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An all-flash array is a storage array system that makes use of multiple solid state drives instead of spinning hard disk drives. All-flash arrays have advantages over conventional hard disk drives. They transfer data at a much faster rate than traditional disks, and thus AFAs allow organizations to function more efficiently.
An all-flash array is also known as a solid state array (SSA).
All-flash arrays are known to provide advanced data management services that are beyond the scope of spinning media. They consume less power and produce less heat. Thus, they do not need as much cooling as standard hard disk drives. Therefore, the need for air conditioning in data centers is reduced. All-flash arrays come incorporated with all the advanced features that an enterprise might need. Some of these features include replication, snapshots and data deduplication.
All-flash arrays are also easy to manage. There are no restrictions on the way logical volumes can be created. AFAs are physically smaller in size, and thus the overall rack count is smaller. However, proper backup and mitigation plans should be made. An unexpected drive failure would make it more difficult to recover data than with standard disks. Further, all-flash arrays cost a bit more, simply because flash is costlier than spinning media. But, their easy installation and maintenance are a few of the many compelling reasons for choosing all-flash arrays.