Coraid Aims to Address Cloud, Video and More with ZX-Series

Ethernet storage provider Coraid has rolled out a ZFS-based set of NAS server heads that are targeted at meeting needs of cloud, video, big data and other high-performance applications. The scale-out architecture of the new ZX-Series can process large data sets by providing throughput and scale to support data growth, the company said.

Capturing, storing and analyzing increasingly larger sets of data stresses the scalability of legacy NAS systems, the company says. The ZX-Series can process large data sets, such as consumer behavior analysis or HD and 3-D video format editing, because it provides the throughput and scale necessary to support data growth, Coraid says.

"By implementing ZFS for NAS operations, along with Caringo for object storage with a REST API, Coraid offers a uniquely scalable product," says James E. Bagley, a senior analyst and business development consultant at Storage Strategies NOW/Systems Strategies NOW. "Its use of the Layer 2 Ethernet protocol ATA over Ethernet [means] the storage system can be scaled and operate efficiently with multiple rack and even multiple location coverage, with very low latency through low-cost Ethernet switches."

The ZX-Series is based on a hybrid storage approach, combining a scale-out Ethernet architecture with a pooled storage model. The system scales performance to multipetabyte capacity across a shared pool by connecting to Coraid EtherDrive SRX arrays via ATA over Ethernet. It uses read- and write-optimized flash caches and massively parallel 1GB/10GB Ethernet connectivity, according to Coraid.

"Scale-out storage designs built on Ethernet align well with the evolving architecture of the virtualized data center," says Roger Cox, research VP at Gartner, in a statement. "Functions such as hybrid storage pools, data deduplication and compression optimize storage utilization, thus reducing acquisition costs and improving total cost of ownership."

Coraid's competitors include EMC, NetApp, IBM, HP and "about 20 other relatively new companies in the storage systems space," Bagley says.

The Coraid ZX-Series is available now. Pricing starts at about $575 per terabyte for a 36-disk array.

Bagley says what makes Coraid interesting is that "the price/performance of their systems, scale-out architecture, the ability to support block, file and object data, and the overall efficiencies of their ATA over Ethernet protocol is unique."