Pure Storage Inc. today rolled out new software features to its all-flash storage systems that will provide stronger protection against ransomware attacks and improve performance for certain enterprise applications.

Publicly traded Pure Storage has two flagship product lines: FlashArray and FlashBlade. FlashArray is a family of storage systems for running mission-critical applications such as financial databases that work with structured information. FlashBlade systems, in turn, are geared toward artificial intelligence models and other workloads that work with unstructured information.

Both product lines are being updated today.

FlashArray, the system lineup for mission-critical applications, is receiving a tool called SafeMode that enables companies to create backups of their backups. The idea is to provide increased protection against ransomware attacks that might render a company’s main data repositories unusable. Backups generated by SafeMode are read-only, meaning they can’t be modified even if a hacker gains access to the corporate network, and the tool’s settings can only be changed by authorized personnel.

Pure Storage is also enhancing two of the FlashArray series’ existing features. The high-speed NVMe data access protocol is now available for FlashArray deployments in which storage systems are connected to servers via a Fiber Channel network. The result, Pure Storage says, will be an up to 50% latency reduction. Another feature that now works with Fiber Channel is ActiveCluster, which lets companies create standby copies of important applications and continuously sync data to the copies to ensure no information is lost in the event of an outage.

FlashBlade, Pure Storage’s storage system series for applications that work with unstructured information, is also being enhanced. Like the FlashArray upgrades, the update brings a mix of security and performance improvements.

Administrators can now set user-level access rules to regulate what data objects each employee can access. They can also track how the most active users interact with company data via built-in monitoring features.

FlashBlade customers with Windows environments, in turn, now have access to native support for the SMB protocol, which is used by Windows applications to transfer data. Pure Storage says that the native SMB support allows FlashBlade to perform certain data transfer tasks with speeds of more than a terabit per minute.

Joining the software enhancements released today is a new addition to the company’s hardware lineup. The FlashArray//C40 is an entry-level system designed to compete with hybrid storage arrays, which combine flash with traditional disk drives. Hybrid arrays are typically slower than all-flash systems but can be more affordable. Pure Storage says that the FlashArray//C40 has cost-effective pricing it hopes will accelerate the “inexorable market shift away from disk-based storage.”

Photo: Pure Storage