The landscape of enterprise data storage is continuously evolving, and at the forefront of this movement is Pure Storage. In a recent podcast recorded at the Pure//Accelerate 2025 event, Rob Lee, Pure Storage’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), shed light on several pivotal topics surrounding the company’s innovative storage solutions. Among these discussions, Lee explored the role of key-value stores in Pure’s flash storage operating system, the decision to not utilize DirectFlash Modules (DFMs) in the newly announced FlashArray//ST, and the underlying reasons behind Pure’s exceptional performance in object storage.
The Role of Key-Value Stores in Pure’s Storage Solutions
Key-value stores are critical to how Pure organizes and manages data in their systems. According to Lee, utilizing a key-value store is essential for optimizing the handling of large volumes of information, akin to the use of relational databases for structured data. “You organize your information in a very orderly way into tables. You can build indexes. You can look things up very efficiently,” Lee explained, drawing parallels to traditional data management techniques.
From the inception of Pure Storage, the integration of key-value stores into their software architecture has been a fundamental differentiator. Lee noted that one of the primary challenges with flash storage is that data cannot be overwritten in place, necessitating a careful approach to data management, including the need for garbage collection. By leveraging key-value stores for metadata organization, Pure minimizes write amplification — a critical issue that can impact the longevity and performance of flash media.
Further illustrating the benefits, Lee stated, “Key-value stores make it really, really easy to partition and distribute and create concurrency and parallelism.” This architecture allows Pure’s FlashBlade to achieve high performance, particularly when it comes to metadata handling, which is often a bottleneck in traditional storage systems. “You can take advantage of our distributed technology, and you can look stuff up with very high speed, with very high concurrency,” he remarked, emphasizing the efficiency of this approach compared to older tree-like data structures.
How Metadata Management Enhances Performance
Lee elaborated on the fact that Pure’s approach to managing metadata is consistent across various facets of its system, from user metadata to physical media management. The company utilizes the same key-value architecture to handle mappings related to data reduction, such as deduplication. This homogeneity allows for a robust and high-performing system capable of benefiting from the characteristics inherent to key-value stores.
“By using the same approach to managing all our metadata, we can make it really, really robust and really, really performant,” Lee noted. The convergence of these systems not only simplifies the software architecture but also enhances overall efficiency, enabling improvements in data reduction and other processes that rely on effective metadata management.
Why FlashArray//ST Doesn’t Use DirectFlash Modules
One of the key points of discussion was the decision not to incorporate DirectFlash Modules in the new FlashArray//ST. Lee explained that although Pure Storage has heavily invested in and promotes DFMs, the hardware was designed for a broad range of enterprise needs, focusing on efficiency and capacity. “With FAST and with FlashBlade EXA, we’re aiming at the ultra, ultra high end, top end of performance,” he stated. For this reason, Pure is choosing to utilize components from a wider ecosystem of hardware vendors that cater more directly to ultra-performance needs.
Critically, Lee emphasized that the relationship between hardware and software is essential for performance. “If you want to build really good software, you’re going to build hardware to support that,” he remarked, referencing the philosophy they adhere to when developing storage solutions. This underscores the importance of optimizing both hardware and software to achieve top-tier performance.
The Attributes of High-Performance Object Storage
In the latter part of the discussion, the topic shifted to Pure Storage’s capabilities in providing high-performance object storage. Lee articulated that the company’s approach is not merely about resource allocation but rather about the architectural decisions that eliminate inefficiencies. Traditional object storage solutions often layer protocols over existing file systems, leading to performance drains. Pure, however, implements object storage natively, which streamlines the operation and enhances performance.
Lee further elaborated that modern object workloads often entail substantial metadata management, which can either propel or hinder performance. “The administrative piece, the metadata, ends up being a very large portion of the overall performance demands,” he noted. Pure’s native design allows for a highly distributed and parallel key-value store, which in turn drives performance efficiencies.
Quick Reference Table
Feature | Description |
---|---|
Key-Value Store Utilization | Crucial for organizing metadata and enhancing performance. |
DirectFlash Modules | Not used in FlashArray//ST due to targeting ultra-performance which requires specialized hardware. |
Native Object Storage | Implemented without layers, improving performance dramatically. |
Metadata Efficiency | Key to overall performance, as administrative work forms a significant part of processing demands. |
The insights provided by Rob Lee at Pure//Accelerate 2025 demonstrate the company’s commitment to innovative storage solutions that prioritize performance, efficiency, and technological advancements. As the demand for faster, more reliable storage solutions continues to grow, Pure Storage’s strategic choices in architecture and design may very well set the standard for the future of enterprise data management.