F5 Delivers Enterprise File Virtualization to Mid-Range Storage Environments

F5 Networks, Inc. announced the availability of the ARX2000, a new hardware platform that rounds out the F5 ARX family of file virtualization solutions.

Designed especially to meet the scalability and performance needs of mid-to-large size storage environments, the ARX2000 enables these organizations to more effectively address rapid data growth while reducing the cost and complexity of data management.

F5 is also introducing a new version of its Data Management Operating System, which provides ARX solutions with enhanced support for Microsoft/CIFS storage environments, and enables greater scalability for tier 2 deduplication platforms. A new version of the F5 Data Manager software management tool is also being announced, featuring added functionality that will allow the company’s North American ARX Select program partners to more easily assess a customer’s storage environment.

ARX2000 Simplifies Data Management and Reduces Costs
Like the existing members of the ARX family, the ARX2000 introduces intelligent file virtualization into the file storage infrastructure to reduce environmental complexity. Virtualization eliminates the static mapping between client and storage resources, allowing data to move freely between resources without impacting applications or users. In addition, ARX offers policy-based management to simplify and automate data management tasks, such as data migration, storage tiering, and capacity balancing. The result is an improvement in cost, agility, and business efficiency.

The enterprise-class ARX product family also includes the ARX500 and ARX1000 for small to mid-size storage environments, and the ARX4000 for large environments. The ARX2000 fits neatly in the middle, offering mid-size environments twice the virtualization scale and connectivity as the ARX1000 at a modest premium.

“Data growth is an equal opportunity problem. It affects organizations of all sizes, and IT teams everywhere are looking for relief from the operational and financial pressures of managing all file data,” said Nigel Burmeister, Director of Product Marketing for Data Solutions at F5. “ARX is a proven solution that makes it easier to manage file data, no matter how fast it grows, while driving down overall storage costs. And now, with the addition of the ARX2000 to the product family, we have right-sized solutions for every storage environment.”

“Storage tiering has obvious potential to reduce costs and improve performance, but its acceptance has been hindered by difficulties managing the ‘data placement’ process,” said George Crump, Lead Analyst at Storage Switzerland. “Getting the right data on the right tier at the right time has just been too user intensive. Administrators need a simpler and more effective method to move data seamlessly between tiers of storage, especially in the resource-constrained medium sized data center. File virtualization products like the ARX2000 should be a top consideration for these storage managers looking to realize the full ROI potential of storage tiering.”

Availability
The ARX2000 and the updated Data Management Operating System v5.1 are available today. Data Manager v2.6 will be available in mid-December.