Spectra Logic Unveils Mid-Tier Enterprise BlackPearl NAS Solution

Spectra Logic Corporation has added a mid-tier enterprise-grade storage offering to its BlackPearl family, the BlackPearl NAS solution.

The NAS-based disk platform can provide an affordable storage location for offloading inactive tier one data, landing ingested media, or backup storage. It scales from 48TB to 7.1PB per unit, includes all the enterprise-grade features of the company’s NAS product lines, and is upgradeable to a fBlackPearl converged storage system with access to multiple local and remote storage targets including tape, disk and cloud options. The BlackPearl upgrade path provides investment protection for companies facing the challenges of changing regulations, cloud initiatives and corporate mandates.

BlackPearl NAS users can TranScale to a BlackPearl converged storage system, unlocking multiple storage targets. It appears to the network like any other readily mountable NAS solution. With TranScale, BlackPearl also connects to nearly unlimited tape and archive disk locally, and offers replication to alternate private or public cloud sites for redundancy and DR. The TranScale upgrade path is an option which has been offered in its tape library family since 2007.

Compared to other NAS products, BlackPearl NAS is:

• Less expensive – A BlackPearl NAS is shipping at a starting list price of $14,200

• More scalable – Scales beyond just terabytes, to 7.1PB in single rack

• Upgradeable – Comes with the ability to upgrade and TranScale into a converged storage system, tiering content to tape, cloud and DR sites

• Flexible – An affordable file and object storage solution designed for federal, general IT, media and entertainment and video surveillance environments

“BlackPearl NAS is the ideal solution for a number of workflows because it simplifies storage processes and future-proofs the initial NAS storage investment,” said Matt Starr, CTO, Spectra Logic. “BlackPearl NAS is unique due to its ‘Object Storage Out’ capability. Customers can implement a simple, reliable, affordable NAS solution today and upgrade to a fully converged storage system with a number of configuration options.“

The BlackPearl Converged Storage System was first introduced in 2013 and solves the problem of costly and complex approaches to digital preservation by combining multiple interfaces and storage targets into a simple and affordable solution designed for diverse workflows. Its partner ecosystem contains 17 certified clients available, including recently tested and certified clients from NL Technology, Object Matrix Ltd., Pixit Media Ltd. and SuitcaseTV Ltd.

“BlackPearl Converged Storage System with NL Technology’s Archive solution delivers innovative, efficient and cost-effective digital content management workflows to our Avid customers,” said Jim McKain, president, NL Technology. “Avid MediaCentral|UX users can now access a proven solution that enhances and simplifies operations, using a seamless workflow that enables instant access to digital assets.“

“The MatrixStore digital content governance platform combined with BlackPearl delivers an intelligent, tiered and secure storage solution for media and entertainment customers,” said Nick Pearce-Tomenius, director, sales and marketing, Object Matrix. “MatrixStore deploys globally, and provides a centralised nearline hub to handle multiple workflows that allows users to quickly access digital assets in automated archives.“

“Pixit Media’s strategic partnership with Spectra is an enormous boost to our integrated end-to-end storage workflow for our customers who wish to store digital assets much more cost effectively,” said Ben Leaver, MD, Pixit Media. “Spectra is the perfect partner to help us round out our storage offerings, given its unmatched expertise in the media and entertainment storage industry, and BlackPearl’s flexibility and rich feature set.“

“SuitcaseTV has a long-standing relationship with Spectra Logic and is pleased to extend our customer offerings through the BlackPearl converged storage system integration,” said Fraser Jardine, commercial director, SuitcaseTV. “The combination of MediaStor and BlackPearl ensures customers will now have enhanced options such as monitoring and auditing capabilities, automation, processing and the ability to store on multiple tiers of data with Spectra’s BlackPearl solution.“

The BlackPearl NAS Solution is shipping.

The starting list price of the solution is $14,200.

Specifications