Fujitsu Eternus AF Series All-Flash Storage Systems Up to 1.8PB Effective Capacity in 2017

Fujitsu Ltd. changes the dynamics of primary storage in enterprise computing environments with the introduction of all-flash storage systems.

Eternus AF650 all-flash array, CE + 1 DE

The Eternus AF all-flash models are company’s fast storage systems, bringing all-flash technology within reach of everyday applications to underpin business transformation.

Eternus AF250

While processor and network speeds have kept pace with the demands of ever faster applications and continual data growth, traditional HDD storage technology has fallen behind. The firm is addressing this with the Eternus AF all-flash storage systems, using SSDs.

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Eternus AF combines system reliability with the low response times that today’s enterprise applications demand – with SSDs operating up to 500 times faster than traditional disks – to deliver maximum performance for mixed workloads including databases, VDI, analytics, and big data. The Eternus AF family makes flash storage more attractive thanks to competitive pricing and lower TCO for all-flash systems, which need less maintenance and are more reliable than HDD-based storage systems.

Michael Keegan, head, business line products, Fujitsu EMEIA, comments: “We’re bringing ultra-fast, all-flash storage to the mass market, at new price points for both purchase and operation that make the Eternus AF all-flash system an affordable, viable mainstream business solution. As the economics of all-flash storage become ever more attractive, we’re enabling customers to create faster, more responsive IT environments that are easily able to maximize the benefits of digital services and next generation data and applications accessed from anywhere.“

Eternus AF storage systems enable customers to transform their data centers with fast, expandable storage solutions that potentially deliver huge reductions in overheads. IT teams also benefit from simplified operations: Automated QoS features reduce administration and maintenance requirements, freeing up system engineers from repetitive, mundane tasks.

Eternus AF ensures non-stop business operations, providing enterprises with peace of mind. Mirroring of business-critical data eliminates risk of data loss, while in the event of a system failure, the transparent failover feature instantly switches to a secondary system. The firm has also ensured that traditional Eternus DX disk storage systems work together with Eternus AF. As they venture in the world of all-flash systems, organizations can combine the two systems, leveraging the benefits of flash storage while continuing to extract value from existing data center infrastructure.

Customers choosing Eternus AF also benefit from cost-savings – firstly thanks to built-in data deduplication and compression technologies which ensure that the Eternus AF system automatically optimizes data volume, helping reduce SSD capacity requirements by an average factor of five. This is achieved through inline deduplication that identifies and discards duplicates, then compresses data by removing all redundant information. In addition, all-flash systems take up less space in a data center and consume less energy for power and cooling, in comparison to traditional disk arrays.

Aternus AF650 – CE + 4 DE

At launch, the company is offering two all-flash models:

• The top-of-the-range Eternus AF650 boasts up to 256GB maximum system memory and a maximum of 96 SSD drives, providing capacities of 368TB raw, 1,843TB effective capacity.

• A second model, the Eternus AF250, offers 64GB of system memory, up to 24 SSD drives and 92TB raw/460TB effective capacity. Calculations are based on an estimated data deduplication and compression ratio of 5:1.

The Storage Eternus AF systems are available to order with immediate effect and the company expects the first shipments in late October. Pricing of Eternus AF250 began in at €45.000 and Eternus AF650 at €128.000 in Germany.

Resources:
Eternus AF250 Data Sheet
Eternus AF650 Data Sheet
Eternus AF – All-flash storage system
Eternus storage portfolio
Transform with flash! – Eternus All-Flash Storage