The Arch Platform Works with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP to Achieve a Competitive Advantage for Demanding Workflows

The Arch Platform has emerged as a powerful solution for businesses looking to leverage the agility and scalability of the cloud while maintaining the familiarity and functionality of on-premises infrastructure. This blog post dives into the core strengths of the Arch Platform and explores how its seamless integration with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP unlocks a winning combination for cloud-minded organizations.

Industry Challenges and the Cloud

The Covid pandemic manifests the importance of infrastructure and being prepared for work in and outside of the office.? This is especially important for workflows that require workstation-class compute resources.? Related to this, world economies face uncertain business conditions that require scale flexibility where teams need to be able to rapidly adapt.? And, IT teams setting up and managing high performance on-premises compute tend to over provision because they must adapt fixed infrastructure to the most demanding aspect of any given workflow. Finally, teams need to be able to collaborate on shared resources from different locations with the utmost security and with performance that doesn’t slow anyone down.

Establishing infrastructure in the cloud for demanding use-cases and workflows provides the ability to rapidly scale up and down.? Customers can right-size cloud computers on-demand so users can tap into what they need based on where they are in their workflow at any given moment. Cloud makes performant infrastructure available to anyone, anywhere, on any device for hybrid work while enhancing team collaboration, all with the world-class virtual private cloud security that global cloud services have come to depend on.

These benefits empower businesses to reap the rewards of the cloud, including:

• Increased Agility: Effortlessly scale resources up or down to meet fluctuating demands.
• Improved Efficiency: Streamlined orchestration and brokering frees IT staff to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Reduced Costs: Benefit from flexible pricing models, eliminate the need for upfront hardware investment, automate infrastructure savings protocols, and eliminate over provisioning.
• Simplified Operations: Gain centralized visibility and control over your enhanced performance cloud infrastructure.
• Hybrid Work:? Support work from office and remote/home locations.

The Power of the Arch Platform

The Arch Platform is designed to streamline the transition of advanced performance workloads and data to cloud or hybrid cloud infrastructure. It offers a suite of tools and services that address the key challenges associated with cloud adoption, including:

• Simplified Migration: The Arch Platform provides a structured approach to migrating applications and data to the cloud, minimizing downtime and disruption.
• Optimized for Amazon Web Services (AWS): The platform is architected to leverage the leadership and breadth of AWS, ensuring flexibility and future-proof, cloud-native innovation.
• Automated Management: Once migrated, the Arch Platform simplifies and automates ongoing cloud infrastructure management, freeing up IT resources.
• Enhanced Security: The platform prioritizes security through least-privileged guardrails along with the implementation of Private Link and API Gateway features - the Arch Platform implements leading security methodologies and has no user access to client accounts.
• Cost Optimization: Through intelligent resource management and optimization tools, the Arch Platform helps businesses optimize cloud spending.

The Arch Platform offers a combination of advanced virtual private cloud (VPC) facility creation and deployment, features to streamline the creation and deployment of workstations optimized for client workflows, team and workstation group management functionality, resource brokering, application services and management, analytics, and options for Deadline and Deadline Cloud fleet rendering.??

The single-pane-of-glass portal provides an access layer that differentiates the administration of infrastructure orchestration and the brokering of infrastructure resources for end-user access.? For a block diagram of Arch Platform functionality and related benefits, please refer to the image below.

FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSxN): The Keystone

Integrating FSx for NetApp ONTAP with the Arch platform strengthens the cloud workstation infrastructure and provides a smooth transition for organizations using NetApp storage. The combined solution addresses the needs of workstation users working collaboratively on shared assets with the performance they expect. FSx for NetApp ONTAP is a managed file system service offered by AWS that delivers the power and familiarity of NetApp ONTAP storage within the AWS cloud environment. This integration unlocks several key advantages for users:

• Reduced Migration Complexity: For businesses already utilizing NetApp storage on-premises, FSx for NetApp ONTAP offers a familiar platform, minimizing the need for significant storage configuration changes during migration.
• Seamless Integration: The Arch Platform integrates seamlessly with FSx for NetApp ONTAP, allowing for efficient storage provisioning and management within the existing workflow.
• Enhanced Performance: FSx for NetApp ONTAP delivers exceptional performance with low-latency data access, ideal for demanding applications.
• Advanced Data Management: Users benefit from NetApp's proven data management features, including deduplication, compression, and thin provisioning, leading to significant storage efficiency and cost savings.
• Multi-Protocol Support: FSx for NetApp ONTAP supports industry-standard protocols like NFS, SMB, and iSCSI, ensuring compatibility with diverse application environments.
• Simplified Disaster Recovery: Leverage NetApp SnapMirror technology for efficient replication and disaster recovery between on-premises and cloud storage.

How it works

Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP is a managed file storage service offered by AWS that leverages the capabilities of NetApp's ONTAP file system https://aws.amazon.com/fsx/netapp-ontap/. Here's a breakdown of how it works:

Core building block: file system

• The primary resource in FSx for ONTAP is the file system, similar to an on-premises NetApp ONTAP cluster.
• You define the storage capacity (SSD) and throughput required for your file system and use the Arch Platform to create a virtual private cloud (VPC) facility in AWS where it resides.
• A file system can have one to twelve high-availability (HA) pairs, offering redundancy in case of failures. Each HA pair consists of two file servers in an active-standby configuration.

Storage efficiency and performance

• FSx for ONTAP utilizes ONTAP's block-level storage efficiency features like compression, deduplication, and compaction to minimize storage consumption.
• This can significantly reduce the storage footprint of your data, typically by around 65% for general file sharing workloads.
• Additionally, FSx for ONTAP delivers high-performance storage using solid-state drives (SSDs) with sub-millisecond latencies for demanding applications.

Multi-protocol access and scalability

• FSx for ONTAP provides broad access to your data through industry-standard protocols like NFS, SMB, and iSCSI. This allows various workloads and users to connect to your file system seamlessly.
• It offers automatic storage scaling to cater to growing datasets. Storage capacity can be adjusted up or down as needed.

Benefits in a nutshell

• FSx for NetApp ONTAP combines the familiar functionalities and performance of ONTAP file systems with the manageability and scalability of the Arch + AWS service.
• It simplifies file storage management in the cloud while offering features like data protection, security, and data management.
• This service is particularly suitable for migrating and running demanding application workflows on AWS without needing significant changes to data storage or management.

Why It Matters

For businesses considering cloud adoption for their workstation and related storage infrastructure, integrating FSx for NetApp ONTAP presents an important opportunity. Here are benefits to consider:

• Smoother Cloud Migration: Minimize disruption and learning curves by leveraging familiar NetApp storage technology in the cloud.
• Reduced Storage Costs: Optimize storage utilization with built-in data management features, leading to significant cost savings.
• Enhanced Application Performance: Experience low-latency data access for seamless application operation within the cloud.
• Simplified Management: Manage your entire storage infrastructure from a single, centralized platform through Arch Platform's integration.
• Modernize your data management: Scale to virtually unlimited elastic storage capacity, and protect against ransomware and other attacks with advanced security features.
• Improved Business Continuity: Ensure data protection and availability through efficient disaster recovery options with SnapMirror.

Conclusion

The Arch Platform and FSx for NetApp ONTAP form a powerful duo, offering a seamless path to cloud adoption while preserving the familiarity and functionality of existing storage infrastructure. By integrating the Arch platform with FSx for NetApp ONTAP, enterprises can confidently move to the cloud. The Arch Platform powered by AWS enables organizations to confidently create and manage infrastructure for their demanding team workflows to unlock the full potential of advanced performance cloud computing.

This blog post only scratches the surface of the benefits this integration offers. For a more in-depth exploration or to discuss your specific cloud migration needs, contact Arch Platform Technologies or NetApp.

Resources

Arch Platform:? www.archpt.io?

FSx for NetApp ONTAP:? https://aws.amazon.com/fsx/netapp-ontap/?