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StorOne adds data protection, dynamic cross-media tiering
StorOne adds cross-media tiering in a single volume to bring the same performance at lower costs, while adding a huge number of snapshots and anomaly detection.
This article was updated on 6/26/2024.
New features in StorOne version 3.8 enable users to dynamically tier data to cheaper media types to deliver higher performance at lower costs.
StorOne S1 software version 3.8 brings new tiering abilities and further ransomware protection capabilities. The new multi-tiering capability enables customers to integrate storage to both SSDs and HDDs in a single volume, reducing storage costs. For data protection, the vendor has expanded its immutable snapshot count up to 100,000 per volume as well as added anomaly detection.
The new features enable StorOne to be highly flexible and capture a broad range of needs, according to Mitch Lewis, an analyst at Futurum Group.
The new capabilities can expand StorOne past primary storage into secondary storage and archive, Lewis said. This also lets the company expand into the emerging market of AI data storage.
StorOne competes with a number of existing AI data storage providers, including Dell, HPE and Lenovo. However, there is also a market for the cost-effective options StorOne offers.
Data placement
StorOne uses optimized data placement to tier data where it is needed and where it is more cost-effective within each volume. This includes moving data to lower-cost media such as an HDD, but could pertain to less performant flash such as quad-level cell (QLC).
This further builds on what StorOne's storage platform is about, according to Gal Naor, CEO and founder of StorOne. StorOne supports any format; file, block and object; any device; and now multiple device types in a single volume, while utilizing a higher percentage of the capacity on the drive.
"You're getting Tier 1 performance and data resiliency at Tier 2 storage costs," Naor said.
Tiering and auto-tiering aren't new within storage, Lewis said. However, tiering between two media types in one volume is different. While there is still a demand for HDDs in secondary and archive space, that could change.
"The demand for HDDs will shrink as QLC drives get bigger and cheaper," he said.
StorOne version 3.8 also enables tiering between two different flash types, such as triple-level cell and QLC, the vendor said. And due to the software's agnostic nature, new devices can run it as they are introduced to the market.
Data protection
On the data protection front, StorOne version 3.8 now supports up to 100,000 immutable snapshots per volume, with no significant performance impact, according to the vendor. This plays together with the data placement to HDDs as well.
"The 100,000 snapshots per volume can be kept at a very low cost because they can be stored on the HDDs," Noar said.
That number of snapshots per volume is huge, according to Marc Staimer, president of Dragon Slayer Consulting. The amount of snapshots companies keep boils down to recovery point objective. Typically, there is a limit per volume, he said, and if customers need to keep snapshots for a year, they will run out of space.
"One hundred thousand snapshots is basically unlimited," Staimer said. "You could easily do a snapshot every 10 minutes and keep every snapshot."
Along with a large number of snapshots, StorOne version 3.8 includes anomaly detection and electronic air-gapping. While security features such as these have become table stakes in storage arrays, there are also places where vendors can one-up each other, Lewis said.
"We will keep seeing incremental updates to anomaly detection and companies building AI systems to detect different types of anomalies," he said.
Version 3.8 will be available on July 8. The upgrade will be offered to customers that have an active service agreement with StorOne. The company has shifted from a capacity-based pricing model to drive-based pricing and charges per drive. StorOne did not provide specific prices per drive.
Adam Armstrong is a TechTarget Editorial news writer covering file and block storage hardware and private clouds. He previously worked at StorageReview.com.
