Quantum unveils StorNext 5 appliance
Quantum, a global expert in big data management and data protection, announced StorNext 5 appliances. Based on a re-architected high-performance engine, Quantum’s StorNext 5 metadata appliances take management of content and assets to a new level. Greater flexibility and usability gives users the choice of the best topology for their needs by providing optimized support for IP, NAS, SAN, and cloud-based networks. The new StorNext 5 appliances deliver up to ten times greater performance and five times the scalability of previous StorNext versions and are optimized for evolving end-to-end content workflows where ingest, proxy and distribution demand greater efficiency for mixed files sizes, both small and large. Additionally, StorNext 5 provides an intelligent framework for unified management of a complete workflow from on-line, nearline (e.g. object storage) and long-term (e.g. tape) archive from a single interface.
“StorNext 5 is a significant release,” says Terri McClure, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “It promises to address the challenges found in today’s complex workflows where data environments are not only growing in volume, but are also comprised of mixed file sizes, performance requirements and network topologies. Quantum raises the bar for unstructured data management and delivers a strong alternative to scale-out NAS solutions for big data. Additionally, because there already is a comprehensive StorNext partner ecosystem in place, and this release is fully compatible with the last, companies tackling unstructured data challenges in various markets will be able to immediately take advantage of the benefits from the re-architected platform.”
With over two decades of experience in managing assets in many of the world’s most demanding post and broadcast facilities, Quantum has continued to provide new StorNext innovations and helped address how modern workflows are changing the way facilities acquire, distribute and archive their assets. Today, content captured from multiple video, sound, and image sources are 100% digital and stored with the objective to repurpose it for future monetisation. Production teams share assets globally forcing network topologies to evolve to where cloud, NAS, and/or SAN environments are viable options for a scale-out digital workflow.
Built from the ground up to effectively and efficiently address the needs of complex digital workflows, Quantum’s StorNext 5 appliances include:
High-Performance for Large and Small Files
o Up to 10x faster performance throughout the StorNext 5 platform while supporting a greater number of users and files through highly efficient cache management and CPU utilization.
o 100% improvement in small file performance with StorNext 5 provides increased ingest and transcode performance.
Uncompromised Scalability
o 5x increase in scalability, with up to five billion files shared in a single StorNext 5 File System.
o Metadata scales to petabytes with no slowdown as content archives and on-line capacity grows and ages.
o Automatic tuning for application and video resolution and Codec, providing independent scaling and capacity management benefits.
Flexibility to Match User Needs
o Expanded storage architectures, including SSD optimisation
o Built to optimize advanced technologies used in on-line, nearline storage and long-term archiving environments – for example by enabling maximum throughput performance for Quantum’s Lattus object storage and providing native support for LTFS.
o Moving beyond SAN to include user and application connectivity for IP (NAS) and HTTP/REST, in addition to Fibre Channel (SAN), this topology-agnostic approach allows content to be transferred in StorNext 5 at the full speed of the protocol.
Modern Architecture with a Long-Term View
o Designed to maintain consistent performance for growing long-term archives with a scalable and finely tuned infrastructure.
o Seamless non-disruptive software updates and a framework for intelligent reporting and management.
o Multi-core, multi-processor and multi-threading awareness for highest throughput and lowest CPU utilisation
StorNext 5 Availability
StorNext 5 appliances will be available in December 2013. StorNext 5 software-only solutions will available during the first half of 2014.