Aug 19, 2010 14:59 GMT  ·  By

While makers of storage solutions strive to create newer, faster and more capacious flash storage devices, some are also working on modules compatible with newer technologies, and Fusion-io seems to have just finished developing what it calls the new ioMemory module, a flash storage product set to be used in new PCI Express storage solutions.

The major aspect of the new ioMemory is the support for 3xnm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory chips.

Basically, since it can handle chips built on smaller manufacturing process technologies, the new module will be more power-efficient, faster and capacious.

For those interested in numbers, according to its maker, the ioMemory can pump out up to 285,000 sustained IOPS of performance and a latency of less than 25 microseconds.

In terms of storage, it will basically let a single PCI Express card pack up to 1.28TB. What's more, it will even use the Flashback protection feature, which offer the company's proprietary RAID-level redundancy.

"Demand for ioMemory continues to grow and Fusion-io, as the first vendor in the industry to deliver MLC-based solutions to the enterprise, is pushing the innovation envelope once again to achieve faster, higher capacity solutions," said Neil Carson, CTO of Fusion-io.

"The 1.28TB ioDrive Duo is a direct response to customer requests for more capacity from a single device,” he added.

“Our ability to deliver continually greater performance density attests to our superior architecture's scalability without adding the complexity of embedded controllers, processors, and external power supplies," the CTO concluded.

"We are at an inflection point in the industry where MLC technology has moved from consumer-grade products to datacenter systems, creating a much needed shift in the enterprise flash market to thinner, smaller, high capacity solutions with more than ample storage," said Joseph Unsworth, Research Director at Gartner.

The company did not say when, exactly, new storage products will debut, but it should be in the near future.