INFOGRAPHIC
Exploring the complexities of HPC storage
Todd Ruff , VP Corporate Marketing of Panasas , explores the complexities of HPC storage solutions and why organisations must demand predictability , ease of use and reliability from their technology providers .
PC IT environments are
H the driving force behind a growing number of industries and use cases . According to the World Economic Forum , by 2025 an estimated 463 exabytes of data will be created on a daily basis .
Organisations , from governments to banks to automotive manufacturers , are taking advantage of this ever-growing mountain of data to make quicker and better-informed decisions .
Indeed , the global HPC memory market is growing at an average rate of 7 % and is expected to reach US $ 7 billion by 2023 .
storage professionals alone was the most difficult operational aspect of HPC storage .
2 ) Installation and maintenance
Organisations are also plagued by complicated installation and maintenance tasks . Just 6 % of organisations had their new HPC storage rigs up and running within a day , while 28 % were still installing after a week .
And the challenges don ’ t disappear once the storage system is up and running – almost half had to tune and retune systems monthly , with 4 % retuning weekly ( and 2 % even daily ).
However , the majority of HPC storage solutions are shrouded in complexity , unreliability and frighteningly high costs . A global study by Hyperion Research highlights three ways in which organisations can become ensnared in a high total cost of ownership .
1 ) Cost of HPC storage staffing
Employees represent a monstrous cost factor for HPC storage ; 18 % of HPC storage installations each require four or more people to manage it , while almost 14 % had expenditures of US $ 500,000 or more for HPC storage staff . For 38 % of organisations , recruiting and training
3 ) Outages
Last but not least , the most petrifying of HPC horrors : outages . One-third of organisations suffered monthly failures and 8 % weekly outages . An alarming 41 % revealed that recovery took two days or longer . Depending on company size , a day ’ s outage can cost up to , or even above , US $ 1 million .
These entanglements of complex and unreliable storage back organisations into a corner where they are victims of a shockingly high total cost of ownership , impacting their productivity and , ultimately , their bottom lines .
FOR 38 % OF ORGANISATIONS , RECRUITING AND TRAINING STORAGE PROFESSIONALS ALONE WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT OPERATIONAL ASPECT OF HPC STORAGE .
As HPC storage installations increasingly tackle a broader range of use cases , the shortcomings of traditional approaches are becoming increasingly clear and the hidden costs of HPC storage – such as staffing and outages – are harder to ignore .
Organisations must take a step back to re-evaluate their storage solutions and demand predictability , ease of use and reliability from their technology providers . ◊ www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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