Next Generation Architecture for Scale-out Block Storage

We are in the midst of a major technology shift as Storage Devices and Networks are outpacing general purpose Compute. At the same time, the usage models for Storage have become more diverse across requirements for performance, data protection and security. This perfect storm is creating a challenge for storage solutions in meeting application demands while efficiently utilizing hardware resources. A modern data center requires a new architecture for scale-out block storage that can provide this flexibility in a cost effective manner. This talk will examine the key requirements and the architecture principles we used to address them with the Fungible Storage Cluster. There is a clean separation of the storage control plane from the data plane. The data plane runs on the Fungible DPU, a specialized programmable processor designed to efficiently execute the storage data path while enabling a rich set of inline services. The control plane is built using a micro-services model. It takes care of data placement and error recovery while providing granular control over storage policies. We will show how the resulting architecture addresses the requirements and scales in performance, data protection and recovery capabilities.