Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc.

Flash Storage Part 3: IBM vs. the competition

11/5/2024 by Mike Zwolski

In last week's blog about Flash Storage, I shared some comparisons of IBM Flash storage specifications versus the competition. For this note, I will show representative IBM configurations for each of the FS-5300, the FS-7300, and the FS-9500. These are not the largest or densest configurations but are representative of what many IBM’s customers are buying today. They should provide you with some data points when considering flash storage purchases from any of the top competitors. From my previous note:

Model
Height
Eff. Cap
Latency
Bandwidth
Typical competition counterparts
FS-5300
1u
0.5 PB
70 µs
21 GB/sec
X Series (and slower C Series)
FS-7300
2u
2 PB
50 µs
50 GB/sec
XL Series (and slower X Series)
FS-9500
4u
4 PB
50 µs
92 GB/sec
No comparably fast alternative

I will show these configurations at standard discounts (nothing special) and with a very safe 3:1 assumed data reduction ratio. (I should note that if you get better than 3:1 data reduction with IBM, that added capacity is yours as a bonus.) Also, I will build in three years of IBM Expert Care Premium, IBM’s top support level. All boxes are loaded with cache and channels, and with high performance 19.8 TB IBM Flash cards. These are not skinny configs. These are cache and capacity rich configurations that can handle anything you can throw at them. The cost below is your total, three-year, TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for this storage. All the HW and SW is included, and support, is included in the price shown.

Model
Cache
Phys. Cap
Usable Cap
Price
Cost/TB
FS-5300
0.5 TB
230 TB
0.5 PB
$149 K
$ 297
FS-7300
1.5 TB
460 TB
1 P
$311 K
$ 311
FS-9500
3 TB
920 TB
2 PB
$742 K
$ 370

What does the apples-to-apples comparison tell us? You can save major money by looking at this technology.

From a cost perspective, the IBM solution is an obvious winner. Future notes will also explain why IBM Flash Storage is also technically a superior solution.

Click here for more information on IBM Flash storage and click here for more information on LRS infrastructure solutions.