The advent of flash-based arrays as general-purpose, high-performance data centre storage solutions has arrived at just the right time.

Flash-based array refers to a repository, drive, and system, which facilitates storage of information/data on conventional disk memory devices as well as flash for a long period of time. There are two types of products in flash-based array namely hybrid flash array and all-flash array. All-flash array (AFA) is a network-based storage system that utilizes flash media to fulfill the requirements of performance and capacity of data delivery and storage. AFA is developed flash-based and SSD-based architecture. Furthermore, hybrid flash array (HFA) is external storage that utilizes HDDs and SDDs to fulfill the requirements of performance and capacity. HFA incorporates flash memory and spinning disk to provide cost effective storage systems.

High performance capabilities are one of the major reason for boosting the adoption of flash-based array. Hybrid flash-based array and all-flash array are developed with SSD technology, enabling them with relatively higher speed data mobility as compare to conventional storage devices such as HDD. Furthermore, HDD causes unavoidable overhead cost of scanning disk. In fact, the fastest 15 RPM HDD may not be able to survive with high-traffic environments since it would need extra RAM, disk, and caching to function properly in high-traffic environments. This, in turn, increases overall hardware costs. Since SSD has no physical tracks or sectors and thus has no physical seek limits, it facilitates faster storage and accessibility of data than HDD and also offers high performance capabilities for enterprise data storage.

For day-to-day business transactions, high-performance transactional workloads in diverse areas such as financial, e-Commerce, government, and travel require high transaction rates and low response times. These sectors are gradually transitioning to flash array storage systems for their important business applications since traditional storage systems fail to meet these needs.For instance, NetApp EF-Series all flash arrays have been installed by Universal-Investment, which is a Germany-based investment company. After installation, the company has witnessed 100% performance improvement and has been enabled to deliver reliable financial services to customers.