IBM Makes Progress on Storage Bricks
CIB is the name of the latest storage system IBM is working on. The main purpose behind the idea is to provide a space saving yet easily configurable medium for mass storage of data. The CIB can be simply stacked together, as if you are building a wall, and they will intelligently work together as one storage unit.
CIB is an effort to make highly reliable storage systems from less-reliable standard components, said Robert Gardner, a research center staff member and co-leader of the development project at IBM. The storage units are literally designed as square bricks that can be assembled into large, Rubik’s Cube-like blocks.
Each brick has its own CPU, memory, cache and networking connections. This makes the brick “appliance-like and easy to add by end-users,” Gardner said.
Individual bricks can have varying amounts of storage capacity of up to 80 GB. The bricks can be assembled into systems containing terabytes or even petabytes of storage capacity.
Rather than using typical wire prongs or plugs, the bricks are connected with a novel technology called “capacitive coupling,” in which one block is mated to the next through a conductive plate. Gardner displayed two different prototype couplers, one made of Mylar and the other of thin ceramic. The couplers are actually able to transmit data through the extremely thin layer of air between one brick and the next., Gardner said.
IBM has also developed a water cooling system, IceCube technology, to answer the cooling needs of the bricks. By using water cooling, IBM storage bricks can save up to 7 times the floor space needed for the equivalent in traditional storage setups. The experimental IceCube technology may also be release as a separate product. No timelines were given as to when we may see these things in production.