Scality Optimizes NAS with File Archiving Tool

You don't have to give up your network-attached storage, but you can use it more efficiently for mission-critical data. That's the message Scality gave its customers this week with the announcement of its NAS Archiver. The company claims the new tool can drastically cut down on Tier 1 backup space, reducing money and preserving storage capacity. It can also make backups more cost-effective, while keeping data accessible on Tier 2 storage.

Scality's NAS Archiver is a software-based file archiving solution designed to assess storage efficiency and apply migration policies to optimize file archiving based on file size, type, age and other criteria. If deemed appropriate, the software migrates data from the NAS to Scality's RING software-defined file and object storage solution. The file archiving tool also can tier data to the public cloud.

The Archiver uses standard protocols such as NFS and SMB, or low-level APIs, where they are supported and more efficient, said Paul Speciale, Scality's chief product officer. Enterprises using NetApp, Isilon NAS filers and other file servers can use this file archiving tool, Speciale said.

A solution like this can be helpful in addressing the traditional challenges surrounding storage optimization, especially inefficient use of high-performing NAS solutions, said Amita Potnis, research director for content infrastructure at IDC.

"Only a fraction of the data typically stored on an expensive and high-performance NAS solution is hot," she said. "Enterprises can choose to offload inactive or cold data onto a cost-effective, high-capacity solution, which will optimize the use of the NAS solution."

While backing up 1 petabyte of data on Tier 1 primary NAS storage requires hourly and daily snapshots , offloading data that meets policy requirements to RING can drastically reduce those numbers. Speciale said that with a NAS offload to Ring, 400TB of data remains on Tier 1 NAS, freeing up 600TB of capacity. This uses 50% less backup space.

Other features of the NAS Archiver include the capability for administrators to set permissions and user abilities, the capability for project managers and storage administrators to shift workloads in real time, and the capability for users to retrieve files via an active stub without performance impacts.