StorNext 4.0 Expands De-Duplication, Adds Distributed Data Mover

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 02/08/10

Quantum is releasing a new version of its StorNext data management software. Version 4.0 features changes in de-duplication and replication, as well as a new distributed data tiering function.

StorNext comprises two core software components, a file system and a storage manager. The file system serves as a common data store. The storage manager provides automated movement of data between different storage tiers based on user-defined policies and file access requirements.

The new release has added data de-duplication natively in the file system. According to Quantum, this new feature is well suited for high data growth enterprises where a massive amount of data is continually processed, stored, and accessed. The de-duplication technology, which was previously offered in Quantum's backup solutions, finds redundant data blocks across files and stores only unique data.

The replication feature provides options for replicating data to a remote location. Data from a single site or multiple branch offices can be consolidated or protected, enabling continued operations if the source location becomes unavailable. StorNext 4.0 can be configured to replicate only unique data to reduce network bandwidth requirements.

"With such high volumes of data generated daily from DNA sequencing and the need to access hundreds of terabytes of data at any given time, StorNext offers the scalability and support we need," said Geraint Morgan, director of Information Systems at Baylor College of Medicine's Human Genome Sequencing Center. "Over the next year, we expect storage requirements of over two petabytes, and we hope to leverage StorNext's new de-duplication advancements and enterprise replication features to accommodate this growth."

The new distributed data tiering function, a "Distributed Data Mover (DDM)," acts as the conduit for passing data to and from the storage tiers. By adding more DDMs to a StorNext solution, system performance scales for archives that become more active. DDMs enable reads and writes of file copies for data preservation and retrieval while still providing fast access to data via the copy on primary disk.

The new release also includes the ability to retrieve partial files so that segments of large media files--rather than the entire file--can be retrieved and used based on timecode parameters.

"Unstructured data is the fastest growing data in the data center, growing at a compound annual rate of 55 percent and dramatically increasing storage and data management requirements in nearly all environments," said Terri McClure, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "At the same time, our research suggests that despite the improving economy users remain under pressure to drive down operational costs. As a result, end users--particularly those moving to more cloud-like architectures--need a transparently scalable and cost-effective data repository that can leverage efficient file sharing and tiered storage strategies. These types of repositories will enable them to keep up with the data growth and protect the information generated while keeping system management costs in check. With StorNext 4.0, Quantum is positioned to address these needs with features that raise the bar for high-speed data sharing, resilient data protection and simplified data management in terabyte to multi-petabyte environments."