Each write buffer device (148, 152) may be configured to receive, from the storage controller (106, 112), data to be stored in the storage devices (146). Such data may originate from any one of the computing devices (164-170). In the example of FIG. 1, writing data to the write buffer device may be carried out more quickly than writing data to the storage device. The storage controller (106, 112) may be configured to effectively utilize the write buffer devices (148, 152) as a quickly accessible redundant buffer for data destined to be written to storage. In this way, if the storage device to which the data is to be written fails or if the write does not complete, the write buffer device may maintain the data to be written during a retry of the write or during failover of the storage device to another location. That is, the write buffer device may provide redundancy for the storage devices.

A ‘storage device’ as the term is used in this specification refers to any device configured to record data persistently. The term ‘persistently’ as used here refers to a device's ability to maintain recorded data after loss of a power source. Examples of storage devices may include mechanical, spinning hard disk drives, Solid-state drives (“Flash drives”), and the like.