Lightbits Labs, inventor of the NVMe over TCP storage protocol and the first KV cache engine optimized for AI, announced that its long-standing customer, Elastx, an European cloud service provider, has expanded and modernized its Elastx Cloud Platform (ECP) using Lightbits LightOS software-defined block storage, adopting an all-journaling architecture that replaces specialized persistent memory (PMem) with standard NVMe SSDs.The move highlights a growing shift among organizations toward hardware-agnostic software-defined storage architectures that deliver high performance and efficiency without reliance on proprietary components.

As Elastx deploys this new architecture across its Scandinavian zones, it continues to leverage the core benefits identified during its initial 2024 implementation with Lightbits: seamless integration with OpenStack and Kubernetes, high-density NVMe storage, strong multi-tenant performance, and lean storage operations at scale. The expanded deployment supports Elastx’s transition to a fully software-defined journaling model and growing demand for high-performance workloads, real-time analytics, and AI-driven applications in the region. By leveraging Lightbits’ SSD-based journaling, the company has replaced Intel Optane persistent memory (DCPMM) with standard NVMe drives for both data and write persistence.

“Using Lightbits’ software to provide our block storage services allows us to standardize on widely available commodity NVMe SSDs while providing the market-leading performance and resilience our customers expect,” said Joakim Öhman, CEO, Elastx. “It gives us the flexibility to scale and modernize our cloud platform without being constrained by proprietary hardware.” 

Lightbits’ journaling capability persists writes to SSD before committing them to primary storage, delivering data protection traditionally associated with PMem – now implemented entirely in software. This approach provides robust protection vs. simultaneous power outages or node failures.

This architectural shift enables Elastx to:

• Maintain sub-millisecond latency and high throughput
• Improve resilience vs. node and power failures
• Simplify hardware procurement and reduce supply chain risk
• Reduce storage TCO
• Scale infrastructure using commodity hardware

“Elastx is demonstrating how modern cloud infrastructure can evolve beyond hardware dependencies,” said Keimpe Paulus, SVP, sales, Lightbits Labs. “By transitioning to all-journaling storage, they can adapt their hardware strategy on the fly – removing bottlenecks and hardware dependencies – without ever compromising on the speed or reliability their customers depend on.”

This deployment reflects a broader industry trend: replacing proprietary infrastructure components with software-defined alternatives that run on commodity hardware, improving both cost economics and operational agility.

“The 400% rise in SSD costs impacts infrastructure planning, forcing organizations to rethink strategies and maximize storage investments. Our close collaboration with Lightbits helps customers like Elastx aggregate capacity via NVMe over TCP rather than DAS. This allows organizations to reclaim stranded SSD capacity, improve utilization, and scale efficiently using commodity components-helping them do more with less at a lower overall storage cost,” added Jos Keulers, co-founder and CEO, NVMestorage.com.

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