DataDirect in Enterprise NAS

DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN) announced NAS Scaler, a scalable multi-protocol NAS solution, designed for high-growth cloud service providers, unstructured data, and machine-generated data sets. NAS Scaler comes with enterprise features which make it easy to deploy and manage in data centers, and scalable capacity and performance attributes for low TCO.

"This supernova of data creation we are living in is putting significant strains on IT managers and their budgets, making it a must to deploy better and more efficient storage solutions for cloud and content," says Alex Bouzari, DDN CEO and co-founder. "With DDN’s NAS Scaler, organizations can finally manage this massive data growth with the most efficient storage density, performance and power consumption attributes in the industry without ever over-provisioning."

"The introduction of the NAS Scaler platform from DDN positions them to increase their addressable market and satisfy a growing number of enterprise workloads where users have hit the limits of trying to scale performance with capacity using conventional storage tools," says Terri McClure, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "With a track record of success in meeting some of the most demanding workload requirements in the unstructured data realm, this announcement represents a very natural extension of DDN’s product offering as it continues to drive adoption of its highly scalable and highly efficient storage platforms into new areas."

The DDN NAS Scaler enterprise file storage platform provides multi-protocol, multi-tenant access to NFS, CIFS, HTTP and FTP clients into a scalable, petabyte-scale storage pool managed by up to 16 NAS Scaler file storage gateways. In addition to its scale-right efficiencies, NAS Scaler supports capabilities to automate storage management and data management while also accelerating routine file access processes, including:

• Multi-Dimensional Performance: NAS Scaler can support over 15GB/s per storage volume and hundreds of thousands of file operations per second to power the dynamic workload requirements of public and private cloud applications.
• Dynamic Storage Tiering: Leveraging access-aware storage intelligence and high-performance solid-state disk technology, NAS Scaler supports dynamic storage caching and data tiering to accelerate the access of in-demand content while optimizing high-capacity media use.
• Enterprise Data Management: NAS Scaler provides a complement of tools and capabilities – such as snapshots, clones, mirroring, and asynchronous replication and integrated backup support – to manage high-volume unstructured data and media content automatically.
• Data Center Efficiency: Configurable to up to 600 hard disk drives in a single data center rack, the NAS Scaler system reduces data center power, space and cooling requirements by up to 65% compared to conventional storage infrastructure.

DDN’s NAS Scaler systems are available for order and will be generally available and shipping to customers within the next three months.

The NAS Scaler system can be found on display at the 2011 National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB) in Las Vegas the week of April 11. At the convention, DDN will be showcasing the integration of the NAS Scaler product with DDN’s WOS object storage platform in a multi-tenant, geo-distributed cloud environment for media collaboration, distribution and archiving.