A
hybrid array is a form of hierarchical storage management that combines hard disk drives (HDDs) with solid-state drives (SSDs) for I/O speed improvements.
Hybrid storage arrays aim to mitigate the ever increasing price-performance gap between HDDs and DRAM by adding a non-volatile flash level to the memory hierarchy.
Implementations
Some commercial products for building hybrid arrays include:
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Adaptec demonstrated the MaxIQ series in 2009.
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Apple's Fusion Drive
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Linux software includes bcache, dm-cache, and Flashcache (and its fork EnhanceIO).
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Condusive's ExpressCache is marketed for laptops.
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EMC Corporation VFcache was announced in 2012.
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Fusion-io acquired ioTurbine in 2011,
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Hitachi Accelerated Flash Storage (HAFS) used together with the Hitachi Dynamic Tiering software
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IBM Flash Cache Storage Accelerator (FCSA) server software
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Intel's Smart Response Technology for desktop
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Intel's Cache Acceleration Software for servers and workstations
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LSI Corporation CacheCade software for their controllers
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Marvell's HyperDuo controllers
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Microsoft's Automated Tiering (since Windows 2012 R2)
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NetApp's Flash Cache, Flash Pool, Flash Accel
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Oracle Corporation markets products such as Exadata Smart Cache Flash, and the FS1 flash storage system.
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Microsoft ReadyBoost allows personal computers to use USB flash drives (or any solid-state media) as cache.
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Nvelo DataPlex SSD caching software was announced in 2011,
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SanDisk FlashSoft for Windows, Linux, and vSphere
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Products are offered by vendors like AMI StorTrends,
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ZFS using hybrid storage pools, are used for example in some Oracle Corporation products.
See also
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Hybrid drive built-in flash cache, handled by firmware
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Automated tiered storage another name for hierarchical storage management
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The "five-minute rule" for caching
