This educational blog answers the question, “What is block storage?” and presents a high-level overview of why block storage is gaining momentum in the enterprise. For more technical information on Lightbits software-defined block storage, start with our product page.
Block storage divides data into fixed-sized units, or “blocks.” Each block has a unique address, enabling efficient data retrieval, modification, and management. Blocks can be stored across multiple physical or virtual drives. When a file is accessed or updated, the system retrieves or modifies only the relevant blocks, not the entire file. This makes block data storage efficient for random read/write operations. It is commonly used in cloud environments due to its performance, scalability, and ability to handle high-demand applications.
Enterprises’ digital transformation journeys are reshaping the role of block storage in the data center. Once reserved as a primary storage tier for traditional workloads, it is evolving into a critical component of high-performance, accelerated data pipelines. Today, it is the linchpin of accelerated data pipelines that drive modern enterprise success. This evolution has been particularly impactful in industries where speed, scalability, and reliability are paramount: financial services, eCommerce, biotech, pharmaceutical, cloud and managed services, and AI/ML.
What follows are four reasons why block storage is gaining momentum in the enterprise.
1. Accelerated growth in on-premises cloud-architectures
Undoubtedly, block storage will continue to serve as the backbone of primary storage tiers for databases and virtual machines. It is valued for its ability to provide high-speed access to structured data. However, as workloads become more diverse, demanding, and cloud-native, the role of block storage has expanded and is now considered a foundational component of cloud architecture.
Cloud architecture is gaining significant momentum in data centers as many organizations are repatriating workloads on the public cloud back to on-premises [AWS claims customers are packing bags and heading back on-prem, The Register, September 17, 2024] or creating new specialized cloud services businesses and seek to emulate the efficiency, scalability, and automation benefits of public cloud hyperscalers.
Technologies like software-defined storage and open-source tools (e.g., Kubernetes, OpenShift, OpenStack) are key enablers of this shift. They will certainly be a significant piece of the cloud IT infrastructure spending expected to reach $134 billion by 2026. Organizations seeking alternatives to VMware, coupled with rising operational costs, increasing power consumption, and data central sprawl concerns, are pushing organizations to explore these more modern solutions. These solutions allow organizations to balance growing performance-sensitive application needs with cost containment.
As these trends unfold, the future of storage will be shaped by the dual demands for cloud services innovation and efficient, on-premises solutions that empower organizations to stay agile and competitive.
Block Storage for On-Premises, Open-Source Cloud Environments
- Block for OpenStack: As a leading open-source cloud platform, OpenStack relies heavily on it to enable elastic, high-performance storage pools for virtual machines (VMs) and containers. Solutions like Cinder highlight the value of this storage in enabling scalable and resilient environments. Learn more about block storage for OpenStack.
- Block Storage for OpenShift: Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs) backed by block allow containers to achieve consistent performance and low-latency access to data for stateful applications, which are critical for databases and other transactional workloads. Learn more about block storage for OpenShift.
- Block Storage for Kubernetes: Block integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes to deliver persistent storage volumes. Dynamic provisioning capabilities ensure Kubernetes clusters can meet growing application demands without manual intervention. Learn more about block storage for Kubernetes.
Learn more about cloud block storage.
2. NVMe Over TCP Protocol and Block Storage
More organizations seek to replace outdated iSCSI and FiberChannel to support their performance-hungry cloud-native applications. Industries like financial services, CSPs, MSPs, and AI-driven fields, which require high performance at scale, are leading this trend. While effective, these protocols often require expensive, dedicated infrastructure and contradict the enterprises’ desire for a more agile and cost-efficient data center. The NVMe® over TCP (NVMe/TCP) protocol removes these dependencies, making high-performance block storage accessible over standard Ethernet networks.
NVMe/TCP is a game-changer for enterprise storage. By leveraging the efficiency of Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage over standard TCP/IP networks, NVMe/TCP enables block to achieve ultra-low latency and high throughput without requiring specialized networking. NVMe-based architectures will soon be the backbone of high-performance cloud storage.
Modern applications, especially in use cases like high-frequency trading (HFT), real-time analytics, and transactional workloads, require storage solutions that can keep pace with ultra-low-latency requirements and high throughput demands. Block optimized for NVMe/TCP has emerged as the cornerstone of these workloads, with its unique ability to deliver predictive high performance and consistent low latency.
Lightbits Labs is a pioneer in software-defined, clustered storage that combines NVMe/TCP with intelligent flash management to deliver cloud-native storage solutions that outperform legacy systems like direct attached storage (DAS) Due to its unique architecture, Lightbits software eliminates the complexity of scaling storage environments, is more cost-efficient than legacy systems based on proprietary hardware and networking technologies, and ensures predictable and consistent performance regardless of where your data is stored.
Learn more about the benefits of high-performance block storage.
3. Block Storage for AI/ML Data Pipelines
The rise of AI/ML has transformed data management requirements. AI/ML workloads demand fast, consistent access to large volumes of data for training models, validating predictions, and operationalizing insights. Block is emerging as a building block enabling AI/ML data pipelines.
Its performance and reliability benefit AI-powered recommendation engines, predictive analytics in financial services, autonomous vehicle simulations, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). With its inherent ability to handle multiple I/O operations concurrently, NVMe/TCP-based block storage supports the parallelized nature of AI/ML workloads and scales effortlessly. It provides low-latency access to data, ensuring efficient processing and rapid access to large datasets to optimize training and inference times.
In applications like RAG, the vector data can, in most cases, reside in a server, VM, or container pod’s memory, but this creates problems. One problem is that memory is volatile. The other problem is that as vector databases grow in scale, they cannot fit into memory anymore, and you need fast (low latency) storage to support the application.
Software-defined block storage attuned to AI’s performance and scalability requirements will not slow down your AI-powered application once you start embedding more data at scale. Enterprises supporting AI/ML workloads often deploy block storage to facilitate rapid data processing at scale, ensure reliable and high-speed access to data during training and inference cycles, and enhance data durability.
Learn more about block storage for AI Clouds.
4. Block Storage in the Cloud
While I cited evidence at the start of the blog of organizations’ trend to repatriate their workloads back on premises, omitting block storage on the public cloud would be doing you, the reader, a disservice. Block is a critical enabler of cloud-native applications. It is offered natively by the leading hyperscalers, including elastic block storage from AWS and Azure, and is available by third-party solution providers, like Lightbits Labs, in the marketplaces.
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) is a native storage solution in the public cloud. It supports a range of use cases, from hosting databases to running mission-critical applications. EBS’s key capabilities include high-throughput, snapshots, replication, and dynamic resource allocation.
While native storage solutions like EBS are sufficient for many workloads, enterprises with performance-sensitive workloads at scale may find the native storage offering cost-prohibitive. Lightbits Labs offers a compelling cloud storage alternative that integrates seamlessly with AWS, Azure, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
Because Lightbits is software-defined and NVMe/TCP-based, it delivers consistent, high-performance data access across public and hybrid cloud implementations. Combining public cloud storage with external targets enables enterprises to build hybrid environments that balance cost, performance, and scalability. Cloud storage costs are optimized when workloads are offloaded to external solutions like Lightbits, which deliver better price-performance ratios than native cloud options.
To learn more about implementing Lightbits in a public cloud environment, visit Lightbits on AWS, Lightbits on Azure, and/or Lightbits on OCI.
Conclusion
Block storage is redefining enterprise storage strategies, driven by its versatility, performance, and compatibility with modern IT cloud architectures. From serving as the backbone of on-premises clouds to empowering AI/ML pipelines and enhancing public cloud deployments, this storage meets enterprises’ evolving demands.
NVMe/TCP is revolutionizing storage performance, while software-defined NVMe-based solutions like Lightbits Labs bring additional flexibility and scalability to enterprise environments.
Block storage, especially those architected for cutting-edge technologies like NVMe/TCP, will continue to gain momentum as organizations seek cost-effective, high-performance solutions for their data pipelines. By adopting innovative solutions like Lightbits, enterprises can unlock the full potential of block, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments.
Is your organization ready to harness the power of storage? Explore Lightbits solutions today and prepare to transform your data strategy for the future.
