The Next Generation All-Flash Storage Server: 2U Stornado
If you want the best performance and fast access storage, you’re looking for an all-flash storage server. And because the cost of SSDs has significantly dropped over the last few years, all-flash storage has become even more affordable and adopted among various industries.
All-flash storage servers like our Stornado offer significantly improved performance over HDD, cooler running temperatures, and decreased power draw. So what’s this mean for you? It means savings in your energy costs, and with the smaller form factor of SSDs, you’ll be able to achieve greater densities—which leads us to the purpose of this blog.
We’ve made major mechanical changes to our all-flash storage server, the Stornado.
The first iteration of the 45Drives all-flash storage system, the Stornado, was released in 2019. It was a 4U, 32-bay, SSD storage server similar to other Storinator products, using SATA and a top loading design.
This blog will describe the three major mechanical changes to the new generation of 45Drives all-flash storage servers. So let’s get into it!
- We’ve made it 2U—It’s Half the Size.
The most obvious change of the new generation Stornado is that it has gotten much smaller. The hardware redesign is half the height of the previous 4U model. It has always been an important part of our design philosophy to create dense, affordable storage systems. That’s why the next generation Stornado retains the same 32-drive bay density as the previous 4U model despite being half the size. The new system retains the same components, density and performance but comes with a price reduction compared to the old models.
- New Drive-loading Mechanism
Most all-flash storage systems are 24 bays, utilizing drive caddies to load the SSDs into the server. To reduce the size while retaining the larger system’s density, we developed a new loading mechanism for the 2U Stornado.
The 2U does not use drive caddies and is completely toolless for drive loading and removal. Simply push a drive into the open slot or press the button above each slot to pop it out. That lead to us (rather eloquently) calling it the “push and pop.” Each ejection rod is labelled with the slot number, so you know your drives’ location in your server if you are utilizing Houston UI.
- Removable Boot-drive Bracket
The third modification of the chassis changed how the boot drives are mounted and accessed within the Stornado. The new model comes with an addition of a removable boot drive bracket. This change significantly simplifies boot-drive access and makes it completely toolless. Before, you would need to take the lid off your system to access the boot drives. Now, you can do it in seconds by removing a thumbscrew!
What makes the Stornado Unique?
The Stornado, like all our products at 45Drives, is software-agnostic. This means you can run any software your application requires without restriction or licensing fees. We also offer the least restrictive warranty on the market—allowing you to modify your server to suit your needs without penalty or voiding your warranty.
And when it comes to support, we are the only storage solution provider to offer support on both our hardware and the open source software your choose for your storage server. We’re truly here to help you succeed.
Now and the Future
We believe that flash systems will gain prominence over the next 5+ years. This is not to say hard drives are going anywhere — hybrid and purely HDD systems will still be around for many years and available from 45Drives. However, these changes were just the first stage of the new era of flash at 45Drives. We began by improving our mechanical platform. The next step will be U.3 NVMe systems early in the new year, followed by next-generation NVMe systems.
Looking for more information? Check out this Tech Tip video to hear our Head of R&D, Brett Kelly, talk about these changes, get an instant quote with our online configurator or contact us today to get a quote!
