Flash storage provider Avere Systems has just rolled out a new hybrid filer storage appliance that allows enterprises to shift large files through their server architecture quickly and efficiently.

This might sound like a pretty basic application, but Avere insists that with its new breed of FXT edge filer appliances, it becomes the “first vendor” that can automatically tier data across four types of media – RAM, SSD, SATA HDD and SAS – meaning a faster, more affordable appliance than previous flash systems.

The Avere FXT 3800 Edge filer certainly looks capable, boasting 144GB or DRAM, 800GB of SSD space and 2GB NVRAM to read and write active data. Moreover, the system incorporates numerous high-speed ports, allowing users to hook it up to clients that access and filter inactive data.

Clearly, Avere wants to be seen as a serious contender among a flood of flash-based storage startups that are aiming to take on cloud enterprise and networking giants like Cisco and Oracle. To boost this claim, Avere has published the results of several test cases that demonstrate its product is more than a match for some of the largest vendors in the game when it comes to performance and efficiency. According to these tests, its FXT 3800 Hybrid Edge filer achieved record results on its SPECsfs2008 NFS file server benchmark, comfortably beating the likes of NetApp and EMC.

According to Mike Kazar, Avere’s chief technology officer, the startup had two goals in mind for its most recent benchmark test:

“The first is to demonstrate that you get the best performance at the lowest cost by using a combination of storage media in the most efficient manner. The second is to demonstrate that the only way to use cloud storage for anything other than backup or archive is to eliminate the WAN latency inherent in legacy storage solutions by moving to an edge-core design where the active data is held closest to the end users or compute farm.”

The FXT 3800 will be available from early May, with pricing starting at $112,500.