Today Nimbus Data unveiled ExaFlash, a new all-flash platform for cloud, big data, virtualization, and massive digital content.
The ExaFlash Platform is an historic achievement that will reshape the storage and data center industries,” said Thomas Isakovich, CEO and Founder of Nimbus Data. “It offers unprecedented scale (from terabytes to exabytes), record-smashing efficiency (95% lower power and 50x greater density than existing all-flash arrays), and a breakthrough price point (a fraction of the cost of existing all-flash arrays). ExaFlash brings the all-flash data center dream to reality and will help empower humankind’s innovation for decades to come.”
The ExaFlash Platform incorporates a novel architecture that enables virtually infinite scalability, from terabytes to exabytes, as one centrally-managed all-flash system. With ExaFlash, data flow is decoupled from metadata and management is centralized, operating completely out-of-band. This provides one interface and one pane-of-glass for all administration. There is no data network between the storage arrays themselves, so performance truly scales in lock-step with capacity and with consistent latency. Multiple storage protocols, including block, file, and object, can operate simultaneously using Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand networks, eliminating storage “islands”.
The building blocks of the ExaFlash Platform are ExaFlash Arrays, a new family of all-flash systems that sets new records for energy efficiency, capacity, connectivity options, and rack space density. Unlike off-the-shelf servers, ExaFlash Arrays are precision-engineered for maximum efficiency and performance. ExaFlash Arrays draw 95% less power per terabyte than competing designs by eliminating irrelevant components and minimizing CPU utilization through intelligent hardware-offload engines. ExaFlash Arrays also incorporate ultra-dense MLC flash drives to deliver up to 50x the capacity in the same rack space as competing alternatives. ExaFlash Arrays are available in sizes ranging from 50 TB to 4.5 PB and feature the latest 32 Gb Fibre Channel, up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and up to EDR (100 Gb) InfiniBand connectivity. ExaFlash Arrays feature dual active-active controllers, redundant power and cooling, and hot-swappable components for always-on availability and easy serviceability.
The all-new ExaFlash Operating System is powerful, API-driven storage and data management software for the ExaFlash Platform. The ExaFlash OS provides a single pane-of-glass administration interface for total control. It also provides support for all major storage protocols, including block, file and object protocols, simultaneously. Using the API, storage administrators can automate every conceivable storage task centrally. Inline variable deduplication and LZ4 compression maximize storage utilization, and real-time checksums ensure data integrity.
ExaFlash costs less than half that of competing all-flash systems, bringing the all-flash data center from dream to achievable reality. Depending on capacity, ExaFlash offers an unprecedented price point as low as $0.19 per effective gigabyte (including all software and hardware). This is a direct assault on traditional hard drive arrays, and all existing all-flash arrays, for a broad range of applications, from virtualization and databases to cloud infrastructure, digital content repositories, and big data. Combined with the technology achievements that make ExaFlash so space and power efficient, ExaFlash offers a 90% lower total cost of ownership than competing all-flash arrays, making it the clear choice for forward-thinking enterprise and cloud providers looking to minimize IT cost and maximize profitability.
ExaFlash is available for pre-order now, with general availability expected in Q4 2016.
