Quantum Unveils Appliance For Big Data

Quantum on Tuesday announced the StorNext M660, a new larger version of its metadata appliance. The device aims to store large numbers of objects generated from video editing, genomics, remote sensing, video surveillance, and seismic exploration applications.

Twice as large as the company’s M330 appliance, the StorNext M660 can store up to 800 million files in as many as eight file systems. The StorNext M660 can be integrated with Quantum Q-Series Storage for high-performance primary data as well as with the StorNext AEL Archive for near-line archiving.

[ We hear about 'big data' all the time--but what does it really mean? Read more at Storage's 'Big' Overkill: Truth About The Trend. ]

The M660 has dual controller nodes for high availability and failover and supports the attachment of up to ten SAN clients. It connects to the network via two StorNext G300 Gateway Appliances and has four 8Gb Fibre Channel ports for connection to the storage area network (SAN).

The StorNext M660 is a 6U (10.5-inch) high box with an optional 8U expansion unit. Four file systems are supported in the base model. With an expansion unit, it can support as many as eight file systems.

Layered on top of the StorNext M660 is the StorNext FS file system, which performs storage virtualization and allows file sharing, enterprise data management, protection,and archiving. The StorNext shared SAN File System stores information and shares it simultaneously across heterogeneous operating systems and server hardware platforms, allowing customers to process and distribute content and archive it for future reuse.

Further, the M660 Metadata Appliance uses the optional Distributed Data Mover technology (DDM) on the standby node to offload traffic when data is moved to archive. It is managed with the StorNext Advanced Reporting Software, which visually displays the health of the system, and with the StorNext Storage Manager, which provides policy-based data migration.

Windows, Mac, Unix, and Linux clients can attach to the M660 for file sharing or archive activities. In addition, two SAN clients are included for the metadata controllers. The StorNext M660 is agnostic to the disk or tape library it is attached to and can communicate with disk systems or libraries from other vendors.

The StorNext M660 Metadata Appliance starts at $120,000; StorNext M330 starts at $75,000. Both appliances are available now.

Deni Connor is founding analyst for Storage Strategies NOW, an industry analyst firm that focuses on storage, virtualization, and servers.

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