NVMe Storage for HPC and AI: Where Does It Deliver the Greatest Value? | Nor-Tech
NVMe has become an important component of high-performance storage, particularly as HPC and AI systems place increasingly demanding requirements on data infrastructure. But deploying NVMe throughout an environment is not necessarily the most effective—or economical—strategy. The key question is where NVMe’s low latency, high IOPS and parallel structure will materially improve application performance.
In terms of AI, large GPU clusters can consume data at extraordinary rates, making storage latency and throughput potential constraints on expensive compute resources. NVMe can accelerate access to training datasets, checkpoints and frequently accessed data. HPC workloads involving a large number of small files, intensive metadata operations or working storage can benefit as well.
Because of this, organizations evaluating NVMe should focus on areas where storage performance directly affects time to solution, including:
- Temporary working datasets for high performance applications
- AI/ML training data that must continuously feed GPU resources
- Metadata-intensive and small-file workloads
- Checkpointing and restart operations
- Data staging between capacity storage and compute resources
However, NVMe alone does not guarantee application performance. Network bandwidth, file-system architecture, concurrency and the data path between storage and compute nodes can become bottlenecks. Nor-Tech’s overview of HPC and AI storage architecture explains why storage must be engineered as part of the complete environment.
Nor-Tech Executive Vice President Jeff Olson explained, “NVMe delivers tremendous performance, but the objective shouldn’t be to put the fastest storage everywhere. Rather, the objective is to identify where that performance changes application results and engineer the rest of the infrastructure so it can take advantage of it.”
For many organizations, the result is a combination of NVMe and other storage technologies rather than an all-flash architecture. Nor-Tech engineers integrate compute, networking, file systems and enterprise and HPC storage solutions around actual workload requirements.
That systems-level approach helps organizations invest in NVMe where it delivers measurable value—while building a balanced HPC or AI environment that can scale efficiently.
Nor-Tech has demos available for a wide range of software and applications. To get started or schedule a no-cost, in-depth consultation, call 952-808-1000, email engineering@nor-tech.com or visit https://www.nor-tech.com
Why Nor-Tech is the Best Choice for Your Business
In 1998 we established ourselves as one of the leading providers of quality HPC solutions. Our servers are backed by an expert team that is available to provide support and assistance, ensuring that your business always has access to the resources you need. Contact us for more information or a quick quote: 952-808-1000; engineering@nor-tech.com/ or click on the Contact tab at https://nor-tech.com/contact.
Nor-Tech is on CRN’s list of the top 40 Data Center Infrastructure Providers along with IBM, Oracle, Dell, and Supermicro and is also a member of Hyperion Research’s prestigious HPC Technical Computing Advisory Panel. The company is a complete high performance computer solution provider for two Nobel Physics Award-contending/winning projects. Nor-Tech engineers average 20+ years of experience. This strong industry reputation and deep partner relationships also enable the company to be a leading supplier of cost-effective Lenovo desktops, laptops, tablets and Chromebooks to schools and enterprises. All of Nor-Tech’s high-performance technology is developed by Nor-Tech in Minnesota and supported by Nor-Tech around the world. The company is headquartered in Burnsville, Minn. just outside of Minneapolis. Nor-Tech holds the following contracts: Minnesota State IT, University of Wisconsin System, and NASA SEWP V. To contact Nor-Tech call 952-808-1000 or visit https://www.nor-tech.com.