'Writing is on the wall for spinning rust': IBM joins Pure Storage in claiming disk drives will go the way of the dodo in enterprises

• IBM's FlashSystem C200 aims to replace HDDs with high-capacity flash storage
• It delivers 1.1PB raw capacity, 2.3PB effective, with 200,000 IOPS performance
• This flash option is optimized for archives, backups, and sequential workloads

Pure Storage has been predicting the end of spinning disks for some time, and now IBM is looking to accelerate this shift with the launch of the FlashSystem C200, a high-capacity flash-based storage system designed to replace traditional HDDs in enterprises while offering high density, endurance, and lower operational costs.

IBM positions the C200 as a lower-cost flash alternative ("Use it like TLC, pay for it like QLC," IBM boasts) for archive storage, backup repositories, and workloads that can tolerate higher latency.

The system integrates with IBM’s Storage Virtualize, allowing it to join a FlashSystem grid for non-disruptive migrations.

The writing is on the wall

Blocks & Files says, “The C200 uses IBM’s proprietary FlashCore Modules (FCMs) with a Gen 4 version providing 46TB raw capacity using a pseudo-SLC frontend to the QLC NAND. It has 32 Xeon cores and a 256GB cache providing 1-2ms latency, up to 200,000 IOPS, and 23GBps throughput. There is a fixed 24-slot configuration with 1.1PB raw capacity in a 2RU chassis. Because the system has always-on hardware-assisted compression, IBM says it has 2.3PB of effective capacity.”

Alongside FlashSystem grid scaling and a full suite of enterprise software functions, the C200 features eight onboard 10GbE ports and optional configurations of 16x 32Gb FC/NVMe-FC or 8x 25/10GbE NVMe-TCP ports. IBM says it delivers 10 times better performance than traditional HDD or hybrid solutions, making it optimized for sequential workloads.

"The writing really is on the wall for the last of the spinning rust…" IBM blogger Barry Whyte writes. "Over the next few years we will see the price point for Flash get closer and closer, and eventually even reduce lower than NL-SAS. With 300, 500 and even 1PB Flash drives being teased in the industry, it's almost impossible for even the most advanced magnetic platter technologies to keep up."

FlashSystem C200 has an indicative end-user price of $381,000, which Blocks & Files calls “respectable,” and it will be generally available worldwide on March 21.

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