Optimizing storage performance and efficiency is still a challenge, according to an independent, third-party survey of SAN users conducted by Dataram.
Midrange Fibre Channel SAN users continue to face challenges in optimizing for performance and efficiency, according to a recent third-party survey conducted on behalf of Dataram Corporation, a maker of memory, storage products, and software in Princeton, N.J.
To drive greater performance from an existing midrange Fibre Channel SAN, nearly half of respondents (48 percent) add more storage and/or spindles, 
which increases the overall cost and complexity of the system.† While 45 percent of respondents report they are considering solid state for improved performance and efficiency, less than 15 percent have implemented a solid-state solution.
Adding storage systems and/or spindles to solve IO performance bottlenecks is a well-accepted practice, but the acquisition costs can be significant.† Add in the cost of power, cooling, rack space, management, maintenance, and loss of capacity due to underutilization, and the true costs of adding storage systems and/or spindles may become prohibitive.†
“When cost per IOPS is considered, solid-state solutions make much more economic sense, which is why such a large number of respondents are considering [them],” says Jason Caulkins, Dataram’s Chief Technologist.† “The fact that only 15 percent of respondents have deployed solid state indicates that there is plenty of room for growth in this market, and that users will have increasing options when it comes time to deploy a solution.”
Caulkins also notes that it is important that solutions be highly available, cost effective, and do not require a major upgrade to deploy—requirements he says are met by Dataram’s XcelaSAN.
XcelaSAN is a block-level Fibre Channel storage optimization appliance that improves SAN IOPS performance up to 30 times while significantly reducing cost, according to the company, and improves storage utilization in data center environments.
