Western Digital's OpenFlex Data24 Storage Platform sets new standards

As AI workloads expand both in complexity and scale, storage systems must evolve to maintain the pace with burgeoning computational demands. Western Digital recently showcased the capabilities of its MLPerf® Storage V2 submissions to highlight the efficiency of its OpenFlex™ Data24 4000 Series NVMe-oF™ Storage Platform, reinforcing its importance in modern AI infrastructure.

The OpenFlex Data24 NVMe-oF Storage Platform increases the performance of NVMe® flash over Ethernet fabric, allowing low-latency shared storage solutions suitable for scalable, disaggregated AI infrastructure. With a design aimed at reducing costs and adapting to GPU demand, the platform offers scalable storage and computing options independently.

Western Digital collaborated with PEAK:AIO to test the storage system in environments simulating real GPU infrastructure demands. This testing scenario used KIOXIA CM7-V Series NVMe SSDs, known for superior performance in demanding AI environments, assuring high-speed, disaggregated data delivery to multiple GPU client nodes.

Renowned as a benchmark for AI performance, MLPerf Storage V2 results prove the platform's efficiency and deployment practicality. Using GPU client nodes simulating AI server behavior, tests measured storage I/O effectiveness. Two specific workloads tested Western Digital’s platform:

• 3D U-Net Workload: This model is important for medical imaging. Western Digital's platform achieved 106.5 GB/s read throughput, saturating 36 H100 GPU simulations, highlighting its capability for high-parallelism tasks.
• ResNet50 Workload: A crucial model for image classification, the platform delivered optimal performance across 186 simulated H100 GPUs, efficiently managing high-frequency data access.

Comments from industry leaders, like Kurt Chan of Western Digital and Roger Cummings of PEAK:AIO, recognise the system's invaluable role in elevating AI infrastructure, offering decreased complexity while maximising utilisation and reducing total running costs.

The OpenFlex Data24 NVMe-oF Storage Platform provides an ideal solution for organisations at all stages of their AI journey. With Western Digital’s RapidFlex™ network adapters, the platform simplifies scaling up to twelve hosts without requiring switches, providing a predictable, high-performance growth pathway without excessive upfront costs.

By combining real-world technological performance with economic deployment scenarios, Western Digital's innovations help organisations confidently scale their AI capacities.