EMC readies flash storage for data centers with Project X

EMC is developing flash storage for use throughout data centers, and it's working on software to tie all enterprise flash components together.

The company is using technology it gained through its May acquisition of XtremIO to build an all-flash array code-named Project X, which is due to hit the market next year. The platform will also introduce software that EMC plans to use with flash products in other environments, including on servers and within server networks.

Project X provides an opportunity to design a storage architecture based on flash from the start, without constraints inherited from hard disks and other older technologies, said Zahid Hussain, general manager of EMC's flash products division.

Now in beta testing, Project X will be built with x86 processors and standard solid-state disks, along with standard network interfaces such as Ethernet and Fibre Channel.

But the core of the offering is software that can be applied to other flash storage elements in an enterprise. It "takes full advantage of multicore, understands the characteristics of flash, and is designed to be modular and scalable," Hussain explained.

EMC will continue to develop VCache, a server-based flash product, and Project Thunder flash appliances.

This version of this story was originally published in Computerworld's print edition. It was adapted from an article that appeared earlier on Computerworld.com.

Read more about data storage in Computerworld's Data Storage Topic Center.

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