Storage · SNS Flash Series

NetBytes SNS Flash Storage — 2U all-flash, 8/12/24 bays

All-flash arrays for virtualisation, databases, analytics and latency-sensitive workloads. U.3 NVMe up to 30TB per bay, or 2.5-inch SAS SSD, on SNS Storage OS.

• U.3 NVMe — Up to 30TB per bay
• 2.5" SAS SSD — Up to 15.3TB per bay
• 2U — 8/12/24 bays — All-flash
• iSCSI / NFS / SMB — Block and file
• High IOPS — Low latency

About the SNS Flash Storage Series

Consistent low latency for primary workloads

Purpose-built all-flash arrays for virtualisation, databases, analytics and latency-sensitive workloads. Built on SNS Storage OS, they expose iSCSI LUNs and NFS or SMB shares, with snapshots, clones, compression and ZFS send and receive for replication and DR.

The word that matters is consistent. Peak IOPS is a number every flash array can produce briefly; predictable latency under a mixed read and write load is what a database or a VDI estate actually experiences.

Media choice is the main decision, and it is a trade between performance, endurance and cost rather than a simple ranking.

The platform

What the specification covers

• Chassis — 2U in 8, 12 or 24 bays
• Media — U.3 NVMe up to 30TB per bay, or 2.5" SAS SSD up to 15.3TB per bay
• Also supported — 2.5" SATA SSD up to 7.6TB per bay, for a cost-optimised tier
• Performance — high IOPS with NVMe, predictable latency with SAS SSD, tuned for mixed read and write
• Validated with Proxmox VE, VMware ESXi, Hyper-V and XCP-ng
• Use cases — virtualisation datastores, OLTP and OLAP databases, VDI, media and analytics, build and test infrastructure

Performance profiles

Three media options, and what each is for

Flash media trade performance, endurance and cost against each other. These are the typical tiers.

• U.3 NVMe SSD — Max per bay: Up to 30TB. Typical use cases: Virtualisation, OLTP databases, VDI, analytics. IOPS range: 200K – 800K. Average latency: < 0.5 ms
• 2.5" SAS SSD — Max per bay: Up to 15.3TB. Typical use cases: Enterprise databases, VMs, transactional workloads. IOPS range: 100K – 300K. Average latency: 1 – 2 ms
• 2.5" SATA SSD — Max per bay: Up to 7.6TB. Typical use cases: Cost-optimised flash tier, backup cache, read-heavy workloads. IOPS range: 50K – 120K. Average latency: 2 – 4 ms

Figures are indicative. Actual performance depends on system configuration, RAID layout and network fabric — 10, 25, 40 or 100G.

Enterprise features

What comes with the array

• NVMe acceleration — Native U.3 NVMe delivering high IOPS and low latency for primary workloads.
• ZFS data integrity — End-to-end checksums, self-healing, compression and copy-on-write guaranteeing data correctness.
• Snapshots and replication — Point-in-time snapshots and fast clones, with ZFS send and receive for remote replication and DR.
• Block and file services — Thin-provisioned iSCSI LUNs for hypervisors, and NFS or SMB shares with AD and LDAP.
• Network throughput — 10, 25, 40 and 100G NIC options with jumbo frames and MPIO for sustained bandwidth.
• Operational resilience — Redundant PSUs, hot-swap drives, enterprise cooling and recorded firmware baselines.

SNS Flash Storage — FAQ

What buyers ask before sizing

• Who should choose the Flash Series? — Answer: Teams running virtualisation, OLTP or OLAP databases, VDI, analytics, or CI/CD build systems that need low-latency, high-IOPS primary storage.
• NVMe or SAS SSD? — Answer: U.3 NVMe for the highest IOPS and lowest latency. 2.5" SAS SSD for predictable performance with enterprise features. SATA SSD is supported, and is best kept for cost-optimised tiers.
• Does it support iSCSI, NFS, SMB and snapshots? — Answer: Yes. SNS Storage OS exposes block and file services with snapshots, clones and ZFS send and receive for replication.
• Can I start with SAS SSD and move to NVMe later? — Answer: Yes. Models exist for both media types, and data migration can be planned across pools or systems — talk to us about the right approach for your data.
• Is it validated with my hypervisor? — Answer: Yes. We validate against Proxmox VE, VMware ESXi, Hyper-V and XCP-ng, including MPIO for iSCSI and NFS datastore best practice.

Size it first

Work the numbers before you specify

The calculators run the same arithmetic our engineers do, so you can arrive with a starting configuration rather than a blank page.

• RAID capacity planner — Usable capacity, redundancy overhead and rebuild exposure across RAID levels.
• VM density & host sizing — Host count, memory and overcommit worked through before you specify a node.
• All sizing tools — Six calculators running the same arithmetic our engineers do.

Related range

The rest of the storage range

For capacity, for branch, or for availability.

• SNS rack storage — Up to 60 bays and 28TB per bay for archive and retention.
• SNS tower storage — Quiet enterprise storage where there is no rack.
• Dual controller storage — Active-active controllers for workloads that cannot pause.