Micron is at Interop to market RLDRAM, or reduced latency DRAM, in any piece of hardware, whether in the network, a business, or the home, that touches digital video. Storing data on RLDRAM means faster access and video processing, the company said.

But in an interview with InformationWeek, Dean Klein, VP of market development for Micron, discussed the possibility of using NAND flash drives in the data center in place of disk drives, which use more power, generate a lot more heat, are slower in accessing data, and have a higher failure rate. "We just think the use of NAND in every area of storage makes lots of sense," he said. "And we think it makes lots of sense in the enterprise as well."

Startups and some very large data centers are experimenting with using flash drives for enterprise storage, said Klein, who declined to name any of the companies. He acknowledged, however, that the use of NAND flash in the data center would require architectural changes.

Technology, such as controllers and interconnects, currently used in joining many disk drives in large storage systems would have to be redesigned to make optimum use of flash memory's different properties. In addition, the price of flash drives would have to drop to a level where companies felt the higher cost was justified by its benefits.

Klein, however, predicted the migration would start with makers of network-attached storage devices. These manufacturers will offer flash-based alternatives to companies that need to increase storage capacity, but because of space constraints need smaller devices that generate less heat.

By: DocMemory
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