There are modern architectures where the underlying device abstraction or virtualization has been changed to enable advanced features such as:

• allocating capacity only on write operations (thin provisioning)

• distribution of data across devices to maximize the number of possible I/O operations (wide striping)

• applying device protection algorithms such as RAID or Forward Error Correction at the abstracted level

• and other advanced capabilities

I wrote about some of these architectural changes here.

Other updates have changed the way storage is configured. For advanced systems, element managers are made simpler by automating underlying actions. And, the tuning that was a cross between tribal knowledge and super specialist training is built into these systems.

Another ongoing change is the elimination of electro-mechanical devices for storage. The current trend is toward NAND flash used in solid-state drives (SSDs). These devices provide less power consumption, greater performance, and potentially longer lifespans than disk technology. Currently undergoing a rapid price decline, flash and the solid-state technology to follow will become the foundation of modern storage devices.

To use an automobile analogy, storage systems have moved from a relatively primitive state to a modern system that makes it seem simple. Automobiles that used to require a crank start, manual adjustment of the spark advance, and points changes every 10,000 miles are inconceivable to most of today’s drivers. How many car owners today know what a manual choke is?

Storage systems are making that same type of modernization transition. We’re at an inflection point for storage as we move to a modern generation of systems.

(Randy Kerns is Senior Strategist at Evaluator Group, an IT analyst firm).

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., is giving itself a self-high-five for the invention of NAND flash 25 years ago – a technology that, among other uses, allows customers to store critical data in bananas or cake-worthy celebrations of industrial design.

But Toshiba isn’t giving any kudos to the man credited with the invention, perhaps because he represents a part of the story the vendor would rather forget.

In the company’s press release, Scott Nelson, a Toshiba vice president, called NAND flash a “game changer” and boasted “The cost/performance of NAND flash continues to stand the test of time. NAND flash is leading the way to thin and light hardware, has made the mobility of content possible, and is enabling ‘green’ storage in the data centers.”

According to market research firm IC Insights, NAND flash sales are expected to hit $32.8 billion this year, an 11% hike from 2011, and it may top DRAM sales for the first time.

But many anniversaries include awkward memories that everyone wants to forget, and this has one for Toshiba. Toshiba’s awkward memory here is its relationship with one of the experts credited with the invention of the technology, Fujio Masuoka. And no, Masuoka is not mentioned in Toshiba’s announcement.

According to Forbes.com, Toshiba tried for a while to not take credit for inventing flash storage, gave the credit to Intel and downplayed the work of Masuoka in developing NAND flash.

“For his work, Masuoka says, he was awarded a few hundred dollars from Toshiba and only after a Japanese newspaper gave his new type of memory an award of invention of the year in 1988,” Forbes reported in 2002, also noting that Toshiba “disputes” Masuoka’s account (the company said he was promoted).

The dispute landed Toshiba and Masuoka in court. Masuoka sued Toshiba in 2004 for about $9 million, according to Business Week, and the case was settled a few years later for about $750,000.

Apple uses Anobit’s mobile flash chip in the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air laptop. Anobit also sells an enterprise-grade multi-level cell (MLC) flash controller, the Genesis SSD. Anobit launched the second-generation Genesis product in September. The startup claims its proprietary Memory Signal Processing (MSP) controllers can boost endurance levels so that consumer-grade MLC can be used in the enterprise.

While Apple would likely focus on Anobit’s mobile flash controller, it might also use Anobit’s enterprise flash to enter that competitive market. The acquisition continues a trend of consolidation in the SSD market this year. SanDisk acquired Pliant in May for $327 million to move into the enterprise SSD market, and LSI bought flash controller startup SandForce for $322 million in October.

“We believe this yet again highlights the importance of controller technology in the SSD market,” Stifel Nicolaus Equity Research analyst Aaron Rakers wrote in a note to clients today. “While it appears that a potential acquisition of Anobit … would likely leave investors primarily focused on Apple’s ability to leverage the MSP controller technology across its product portfolio, we believe Anobit’s enterprise-class controller capabilities must also be considered/watched with regard to competition against Fusion-io (albeit there have yet to be any signs of Anobit playing in the PCIe SSD market).”

Anobit, which came out of stealth in 2010 with its first Genesis product, has raised $76 million in funding.