SGI InfiniteStorage Gateway

Silicon Graphics International Corp. announced its InfiniteStorage Gateway, a virtualized data management solution, which reduces the runaway costs and complexity organizations face when managing data growth.

InfiniteStorage Gateway reduces the dependency on high-cost primary storage by creating a virtualized storage fabric that can include disk, tape, object and cloud storage. While appearing to users and applications simply as online data, it offers IT administrators the ability to keep data protected and online at a fraction of the cost of primary storage systems. The system automatically places data on any or all storage devices and locations based upon what works best for the access requirements and data protection policies.

By connecting to existing heterogeneous storage environments, it provides a way for users to see and access all the data all the time, no matter what might be happening to the storage infrastructure in the background. Because the storage infrastructure is virtualized, as requirements change, the type of storage deployed can also evolve, with no interruption to users.

"As data growth has continued to sky-rocket, IT organizations increasingly face the problem of infrastructure fragmentation, and the fact that their most expensive primary storage arrays are often used to house mostly inactive data," said Laura DuBois, program VP, IDC storage systems, software and solutions. "Data management is not only about the performance of active data today. It also must provide a seamless long-term strategy for all data that keeps costs at a minimum and reduces IT administrative burden without impacting users."

Since the 1990s, SGI’s technical computing customers have pushed the envelope of multi petabyte infrastructures spanning media, life sciences, manufacturing and other data-intensive industries. In 2012 alone, the firm deployed to its customers nearly 600PBs of storage in aggregate. InfiniteStorage Gateway brings the technology and experience of these large deployments into a factory-integrated appliance that is easy to deploy, to manage and to use.

"SGI has over 21 years of experience in managing the most valuable digital assets of hundreds of the largest and most complex data environments on earth," said Jorge Titinger, CEO of SGI. "With the introduction of SGI InfiniteStorage Gateway, we are able to bring this powerful solution to a wider market, who are now running into these same big data management problems."

InfiniteStorage Gateway is deployed as a factory-integrated solution in the 4U SGI MIS storage server, powered by Xeon processors. It is designed to be plug and play, connecting into existing network infrastructures and appearing to users and applications like a conventional storage device.

InfiniteStorage Gateway includes up to 276TBs of onboard capacity. As that local capacity begins to fill, data is virtualized with any of multiple different storage choices to enable the entire storage fabric to scale to massive proportions. It leverages technology used in deployments with over 100PBs in data capacity, and approaching nearly two billion files. Several customers have large virtualized data environments with this technology that have been online with uninterrupted online access to data for more than 20 years.

Virtualized tiers can include tape, Zero-Watt Disk or MAID, and object storage. This will also enable hybrid environments that can include public and private cloud storage architectures. The choices enable a cost-optimized storage infrastructure to be deployed into to the fabric, depending on the performance and retention requirements for varying portions of an organization’s data. Users and applications never see where the data resides – nor do they need to worry. To them, all data is online and available at all times.

InfiniteStorage Gateway will be available in June.