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Hybrid-cloud storage software provider Cloudian has joined a hornet’s nest of fierce competitors in the flash storage appliance market.
The San Francisco-based company on Sept. 16 launched a set of new Cloudian HyperStore appliances to go with a new version of its Cloudian HyperStore storageware. Both are designed to run with on-premises-based hybrid cloud systems.
HyperStore software can be deployed on a user’s existing hardware or preinstalled on a HyperStore appliance. Features include hybrid cloud streaming, virtual nodes, configurable erasure coding, and data compression and encryption to go with standard system management control, monitoring capabilities and reporting.
Cloudian’s object-based storage aims to provide both on-premise and public cloud storage within a single distributed file system (similar to Cleversafe, Scality and EMC Atmos). Cloudian’s key value proposition is providing a single storage pool between on-prem and public cloud at an extremely economical price point, Turner said.
Cloudian appliances incorporate a small amount of flash to enhance overall system performance and are designed to run using hard disk drives storage systems.
With the launch, Cloudian now faces direct competition with foes such as NetApp, Data Direct Networks, Oracle, EMC, and several others who are using more solid-state modules in their wares.
Flash-optimized, rack-ready HyperStore appliances are designed to deploy full-featured, highly scalable Amazon S3-compliant storage with three enterprise-focused configurations. HyperStore appliances come fully integrated with Cloudian HyperStore software to offer unlimited scale, multi-data center storage, fully automated data tiering, and support for all S3 applications, marketing exec Paul Turner told eWEEK.
The HyperStore appliance (HSA) 1000 series comes in two models, both in a 1U form factor. The entry-level HSA1024 delivers 24TB of capacity and is aimed at low-throughput workloads and entry-level S3-compatible private cloud storage.
The ultra-dense HSA1048 boasts 48TB and is targeted at higher-capacity entry point deployments and offers petabytes of storage in a standard data center rack. This configuration is a suitable building block for large multimedia content libraries, medical records, data center backups and other big-content applications, Turner said.
“Flash appliances” is a term applied to storage appliances that are made from flash modules, not flash drives (solid-state disks). This is an important distinction, because while these systems may be more difficult to bring to market because of their customization, they can potentially bring unique capabilities and memory density to the data center,” storage analyst George Crump said.
“As anyone that has used a MacBook Air will tell you, flash storage does not need to be in the form of a drive to be used,” Crump said on his Storage-Switzerland Website. “There is much wasted space when a flash module is placed inside a chassis designed for a drive. Also the shelf that the drive form factor SSD goes into is designed for rotating hard disks, which require more power than flash memory does.”