost such as multi-level cell (MLC) or enterprise MLC (eMLC) or triple-level cell (TLC) that stacks multiple bits on top of each other like a high-rise property to cut costs. There are also longer endurance single-level cell (SLC) based Nand flash SSD that cost more, but they do not stack as many bits, thus less wear and tear, kind of like a single occupancy property.
As with deciding what real estate property is best for you, knowing your requirements, usage or activity patterns, and other requirements is key for effective SSD deployments. For example, looking beyond the cost per square foot, or cost per GB in the case of SSD, comparing functionality, traffic, access, and other factors is important. I want more space capacity with the SSD that I have in my laptop, but I have to ask whether I need it and how it will enable me to be more productive. On the other hand, I can save some money by going with a smaller SSD that will cause me to be less productive by spending more time moving things around. As with real estate, finding the right balance, location, and type of resource to support what you are doing is important versus simply having more capacity.
How much SSD do you want versus need is like asking how much real estate you would you like versus require. The amount of SSD to have is tied to what you are trying to address or solve, as well as where it will be deployed. There are many different options for stretching your budget while becoming more effective. In the right place, you may not need as much prime real estate to be effective, yet you may need another place for back office, warehousing, assembly, or other functions at a lower cost, yet higher capacity.
The same holds true with SSD in that using some SSD as a cache in server or in storage systems can boost for performance for cache-friendly workloads or application activity. Likewise, if all of your IO activity fits into a small amount of space, then a small target SSD located close to where it is being used can be a benefit. Thus, like real estate, there is no right or wrong location, per say; it's a case of determining what fits or meets your objectives. Same holds true in that SSD is in your future: the questions are where, with what, how much, and when.
Greg Schulz 2/13/2013 5:14:52 PM User Rank Blogger
Re: SSD
@dcawrey nand flash (aka SSD) has been very successful in many parts of the consumer device sector, namely tablets, phones, mp3, etc... While not a larger population per say, things like DVRs otoh are and IMHO will continue to ride the HDD capacity increase, price decline curve for sometime, given how they tend to be a generation or two back.
@StaceE no worries, good luck on your purchase, upgrades. Depending on what you are going to get, options are getting better in terms of what to order intially vs. afterwards. Im thinking of getting another samsung SSD, this time probally the 512GB version of the 830 to replace the 256GB one I currently have, and then move that to a different system (it already paid for itself in the first six months of use) that has a HHDD, and then move the HHDD to another system and so forth.
Thanks for the heads up! I haven't purchased one yet, but I am considering doing so in the near future. The specifications are certainly something to consider when adding to your system. =)
I'll be interested in seeing what kind of innovations we will see in the consumer devices market. This sector has the potential to make an enormous impact on users, and if the price of this durable storage falls precipitously than there will be some fairly forward-thinking designs that will come about as a result.
HUB Support 2/10/2013 6:25:15 PM User Rank Platinum
Re: SSD
For those industries with blazing system response requirements and deep pockets (i.e stock trading, defense, aerospace, etc.) a cost/benefit analysis for SSD impelementation makes sense. However, for most industries, the entry cost for SSDs remains a barrier when traditional HDD's offer more storage per dollar.
If your HHDs are in good working order and they have some time left as good options, I suspect you would swap them out only if you wanted the performance of the SSD. If you don't need the performance then you could look at the feasibility of SSD when the HDDs get old. That's when price/capacity really start to play for a lot of people.
The way that I see it, the cost is still an important player in storage world. If you think about data centers mostly utilizing HDDs simply because they could not really effort replacing all their HDDs to SSDs. SSD's cost/capacity per GB is not comparable to HDDs yet. We need more cost effective and high capacity SSDs to faster roll outs.
i totally agree with this point, atleast for trading houses and other companies where time is money, when a single minute can provide you financial benefits, in those companies SSD are a better option than HDD's
Great point, Dcawrey. It shows that SSD isn't just about the purchase price but the impact that even a split second improvement in response time could have for the business. Even though the gas article isn't about SSD, you can imagine how in other circumstances that slight an edge in time could mean a big boost in profit.
Here is a great example where timing is of the essence, and further proves how important storage speed can be. There were some people who got the natural gas report just slightly earlier than others, which is a major leg up in terms of trading. It's an interesting read and puts this article in perspective as well as practical purpose.
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