DDN Introduces Two Converged File Storage Platforms

DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN) introduces two converged file storage platforms that overcome scale, performance and cost hurdles of large scale data sets.

DDN expanded its file storage with the introduction of:

• MEDIAScaler – File-based solution for today’s large scale rich media workflows, providing concurrent access to content across global users while accelerating transcode, reducing hardware footprint and seamlessly integrating with the cloud;

  • Designed for massive numbers of concurrent users – 10,000+ simultaneous users both on-premise or in the cloud in a single hostname/namespace

  • Performance-optimized – Sustained performance at 90+% system utilization, sharing of high- and low-performance clients in single storage infrastructure, intelligent cluster management to leverage highest-performance node available at any given time

  • Content protection and availability – Integrated bandwidth-optimized replication options, snapshots, online capacity expansion.

GRIDScaler systems

• GRIDScaler 3.0 – A expanded enterprise feature set to the company’s GRIDScaler hybrid storage solution and availability of turnkey GS7K appliance. GRIDScaler 3.0 provides expanded capabilities for:

  • Data encryption for security and compliance

  • High-performance mixed IO for mixed application use

  • Hadoop connector for data analytics

  • Turnkey appliance for ease of deployment and management.

• With over 1/2 of the world’s largest media companies, and 2/3 of the world’s fastest high-performance compute and analytics sites using DDN storage for fastest time-to-market and time-to-results, these latest DDN technologies are built on a performance storage platform that is unified, scales up and out, and tiers data among SSD and HDD media and to cloud and Tape. Managed through a single pane of glass, customers benefit from end-to-end data protection, management and security, as well as the ability to collaborate across multiple sites – easily and cost-efficiently.

MEDIAScaler turnkey storage platform accelerates and simplifies
big media content lifecycle from 4K media workflows to cloud and tape

• In high-performance media and entertainment (M&E) workflows like post-production, broadcast and content delivery, the challenges are data growth-related: storage products today simply cannot address users’ mixed IP performance and petabyte scale requirements. While M&E users have relied on legacy SAN and NAS storage, these technologies fail to address the creative and business goals that can only be met with enterprise features and cloud-based collaboration solutions.

• DDN is addressing the inadequacies in today’s legacy storage products in its MEDIAScaler appliance which delivers end-to-end digital content management and data protection in a single solution for large-scale environments of dozens or even hundreds of petabytes. Designed to handle millions of IO/s, MEDIAScaler provides customers the ability to animate, render, edit, and transcode on a high-performance platform.

• With seamless tiering capabilities, MEDIAScaler supports file storage, object storage, active archive, cloud and tape to enable customers to retain large media content in high performance archive or remote locations, easily and cost effectively. Offering seamless integration, MEDIAScaler provides simple, fast Ethernet client connectivity using CIFS, NFS or DDN Media Client without the need for FC for optimized parallel access and use cases.

GRIDScaler architecture

GRIDScaler hybrid storage platform offers complete data protection, security,
and management options for performance, mixed workload environments

• GRIDScaler File Storage Appliance is rapidly being adopted by traditional HPC as well as enterprise HPC organizations for clustered file storage, big data analytics and cloud services. As more enterprise business units leverage HPC storage technologies, the GRIDScaler appliance is designed to accelerate data analytics, data sharing and data research projects.

• With enhanced features and capabilities that streamline integration, GRIDScaler offers data protection, security and management options for today’s high-performance, mixed workload environments. GRIDScaler’s enterprise features include the ability to scale up and scale out to meet capacity and performance requirements easily and efficiently, new snapshots, synchronous and asynchronous replication and asynchronous error diagnosis for enhanced data management and protection, data security with native encryption and secure erase, integrated data analytics with a new Hadoop connector and mixed workload support.

• Unlike other GPFS providers, integration with GRID NAS, WOS and DirectMon technologies provides customers with the flexibility to select the file system and interface best suited to their needs, all managed through a single pane of glass. Building on DDN’s ability to tier storage for archive and collaboration, GRIDScaler allows customers to leverage storage archive and cloud capabilities with streamlined integration between different environments, such as cloud tiering and on-premise storage environments, for cost efficiency and reliable high performance for data intensive workloads.

The MEDIAScaler and GRIDScaler 3.0 are available.

Hardy Steinweg, head of technical operations, RedBull Media House, said: “With massive data demands fueled by 4K and ultra HD resolutions, rising workstation counts and format proliferation, we couldn’t afford to compromise our high performance media workflow to ineffective storage solutions that lack the flexibility to future-proof today’s data intensive digital media environments. With technology innovation a key requirement, we partnered with DDN to architect a more sophisticated, high end configuration which allows multiple users to securely access, transfer and archive explosive amounts of data, while maintaining high-throughput performance to meet our broadcast, transcoding and post production needs. DDN’s innovative MEDIAScaler solution, coupled with its ability to meet the very unique demands of our bleeding edge workflows, will enable us to implement data replication in a fully active failover scenario between our two facilities to meet our BC objectives, while also shining the way for other media organizations to realize similar implementations.“

Molly Rector, CMO, DDN, said: “Traditional storage methods have proven inadequate in addressing the large scale data challenges faced by many of today’s enterprises. These challenges are acutely pronounced for media companies grappling with ever increasing data intensive workflows like digital HD and 4K. Building on end user demand for scale-out and scale-up file storage solutions across multiple vertical industries, with today’s DDN product introductions, users no longer have to trade off scale and performance for enterprise features. With the ability to scale to hundreds of petabytes while sustaining high mixed IO performance, DDN’s file system leadership has become the standard for customers looking to tier, archive and collaborate across multiple environments for accelerated workflows and the fastest time to market.“