DataDirect Networks has made adapted its object storage system so it can use both cloud and on-premise storage arrays as object storage vaults.

Its revamped Web Object Scaler Bridge platform, abbreviated as WOS-Bridge, can now support both GPFS and DDN Lustre environments. Back-ends to the object serving as ‘head’ can be the company’s EXAScaler and GRIDScaler arrays, located in one or multiple data centres and sharing a single namespace, and now extended out to the cloud with a federated tiering arrangement.

DDN says WOS-Bridge’s integration with DDN’s parallel file systems can help users manage, distribute and retain data from the cloud to multiple data centers. It’s capable of scaling to hundreds of petabytes and combines cloud capacity and consumption models with the higher performance on-premises arrays deliver. The cloud is seen as a semi- or actual archive data tier.

With Big Data exploding in IT, HPC organizations require higher levels of performance, and need to ensure their data is readily available when needed, said DDN.

“Providing quick access to data for business analysts, researchers and scientists around the globe is critical to a competitive business or research organization,” said Molly Rector, Chief Marketing Officer, DDN. “WOS-Bridge allows customers to achieve the performance benefits of a parallel file system for their HPC storage needs while also gaining the benefits of low cost archive storage, the ability to share data across geographies and the flexibility of cloud access all in a single solution.”

Accordingly, WOS-Bridge provides “a data migration engine that automates and manages data from a variety of storage platforms to a WOS storage cloud. WOS polices distribute data through a choice of replication or erasure coding to remote locations. Users accessing data in cloud storage or at remote collaboration sites can view, modify and update locally through WOS Access file gateways.”

Users are provided with POSIX-compliant CIFS and NFS access to their data. Meanwhile the file system gateway ensures users without access to either an EXAScaler or GRIDScaler cluster can still access their data.

According to DDN, benefits include being able to tier workloads by shifting less time-sensitive data to cheaper cloud or live archive storage; the ability to replicate data between the cloud and high performance storage platforms for disaster recovery and data protection; and being able to “access, distribute and share content across remote and geographically distributed sites for simplified collaboration without any tradeoffs in performance.”

Using the WOS-Bridge, sysadmins can achieve a single view of all local and cloud-based data thanks to the way data movement between arrays, data centers and the cloud is automated. DDN’s WOS-Bridge is available now for use with GRIDScaler, while support for EXAScaler is expected in the next quarter.

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