DDN Updates WOS With V 2.5

DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN) announced a step forward for cloud storage in the enterprise with the release of Web Object Scaler (WOS) 2.5, the latest version of its massively scalable, geo-distributed cloud storage appliance.

With the newest version of WOS, enterprises can now enjoy enterprise
CIFS and NFS connectivity, data protection with cost efficiency and the
scalability and performance to power the large private and hybrid cloud
applications.

As organizations deal with an unyielding amount of data growth on a
global scale, conventional approaches to content and information storage
have proven incapable of efficiently or easily scaling to meet today’s
data-driven business objectives. WOS peer-to-peer cloud storage
technology resolves many of the scalability and management challenges
introduced by conventional storage while providing acquisition cost
economy at less than 13% of the price of traditional storage.

According to a recent report by industry analyst Forrester (File Storage Costs Less In The Cloud Than In-House,
Forrester Research 2011), enterprises are paying $4 per usable GB in
storage acquisition costs. With WOS, users can buy single scalable units
consisting of 144TB of usable capacity for $0.50/GB after discounts.

Recognized among the Hottest Storage Technologies for 2012 by Storage Magazine,
WOS object storage technology is designed for the new era of data
capture, storage, processing and distribution by featuring several
advantages over conventional and next-generation cloud storage
technology.

ddn_wos

Performance and feature enhancement of WOS 2.5 include:

Scalability: Supporting up to 256 billion objects,
WOS is 128 times more scalable than other file storage platforms, such
as NetApp OnTap Cluster Mode, which according to NetApp scales to 2
billion objects
Performance: Capable of delivering performance of over 8 million file retrievals per second
with less than 8,000 high-capacity 7200RPM disk drives, WOS delivers up
to 1,200% greater than the advertised performance from competing cloud
storage services such as Amazon
Connectivity: Support for a broad array of storage
connectivity protocols and clients, such as WOS High Performance API,
WebDav, Amazon S3 API, Android devices, Apple iOS devices, desktop, NFS
and now also CIFS featuring SMB1 and SMB2
Microsoft Active Directory integration: To manage privileged
identities across multiple Linux, Mac OS and Windows OSs and ensure
security and compliance for enterprise users
New approach to data protection: By coupling replication
with DDN ObjectAssure erasure-code-based data protection algorithm, WOS
delivers efficiency, performance and availability

Innovations in WOS 2.5 include:

ObjectAssure erasure coding and replication deliver world-class protection:
WOS 2.5 introduces replication capabilities for its ObjectAssure
erasure-coding data protection system. ObjectAssure with replication
improves data availability in a cost-effective way by replicating two
parity-protected objects – versus either 3-site replication or 10+8 data
dispersal data protection approaches. With replicated ObjectAssure, WOS
can recreate an object locally 4,000% faster and without the WAN
dependencies or excess WAN bandwidth charges that are customary with
dispersed object storage approaches.
WOS Share provides secure, behind-the-firewall file sharing and collaboration:
WOS 2.5 builds on the object storage infrastructure at the core of WOS,
and now offers enterprises and service providers secure "behind the
firewall" file sharing and synchronization from multiple desktop and
smart devices. WOS Share stores data behind enterprise firewalls,
integrates with existing identity management systems and leverages
existing data security to improve collaboration and productivity without
violating organizational IT policies.
WOS Access provides enterprise accessibility to multiple OSs:
WOS 2.5 extends its connectivity offering by featuring enterprise CIFS
access, which accompanies WOS NFS, CIFS, API, REST and smart device
accessibility to enable organizations anywhere to leverage the ease,
scalability and distribution advantages of DDN’s cloud storage platform.
With Active directory integration to manage privileged identities
across NFS and CIFS clients, WOS ensures seamless access, security and
compliance for enterprise users.

"DDN WOS provides unique behind-the-firewall security and easy file
access by web browsers and iPhone/iPad clients, providing our
researchers and students instant access to the immense amounts of
scientific data we are generating," said Fumikazu Konishi, associate professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology.

"WOS 2.5 resolves critical scalability challenges across the
enterprise. DDN WOS technology enables organizations to build secure and
cost-effective cloud applications behind their firewall, with ease of
management, data integrity, performance and TCO benefits that will never
be achievable by legacy storage architectures," said Jean-Luc Chatelain, EVP of Strategy and Technology, DDN.

"DDN WOS 2.5 is an important step forward in bringing cloud storage
to the enterprise. With its standards-based interface and active
directory integration, it offers a plug-and-play way to get the
scalability benefits of an object store without compromising the
performance and feature-rich capabilities for which DDN has long been
known. ESG has been engaged with web-scale WOS customers who have
selected this technology on the basis of the differentiated performance
and ease of use characteristics of the product – and WOS 2.5 should only
enable more organizations to easily run their applications in their own
private or hybrid highly scalable cloud," said Terri McClure, senior analyst, Enterprise Storage Group.

"We are deeply impressed by the architecture and implementation of
the DDN WOS 2.5 cloud storage offering. The performance, scalability and
ability to provide a multi-data-center dispersal solution place DDN as
the leading provider of cloud storage technology," said David Floyer, Analyst, Wikibon.

WOS 2.5 is available.