Software-Enabled Flash Technology: A new way to maximize the potential of flash

KIOXIA's Software-Enabled Flash™ Technology

Hyperscalers are looking to evolve and redefine the use of flash in their data centers. What is needed to accelerate this trend are tools that leverage the native speed and flexibility of flash, coupled with the ease of software-defined storage.

KIOXIA's Software-Enabled Flash™ (SEF) technology supports this emerging paradigm by fundamentally redefining the relationship between the host and solid-state storage. Software-Enabled Flash technology consists of purpose-built, media-centric flash hardware focused on hyperscaler requirements, with an open source API and libraries to provide the functionality hyperscalers demand.

Overhead from Traditional Industry Solutions

Firmware induced ‘long tail latency’
DRAM buffers
Device-level RAID
Overprovisioning limiting capacity
Device-level power protection

Challenges of Current HDD Driven Approach

Legacy of HDD paradigms for storage
Fixed functionality by the standards
IO blender approach to block and wear leveling creates tenant workload conflicts
Limits flash to fit the standards used

KIOXIA's Software-Enabled Flash Technology

Enables host to control latency optimizations
Offers DRAM, no-DRAM and hybrid solutions
RAID becomes a host control decision
Gives access to full capacity of each flash die
Power loss protection option
API delivers needed tools to adapt flash at the speed developers require
Sheds the legacy HDD paradigm
Adapt single IO or multiple IO modes
Die-level workload isolation that also enables multiple IO modes to run simultaneously
Maximizes flash flexibility, scalability, performance, parallelism and speed

Simply put: Software-Enabled Flash technology brings software flexibility and scalability to flash.

KIOXIA's Software-Enabled Flash Open Source API Now Available on GitHub

Open Source API and Libraries Accelerate and Ease Innovation in Hyperscale Storage

Delivers on the promise of storage developed at the speed of software
The API gives Hyperscale developers tools and freedom to innovate and customize according to their needs
Accelerate flash development time to create a competitive advantage
Free to use, adapt and develop to flash storage requirements
Flash-native API puts all the tools in the hands of storage developers