Marvell is working with leading SSD vendor KIOXIA and original design manufacturers (ODMs) Foxconn-Ingrasys and Accton to bring its Ethernet Bunch of Flash (EBOF) technology solutions to market.

As data growth continues to soar, data centers are faced with demand for greater storage bandwidth and capacity as well as lower latency. The EBOF architecture provides a new approach to address these challenges by offering an Ethernet fabric to scale flash and optimally disaggregate storage from compute. This results in greater performance and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for edge, enterprise and cloud data centers.

In currently deployed and shipping Just a Bunch of Flash (JBOF) architectures, which are comprised of server-class CPUs, DRAM and the PCIe fabric, compute and storage continue to be underutilized, with storage servers typically oversubscribed, resulting in increased capital and operational expenditures. Marvell’s EBOF technology is designed to replace Just a Bunch of Flash (JBOF) architecture by integrating the Ethernet network interface directly into the flash drive. Compared to the existing JBOF architecture, Marvell’s EBOF architecture can deliver 3X the performance while consuming lower power and enabling greater than 65% TCO savings.

Key EBOF Platform Highlights

• The Foxconn-Ingrasys EBOF platform is a 2U chassis with 24 SSDs in a U.2 form factor and 48 SSDs in an EDSFF E1.S form factor.
• The Accton EBOF platform is a 2U chassis that can accommodate 24 SSDs in a U.2 or EDSFF E1.S and EDSFF E1.L (9.5 mm) form factor.
• Fully compliant to SNIA SFF-9639 standards
• Marvell’s EBOF SDK version 1.0, leveraging the SONiC network operating system
• Latest generation of enterprise NVMe SSDs from KIOXIA

Samples are available in early Q2 of 2020.