Choosing the Right Storage Server for Data-Intensive Workloads

Modern applications demand a blend of high-capacity, high-throughput, and reliable infrastructure. OpenMetal offers two enterprise-grade storage server configurations—Storage Large v1 and Storage Large v3—built for private cloud environments. These servers combine hybrid storage, powerful compute, and enterprise-grade bandwidth capabilities, making them ideal for workloads that require massive I/O, data resilience, and consistent network performance.

OpenMetal Storage Large v1 vs v3: High-Capacity, High-Performance Servers

OpenMetal “Storage Large” server series features storage-optimized bare-metal servers tailored for private cloud deployments. Storage Large v1 and v3 represent successive generations of this hardware, each offering a mix of multi-core CPUs, high-capacity memory, NVMe flash storage, and multiple HDDs.

Storage Large v3 offers roughly double the CPU threads and memory of v1, along with larger disks and NVMe drives. The v3’s 32-core / 64-thread processing power and 256 GB RAM suit heavier compute and caching workloads than v1’s still-respectable 20-core / 40-thread, 128 GB setup. Both models provide a hybrid storage approach: a large pool of HDDs for capacity and a set of NVMe SSDs for high-speed I/O. This design lets organizations store hundreds of terabytes of data while still benefiting from the extremely fast throughput and low latency of NVMe for critical data.

From a performance standpoint, the NVMe SSDs in these servers are a game-changer. NVMe drives connect directly over PCIe and can achieve orders of magnitude higher input/output operations per second (IOPS) than spinning disks. For example, enterprise NVMe drives can exceed 1.5 million IOPS, whereas a typical 7,200 RPM HDD maxes out around 400 IOPS (source: atlantic.net). In sequential throughput, NVMe can be 20–25× faster than HDD – one test showed an NVMe M.2 drive delivering 25× the read speed of a 2 TB enterprise HDD (source: photographylife.com). Latency is also dramatically lower (often measured in microseconds for NVMe vs. milliseconds for HDD).

In practical terms, the NVMe tier in Storage Large servers can handle random reads/writes (such as database queries or metadata lookups) with blazing speed, while the HDD tier provides massive storage capacity at lower cost per TB for bulk data. The ample CPU cores and memory in both v1 and v3 ensure that the servers can drive the storage at full tilt – whether it’s handling encryption/compression, running virtual machines/containers, or powering data processing tasks, there’s enough compute to avoid bottlenecks. Each server also comes with high-bandwidth network interfaces (20 Gbps internal networking), which is critical for clustering and for feeding data to users at high rates.

Choosing Between Storage Server Large v1 and v3

Storage Large v1 is well-suited for medium-scale deployments where storage capacity is a key priority and compute performance is moderate.

Storage Large v3, on the other hand, is optimized for high-performance environments like AI workflows, machine learning pipelines, content delivery networks, and blockchain nodes. The added memory, cores, and storage capacity make it the go-to choice for demanding enterprise workloads.

Storage Server Use Cases at a Glance

• A 3D model sharing platform can leverage OpenMetal’s hybrid architecture to host extensive libraries of user-generated content—STL, OBJ, and other 3D file types—while using NVMe SSDs to accelerate popular downloads and previews. The combination of high storage capacity and fast read/write access supports efficient version control, content moderation workflows, and peak download traffic during events or product launches.
• A blockchain infrastructure provider benefits from OpenMetal’s NVMe tier for high-frequency I/O operations like transaction validation, smart contract execution, and state lookups, while the HDD tier stores full blockchain histories and archival data. With high CPU thread count and RAM, the infrastructure can support multiple nodes, peer connections, and client-facing APIs with minimal latency.
• A media production or video processing team can use the servers to manage high-resolution content, transcode video assets, and run parallel editing or rendering jobs. NVMe caching dramatically speeds up access to active project files, while the HDD array offers cost-efficient storage for raw footage and final exports.
• A backup and archival service provider can deploy these servers to offer scalable, long-term data storage. HDDs provide high-capacity cold storage, and NVMe supports fast retrieval and indexing, making it suitable for compliance-focused industries or clients with large historical data sets.
• A machine learning and data analytics team can utilize the NVMe tier for real-time model training or inference and rely on the large HDD pool for storing massive datasets, training logs, and model checkpoints. The v3’s high RAM and core count enhance performance across parallel data pipelines. can rely on fast NVMe I/O for transaction processing and HDDs for chain history, leveraging high memory and CPU for node sync and responsive APIs.