For a species that’s evolved so effectively over the millennia, we humans sure seem to have a hard time with change. Even the most flexible among us struggle with simple and even expected changes, like daylight savings time or the need to write a different year on our checks each January.
In the high technology world – perhaps the most quickly changing environment of the all – change is a way of life, and at the same time it can be traumatic, particularly when a tried and true piece of technology reaches a limitation. Sometimes that technology simply dies off, out-competed by something new. Other times, a new approach enables an old technology to overcome those limitations, resulting in a new version of an old favorite.
Enterprise File Services
The new Cloudian HyperStore File Services deliver file services from Cloudian’s proven HyperStore system. This enterprise-level features – SMB/NFS support, snapshots, high availability, user authentication via Active Directory and LDAP. But it also enables users to do things they’ve never been able to do with traditional storage.
Scale
Traditional, scale-up storage has upper limits on capacity – and, as they near that capacity, their performance can degrade significantly. Adding more silos seems like a solution, but it can lead to “storage sprawl,” and an ever-increasing level of complexity that imposes significant penalties in management, money and manpower.
As a scale-out solution, HyperStore File Services grows in a much more elegant way, using the HyperStore architecture to provide a unified, hyperscalable and software-defined storage solution. Need more space, or want to implement a higher level of data redundancy, or both? Just add nodes and allow the system to incorporate it into the same multi-protocol namespace.
Data Management
HyperStore File Services includes all the data management features present in traditional enterprise file storage. These include WORM (write once, read many) capability, snapshots, and disk quotas. The solution provides client-level security and authentication through AES 256-bit encryption, and access is controlled through LDAP and Active Directory user authentication.
Cost
HyperStore File Services are available on a Cloudian appliance or as a virtual machine that can run on industry standard servers, allowing users to keep their hardware costs at bay. With HyperStore File Services, storage costs start around less than one cent per month per GB.
Change can appear dangerous, but face it, with change there wouldn’t be evolution. Storage evolves with the changing needs, and this is the latest example. Take a look. You may find that it’s a change for the better.
Analyst View
Here’s a quick look from Greg Schulz:
