Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E Blade Server Aims to Make Flash-Based Storage More Affordable

Pure Storage FlashBlade E Blade Server 1

Pure Storage, the US-based company known for its innovative flash-based storage solutions recently unveiled FlashBlade//E, a new cost-effective solution for managing unstructured data using flash storage. The new offering follows the launch of the FlashBlade//S family last year that brought a modular architecture that separates compute from capacity.

“Where FlashBlade//S is tuned for critical, high-performance workloads that consistently require cutting-edge high performance, FlashBlade//E addresses capacity of all unstructured repository workloads while helping you address cost and power utilization,” explained Amy Fowler, VP & General Manager, FlashBlade at Pure Storage.

Pure Storage promises that organizations interested in moving away from disk-based systems due to management and budget reasons now have a more sustainable and scalable alternative with FlashBlade//E. The company compared the transition to disk-based storage to all-flash unstructured data storage as “the shift from incandescent to LED,” with FlashBlade//E using one-fifth of the space and power and improving reliability by a 10x-20x factor. 

How Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E works

FlashBlade//E is a scalable system that starts with 2 chassis, with one EC chassis mixing storage and compute and another EX chassis for storage. Each chassis takes 5U of rack space, and there are also two external fabric modules (XFMs) taking 1U each. 

How Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E works
How Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E works (Image credit: Pure Storage)

With this basic configuration, organizations get 4 petabytes of storage space with up to 16x100GbE connectivity. As FlashBlade//E is highly scalable, customers will be able to add more chassis and storage at under $0/20 per GB.

Pure Storage announced that FlashBlade//E will be generally available by the end of April 2023. While exact pricing details are currently unknown, customers interested in a pay-as-you-go model will be able to deploy FlashBlade//E through a new service tier of Pure’s Evergreen//One Storage as-a-Service subscription. Lastly, you can register to a March 15 webinar to get more information about this new product.