Whiptail's SSD Array Scales To 72 TB

Whiptail boosted the high end of its solid state storage line when it launched a modular storage array on Tuesday that can hold up to 72 TB.

The Accela is a refreshed version of Whiptail's XLR8R array, which is targeted for deployment in virtual desktop and transaction processing applications. The new Invicta appliance is a high-availability, multi-protocol storage array that includes a pair of Silicon Storage Routers to manage host connectivity and data protection. A single Invicta system can scale up to 72 TB by adding up to six Accela Silicon Storage nodes. Both products are available now.

The systems support the iSCSI, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand block protocols as well as the Network File System and Common Internet File System protocols. The Invicta system is targeted at enterprise use cases where high availability, multi-megabyte bandwidth, and the ability to process hundreds of thousands of input-output operations are required. The scalability allows an organization to keep an entire working data set on the high-speed solid state array. The modularity of the product makes it very flexible for differing customer requirements. In addition, Invicta supports both asynchronous replication and snapshots for disaster recovery and backup. Accela supports both asynchronous and synchronous replication.

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VMware shops can take advantage of the full implementation of VMware's vStorage APIs for Array Interation in the Invicta and Accela arrays. This creates a powerful set of management tools that can be used directly from VMware's vCenter management console. The systems have been certified by VMware and Citrix.

Whiptail has led the solid state storage industry for some time, having delivered all solid-state arrays for more than three years. The enterprise appetite for high-performance storage arrays is large and growing. Other all-solid state array manufacturers include Violin Memory and Nimbus Data, which have both added high-availability versions this year. Manufacturers in this market segment are targeting applications where speed of transaction processing, ability to support a large number of virtualized servers and desktops, or the ability to deliver and ingest large amounts of streaming data are critical.

Whiptail was founded in 2008 by CTO James Candelaria, formerly of TheAdmins, an IT services company. The company has received both Series A and B funding for undisclosed amounts from Spring Mountain Capital, Ignition Partners, and RRE Ventures.

Deni Connor is founding analyst for Storage Strategies NOW, an industry analyst firm that focuses on storage, virtualization, and servers. James E. Bagley is senior analyst and business development consultant at the same firm.

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