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Nimbus Data is announcing their revolutionary new all-flash platform for cloud and big data, virtualization and massive digital content. The ExaFlash™ is the result of nearly three years of top-secret development, and has infinite scalability, record-setting efficiency and at a breakthrough cost point.
The ExaFlash Platform is a historic development that will reshape the data center and storage industries. Offering unprecedented scale (from terabytes to exabytes), record-smashing efficiency (95% lower power consumption and 50 x greater density than existing all-flash arrays), and at a breakthrough price point (a fraction of the cost of existing all-flash arrays), ExaFlash allows the dream of an all-flash data center to become reality.
According to Thomas Isakovich, CEO and Founder of Nimbus Data, “Worldwide storage demand continues to escalate, and with it, the need to increase data center efficiency, achieve scale with consistent performance, maintain simplicity, and reduce cost. Our vision is unencumbered by conventional thinking, and ExaFlash’s ground-breaking achievements reflect that vision.”
The ExaFlash Platform incorporates a unique architecture that allows for virtually infinite scalability, from terabytes to exabytes, operating as a single centrally-managed all-flash system. When utilizing ExaFlash, data flow is decoupled from metadata and management is centralized, operating independently and out-of-band. This creates a single interface and single pane-of-glass for all administration. With no data network between storage arrays themselves, performance can truly scale in lock-step with capacity, and with consistent latency. Various storage protocols, including block, file, and object can be utilized simultaneously using Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand networks, which effectively eliminates storage “islands”.
The basis of Nimbus Data’s ExaFlash Platform are ExaFlash arrays, which are a new family of all-flash systems that offer record-setting levels of energy efficiency, capacity, connectivity options, and rack space density. ExaFlash Arrays are not like off-the-shelf servers, as they are precision-engineered for maximum performance and efficiency. ExaFlash Arrays consume 95% less power per terabyte than competing solutions by eliminating irrelevant components and by minimizing CPU utilization via intelligent hardware-offload engines. ExaFlash Arrays incorporate ultra-dense MLC flash drives to deliver up to 50 x the capacity in the same rack space as competing alternatives. ExaFlash Arrays are offered in capacities ranging from 50TB to 4.5 PB (petabytes) and utilize the latest 32Gb Fibre Channel, up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and up to EDR (100Gb) InfiniBand connectivity. ExaFlash Arrays feature dual active/active controllers, redundant cooling and power, and hot-swap capabilities of components for always-on availability and easier serviceability.
Nimbus Data’s all-new ExaFlash Operating System is powerful, API-driven storage and data management software for the ExaFlash Platform. The ExaFlash Operating System provides a single pane-of-glass management interface for total control. It also offers support for all major storage protocols, including block, file and object, simultaneously. By using the API, storage admins can automate virtually every conceivable storage task centrally. Storage utilization is maximized by using inline variable deduplication and LZ4 compression, as well as real-time checksums to ensure data integrity.
ExaFlash’s cost is more than 50% lower than that of competing all-flash systems, making the dream of having an all-flash data center an attainable reality. Dependent upon capacity, ExaFlash offers an unheard of price point as low as $0.19 per effective gigabyte (including all hardware and software). This is a direct assault on legacy hard drive (HDD) arrays, and current all-flash arrays, for a wide range of applications, from databases to virtualization to cloud infrastructure, digital content repositories, and big data. With technology advancements that make ExaFlash so extremely space and power efficient, it achieves a 90% lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than competing flash arrays, making it without equal as the choice for forward-thinking cloud and enterprise providers looking to reduce IT costs and maximize profitability.
ExaFlash is available to pre-order now, and general availability is anticipated for Q4 of 2016. Nimbus Data will be exhibiting their full ExaFlash lineup at Flash Memory Summit 2016 from 8/9 through 8/11 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. As Nimbus’s company mottos says, “#May the flash be with you”!
