Today Quantum Corp. announced a major update of its StorNext file system, version 6. The latest version of StorNext adds new advanced data management features aimed at increasing performance and easing management. Quantum has also added new features to improve collaboration. These new enhancements take StorNext past media and entertainment making it an attractive option for genomics, academic research, video surveillance, oil and gas, and government security.
Today Quantum Corp. announced a major update of its StorNext file system, version 6. The latest version of StorNext adds new advanced data management features aimed at increasing performance and easing management. Quantum has also added new features to improve collaboration. These new enhancements take StorNext past media and entertainment making it an attractive option for genomics, academic research, video surveillance, oil and gas, and government security.
Data is exploding and the rate of expansion continues to be something we’ve never seen before. Estimates vary, but in 2025 data is expected to be between 150 and 200 zettabytes (in 2012 it was 2.8 zettabytes). With this wave of data coming organizations not only need to find a way to store it, they need to find a way to manage and analyze it to gain key insights. Quantum states that its StorNext file system can overcome the limitations of traditional storage while providing a more efficient and cost-effective ways to share and access files across geographically distributed teams, to manage and protect archived data, and to audit changes to data throughout its lifecycle.
Collaboration, especially across geographically dispersed teams, can give companies a competitive advantage. With StorNext 6, Quantum introduced two new features to facilitate great collaboration:
- FlexSync provides continual synchronization of files across storage systems by leveraging enhanced metadata monitoring in the file system to recognize changes instantly and reflect those changes on another system. This approach avoids the need to lock the file systems to identify changes, reducing synchronization time from hours or days to just seconds. As a result, users can also set policies that automatically trigger near-instant copies of files so that they are available at multiple sites, enabling different teams to access data quickly and easily whenever it’s needed. In addition, by providing automatic replication across sites, FlexSync offers increased data protection.
- FlexSpace allows multiple instances of StorNext, located anywhere in the world, to share a single archive repository. Users at different sites can store files there, as well as browse and pull data from the archive. In addition, shared archive options include both public cloud storage ― Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud via StorNext’s existing FlexTier capability ― and private cloud storage based on Quantum’s Lattus object storage or, through FlexTier, third-party object storage such as NetApp StorageGRID, IBM Cleversafe and Scality RING. Also, as with FlexSync, FlexSpace provides fully automated movement of files according to policies, thereby increasing efficiency and enhancing data protection through off-site storage.
Quantum has made several enhancements to increase performance as well. The new quality of service (QoS) feature enables users to tune and optimize performance across all workstations as well as on a machine-by-machine basis. With the QoS feature bandwidth can be allocated to specific resources based on needs.
Now that archived files may be retrieved more often due to the value they could potentially hold, Quantum has enable user to be able to browse archive directories that contain offline files without having to retrieve the entire directory. This can really streamline the process as directory can contain in upwards of millions of files.
Quantum is no stranger to using tiering for more efficient and effective storage. With StorNext they have added a copy expiration feature. At a set date, copies will be automatically removed from the more expensive tiers of storage freeing space and saving on costs. With this Quantum has added a complementary selectable retrieve function in StorNext 6 allows users to dictate the order of retrieval of the remaining copies, using a cost saving retrieval method.
Finally, StorNext 6 allows changes to be tracked in files across the data lifecycle and provide reports on who changed a file, when the changes were made, what was changed and whether and to where a file was moved. This feature gives administrators greater file management granularity and insight into usage patterns as well as the ability to follow up with who is access certain data in a area where information is being leaked for various reasons.
Availability
StorNext 6 will begin shipping early this summer with all newly purchased Xcellis and StorNext M-Series offerings, as well as Artico archive appliances. It will be available in early summer at no additional cost for StorNext 5 users under current support contracts.
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