Welcome to hyperI/O^SM

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Simply stated, our focus is on performance.  We specialize in the design of high-performance solutions which accelerate the I/O (that is, the Input/Output) operations used to move data between computers and peripherals (such as disk devices).  Even with the continual improvements of both data storage devices and their interfaces, the I/O has not kept pace with the rapid advances in the processing speeds of computer microprocessors.  Our hyperI/O^SM products and services provide the solutions needed to dramatically improve the I/O performance for a variety of customer data applications.

In the fast-paced computer world of today, the emphasis is upon speed.  We keep hearing about 'Internet time'.  We keep seeing computer systems with their faster microprocessors, faster disk drives, faster interfaces, etc.  But when we actually go to use these fast computers, we often find ourselves doing a lot of waiting.  Fast computers waiting (faster!) for data --- the data which the computer needs to have transferred before it can continue its work.

The following illustration shows the enormous difference between the speed with which typical computers can access data internally within the microprocessor in comparison to the time it takes to access data that resides upon storage devices.  The picture illustrates the relative latency times; latency is the period of time between when the request for data is initiated and the start of the actual data transfer.  For comparison purposes, the latency time for an internal transfer within the microprocessor itself has been arbitrarily assigned a value of one minute (although in actuality, the time is a very, very small fraction of a second, e.g., in nano-seconds which are billionths of a second).  Similarly, the actual latency time for disk devices is in the order of milliseconds (thousandths of a second), with tape devices often having latency times in the order of tens of seconds.        

    Source:  Tom West, hyperI/O LLC., 'How fast are your files?™  A Case for Monitoring File I./O

Performance', July 2001 (This figure is an adaptation of the “How far away is your data?”
figure shown in Jim Gray, "Computer Technology Forecast for Virtual Observatories",
Microsoft Technical Report MSR-TR-2000-102, September 2000).

Commonplace today are frequent increases in processor (and even memory) speed.  Unfortunately, these continuing advances further aggravate the chronic gulf between processor power and the proportionate storage performance capabilities as shown above.

Inadequate storage (and overall I/O) performance persists as a critical obstacle to the cost-effective realization of processor improvements and future application growth.  Better storage I/O performance allows greater productivity: more timely execution of customer application programs which can better exploit the advantage of the faster processor speeds.  Likewise, computer system developers and vendors also benefit by being able to better justify the usefulness of their "latest, greatest, faster" computer systems.         

With our focus on performance, hyperI/O is committed to helping enhance the performance of storage I/O within computer systems.  End-users, developers, and vendors can all benefit.  Greater productivity and quicker access to information are certainly welcome assets in these fast-paced days of Internet time.   

hyperI/O^sm -  improving the performance of storage I/O in computer servers