Saving energy in a flash. Solid state drives will be hot for keeping data centers cooler.
Last year, EMC was the first major systems vendor to get solid state drives (SSDs) into both its enterprise and its midrange-class storage products. Quite a step up from the consumer applications, such as cameras, for which SSDs traditionally have been used. (I'm sure Sun will say they introduce the concept earlier, but my recollection is that EMC actually shipped them first.)
Not only is data access faster (EMC claimed up to 30 times faster than with traditional drives) AND they are less susceptible to the failures that moving parts cause BUT the drives were ALSO deemed to be 98 percent more energy efficient when considered in terms of Input/Output operations per Second (or IOPS). Here's information about how EMC is using SSDs as an option with the high-end Symmetrix DMX line, and here's the full spec sheets on everything that the EMC CLARiiON CX 4 Series (midrange systems) has to offer.
Since then, of course, you've probably heard plenty about the role of SSDs in many enterprise storage devices. Now, Sun Microsystems has moved to offer them as an option for its Sun x64 server line, its multi-threaded servers and blade systems. This site provides a complete run-down of why Sun believes this is the way to go. (ASIDE from the fact, of course, that these drives carry a higher price and margin than traditional offerings. That old cost-benefit ratio, you know.)
This is another solid reference article on why solid state a green IT practice worth researching.
And, here this as good article (about a year old) about EMC vs. Sun in this particular arena.
I would be remiss if I didn't include a couple of tidbits about what IBM is doing in this area, through a partnership with Fusion-io, which sells solid state storage and I/O technologies. The products being worked on by the two companies are being used for IBM's storage system, through the Project QuickSilver initiative. HP has also opted to use technology from Fusion-io, as this story and this press release indicate, and it appears it might have one-upped IBM on speed.