SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Corp. (NYSE: QTM) today announced Xcellis™ workflow storage, the company's next-generation, high-performance storage solution engineered to optimize demanding workflows, accelerate time to insight and empower organizations to drive greater success. The new solution addresses the explosive growth of unstructured data and the opportunity to capitalize on its strategic value by enabling users to share and leverage this data more quickly, easily and cost-effectively. Powered by Quantum's StorNext® scale-out storage platform and its industry-leading streaming performance, Xcellis can be deployed as a standalone system or as the primary storage component within a multitier storage environment incorporating object storage, tape and cloud technologies.
For customers in highly data-intensive fields such as video production, intelligence, surveillance and technical applications (e.g., genomics, medical imaging, oil and gas exploration), meeting business and mission objectives depends on the ability to derive value from their digital assets. However, a key challenge has been storing and managing this data in a way that cost-effectively meets performance and access needs in an end-to-end workflow. While scale-out NAS products have enabled organizations to leverage their IP infrastructure, these offerings have been unable to keep up with the greater performance and scalability demands generated by increasingly larger data files and higher content resolutions. Xcellis overcomes these limitations and delivers a comprehensive solution that automates and simplifies data management, providing a unique combination of converged architecture, continuous scalability and unified access in a single system.
Converged Architecture
At the heart of the new solution is the new Xcellis Workflow Director, a converged compute, network and file system controller that tightly integrates and streamlines the functionality of a StorNext environment. The Workflow Director:
Consolidates multiple components into a single system, simplifying the overall storage architecture, operation, management and access for third-party applications.
Controls file system metadata and client access for SAN, Distributed LAN Client (DLC) and NAS connectivity (DLC is a connectivity option developed by Quantum).
Supports hosted applications that benefit from direct file access.
Enables users to take advantage of automated storage tiering.
Continuous Scalability
Xcellis delivers significant enhancements in capacity and scalability for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness:
- It nearly doubles the number of files that StorNext can handle — to 10 billion files total, with 1.4 billion files under management.
- Users can start with a small system and smoothly scale to the largest possible system without having to replace original hardware or take the system down, thereby protecting past investments.
- Utilizing Quantum's QXS disk storage arrays, Xcellis provides higher capacity and bandwidth that can scale independently.
- In short, unlike scale-out NAS offerings, Xcellis enables organizations to scale their storage continuously with consistent, deterministic performance as more users access data, pay only for whatever capacity or performance they require and avoid the need for extra compute power.
Unified Access
Xcellis provides built-in unified access to data, including:
- High-performing Fibre Channel SAN connectivity.
- DLC connectivity for "better-than-Ethernet" performance over Ethernet.
- Direct NAS connectivity.
Xcellis supports every phase of the workflow with the most appropriate connection to match the performance requirements of users. While more performance-focused clients will benefit from the high-speed SAN connectivity, less data-intensive operations can be completed via NAS connections over Ethernet. Xcellis ties all of these elements together and simplifies shared access through a single namespace, regardless of the number of file systems, allowing each user to access the needed files at a level of performance appropriate to the job. In addition, because DLC and NAS connectivity are separately licensable options, users pay only for the base unit and the type of connectivity they want.
Xcellis Availability
Xcellis can be ordered today as a standalone system for customers across Quantum's scale-out storage markets and as a customizable configuration within the company's media and entertainment-focused StorNext Pro™ Solutions. In addition, it will serve as the foundation for a new line of surveillance solutions Quantum will be introducing in the coming weeks. Xcellis will begin shipping late next month, along with the latest release of StorNext 5 software.
About Quantum
Quantum is a leading expert in workflow storage, archive and data protection. The company's StorNext 5 platform powers modern high-performance workflows, enabling seamless, real-time collaboration and keeping content readily accessible for future use and re-monetization. More than 100,000 customers have trusted Quantum to address their most demanding content workflow needs, including top studios, major broadcasters and cutting-edge content creators. With Quantum, customers can Be Certain™ they have the end-to-end storage platform they need to manage assets from ingest through finishing and into delivery and long-term preservation. See how at www.quantum.com/products/scale-out-storage/index.aspx.
