SanDisk Corp. has announced that IBM has selected SanDisk to provide a flash-based storage solution for recently-released blade servers. SanDisk's SATA 5000 2.5-inch solid state drive (SSD) will be offered for data storage within the IBM BladeCenter HS21 XM, featuring the latest in processing and power-management performance.

Blade computersùwhich integrate servers, storage, networking and applications into one systemùoffer a design point that helps reduce the proliferation of server "farms," large IT staffs to manage them, and wasted energy resources. IBM HS21 XM blades are packed with up to 32GB of RAM and up to eight I/O ports, helping to boost memory and processing performance while reducing energy costs as compared to traditional rack systems.

According to IDC, blade servers are the fastest growing sector of the overall server market, with revenues projected to surpass $11 billion by 20102.

IBM selected SanDisk's SSD product based on its high levels of reliability and performance and low power consumption. Using the SSD, power savings with IBM BladeCenter HS21 XM can be up to 18 watts per blade, 252 watts per chassis and 1,512 watts per server rack3, which can help reduce energy costs.

For the server industry, SanDisk SSDs provide an advantage over conventional hard disk drives in a variety of areas:

• ReliabilityùIncorporating advanced flash management technology, SanDisk SSDs deliver 2 million hours mean time between failures (MTBF), approximately six times more hours than conventional hard disks.
• PerformanceùSanDisk SSDs offer a sustained read rate of 67 megabytes (MB) per second5 and a random read rate of 7,000 inputs/outputs per second (IOPS) for a 512-byte transfer.
• Power efficiencyùSanDisk SSDs have minimal power requirements, with savings rated at over 50 percent compared with a conventional hard disk driveù0.9 watts during active operation versus 1.9 watts.
• Cooler and quieterùPower efficiency contributes to reduced heat generation. Furthermore, without the motor, bearings and moving head mechanism of conventional spinning hard drives, SanDisk SSDs generate even less heat than a conventional hard disk drive. Additionally, while conventional hard disk drives always make at least some noise during read and write operations, SanDisk SSDs are completely silent, contributing to a quieter server environment.
• Low cost of ownershipùWith no moving parts, SanDisk SSDs contribute to a virtually maintenance-free alternative to conventional disk drives.
• Expandable product offeringùSanDisk SSDs are available in capacities ranging from 4 GB to 64GB, allowing for easy upgrades depending on need.

Scott Tease, worldwide marketing manager for IBM BladeCenter, said: "IBM is the first major blade vendor to deliver enterprise-class solid state storage in blade servers, helping clients balance datacenter cost, complexity, reliability, and manageability. SanDisk's SSD uses up to 87 percent less power than a conventional hard disk drive and runs with no moving parts, eliminating a common point of disk failure and making the HS21 XM blade solution even more reliable."

"The integration of SanDisk's SATA 5000 2.5" SSD within IBM blades is a testament to the value of these products over conventional spinning media," said Ofer Tsur, vice president of SSD marketing at SanDisk. "Servers, personal computers and many other systems are sure to benefit with SSD products from SanDisk."

SanDisk offers SSD products in 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB capacities. More information about SanDisk SSD products is available online at www.sandisk.com/ssd.

SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, California, and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S. SanDisk's product and executive images can be downloaded from www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp SanDisk's web site/home page address: www.sandisk.com