The art of seeing what is invisible to others !
Data Center Evolution
Evolution of data centers started with mainframe and special UNIX boxes which eventually ended with standardized Intel's x86 hardware. Along came Novell, Microsoft and Linux versions, standardizing the software on top of those systems. The evolution of new CPU models coupled with heaps of RAM gave way to the world of virtualization, enabling the leverage of all available resources.
The underlying storage however, remained in silos. Big monolithic systems like SUN 7000 or IBM Shark followed by EMC and NetApp also capitalizing on the opportunity. Each vendor pronounced its own proprietary file system to serve customers' needs. Capacity leaped from MB to GB to TB to PB, while spindle speeds evolved from SSD to NvmE -- but the silos remained.
DataCore One -- The Vision
DataCore is the authority on Software Defined Storage (SDS) with a mission to unify the storage vista through a single pane of glass (SPOG) for the Management of Data Anywhere !
Pursuit of this intense mission requires a profound data services platform. This platform is responsible for all necessary state of the art data services like encryption, auto-tiering, DP migrations, archival options and high performance replication.
Next is a data management plane, capable of predictive operations, auditing and analyzing all available data and using it to react immediately before an issue occurs. This plane must also support policy-based optimizations.
The 4 primary pillars that drive the DataCore ONE Vision are:
- Compelling set of primary storage virtualization capabilities via SANsymphony
- Deployed in software or more deterministically through the HCI-FLEX appliance,
- Residing on-premise or with vFilO extending into Cloud and Secondary spaces,
- With consolidated analytics through the SPOG in DIS.io for management of Data Anywhere!
While the above picture is ready for consumption, an alternate universe with our next generation container native platform is maturing rapidly.
R&D Imperatives
A Balanced Product Portfolio with delicate adjustments is critical to any vision. The essence of VISION is balancing what to implement and what NOT to implement. An innovation portfolio of this kind requires alignment and focus. Most all R&D imperatives at DataCore are aligned to facilitate one sole objective -- The DataCore ONE Vision.
Expansion
First imperative of the portfolio is the notion of expansion, the notion of breadth of additive value to our core business: Management of data anywhere:
· regardless of where it resides – on premise, in the cloud, or hybrid
· regardless of the frequency of access – from hot to warm to cold to glacier
· regardless of the type of network access/device – SCSI, Fiber, Flash Arrays or JBOTS
Along the same paradigm expansion also implies the depth of profound additional capabilities in each of the technology segments.
With enormous pride I highlight that the Technology Portfolio of DataCore has quadrupled in 2019:
1) Two significant release of our flagship product SANSymphony
2) The long awaited HCI Flex Appliance for simplified and deterministic deployments
3) The very first 100% SaaS based analytical platform DIS.io
4) And lastly, vFilO for cloud and secondary storage
Expansion of a Technology Portfolio, no matter how balanced is profound only with its associated Enablement programs.
This second imperative for R&D is solely directed at increasing Awareness and Adoption through features like “Guided Tours”, Unified E2E Management capabilities and collateral providing tangible evidence of best practices, performance and scalability.
Product Portfolio
SANsymphony
DataCore was founded on the premise of the plethora of exceptionally performing and reliable set of data services. 2 decades of product innovation has released capabilities like CDP, Snapshot, Auto-Tiering, that many have leveraged to provide the lowest TCO and best storage experience.
I am proud to announce the imminent release of another set of high value assets to this RUBIX cube: System Managed Mirroring and Data at Rest Encryption WITH Key Management Services for ultimate business security. Data has become the lifeblood of modern business -- Data Security is mission critical.
Container Data Services
In 2019 DataCore will introduce its container native product line, addressing the needs of users deploying stateful containerized applications. This next generation data services architecture will deliver secure, robust and performant access to the data held by these applications wherever they are hosted: private, public or hybrid cloud platforms.
Having the means to easily exchange data across multiple clusters, will enable customers not only in meeting availability demands but to also avoid vendor lock-in within this still evolving ecosystem.
Fully containerized and integrated with the popular orchestration systems like Kubernetes, the data services layer will be deployed, monitored and managed in exactly the same way as a user's own applications, using the same skillsets the DevOps Engineers already know and trust.
DataCore Insight Services
Through subscription, DataCore recently released its first ever 100% SaaS analytical platform; DataCore Insight Services – domain registered as DIS.io
DIS. io provides the relationship between cause and effect; between error and resolution; between pattern and deflection and between behaviors and predictability. It transforms data (which by itself is meaningless) into ACTIONABLE Insights. Lastly, DIS.io provides a dedicated eco-system for the partners to create a 2-way value exchange with customers.
DIS provides the Single Pane of Glass for the management of data anywhere !
Virtual File and Object -- vFilO
Silo Silo Silo – the infamous 4-letter word in the modern data center. A word that sends shudders down the spine of an IT Administrator OR delight that DataCore once again comes to the rescue.
Organizations have filers based on departmental boundaries and characteristics (speed vs. capacity). These fragmented deployments quickly pass the obligations of file organization to DevOps or worse yet, the applications themselves. Silos break the namespace into device-dependent fragments, they prevent friendly organization of data, and they prevent free movement of data to optimize cost and performance.
vFilO virtualizes the network file system and creates an abstraction layer on top of the existing filer infrastructure. This creates a Global Namespace to manage all file metadata--the folder hierarchy, filenames, file creation and modification times. The actual location of the file data becomes hidden from the application.
The Service Level Objectives that define intent based policies, intricately facilitates data migration to the tier that best supports its needs: from performance to cost savings i.e. hot NVMe to Cloud.
Conclusion
DataCore remains the undisputed authority on Software-Defined Storage. The essence of DataCore lies in the consolidated storage experience and flexibility of deployments from primary to secondary to the cloud, enhanced through its SaaS-based analytical platform for a unified policy-based command and control center spanning the entire SDS infrastructure.
Enabling friendly organization of data, empowering the free movement of data, optimized costs & performance – DataCore extends the frontiers of possibilities.
Silos cannot interoperate unless technology does – DataCore makes that possible !