PoINT Software & Systems

PoINT Software and Spectra Tape Storage:
The Solution for Growth of Unstructured Data

OVERVIEW

The Challenge

Most disk and flash-based storage systems are overloaded by inactive and cold unstructured data. This situation applies to NAS systems and, increasingly, to disk-based object storage systems which are used as a primary storage tier. The use of these expensive systems to store data that has not been accessed for months or even years is an inefficient use of resources. This situation is exacerbated by the exponential growth of unstructured file data.

The Solution

The optimal solution for this dilemma is a tiered storage architecture. This architecture keeps active files on a fast primary storage tier, and archives and offloads cold data to a perpetual storage tier, such as tape libraries. PoINT Storage Manager and PoINT Archival Gateway support this approach by homogeneously integrating Spectra tape technology into the storage infrastructure. Tape technology is ideal as an object-based perpetual storage tier. It provides the benefits of storage density with a small environmental footprint, high data integrity over an extended period, and a much lower cost per terabyte of storage than all other storage technologies. And compared with all the storage media that is available, tape technology has superior potential for essential capacity improvements.

Integration of Spectra Tape Libraries with PoINT Software

Implementation of a hierarchical storage management (HSM) strategy has never been more important to customers. DMF7 is a powerful policy-based HSM platform that migrates data between premium priced high-performance flash, expensive highcapacity disk and cost-effective tape. DMF7 and Spectra’s TFinity ExaScale and T950 Tape Libraries can be configured to ensure that inactive data doesn’t sit on expensive storage any longer than it needs to.
Benefits
  • Efficient use of flash and disk-based primary storage
  • Fulfillment of archiving and compliance requirements
  • Save time and money by reducing backup data volume
  • Use applications without interruption
  • Reduced capital expenses
Features
  • S3 compatible API for Spectra tape libraries
  • Offline media management
  • Data and management security
  • Retention management
  • Data mover mode
  • Automated replication

PoINT Archival Gateway

S3 Object Storage with Spectra Tape Libraries The PoINT Archival Gateway is a software-based, high-performance object storage system for Spectra Tape Libraries. This combination makes it possible to store and archive hundreds of petabytes of data. The decisive factor that makes this possible is the way the PoINT Archival Gateway quickly receives data and securely writes it to storage media in a format that means this data can also be quickly read again afterwards. The PoINT Archival Gateway high level of scalability means it can handle transfer rates of over 1 PB per day.

S3 REST API PoINT

Archival Gateway offers a standardized S3 REST API for applications needing to archive data to Spectra tape storage. This makes the software suitable for use with the rapidly rising number of applications that support objectbased storage using S3 REST. The PoINT Archival Gateway’s highly scalable S3 REST web service enables almost unlimited parallelization and very high data transfer rates.

High Availability

Other key properties of PoINT Archival Gateway are the system’s high stability, as well as its ability to both protect data and keep it available. Data security is ensured thanks to a modern “erasure coding” process. This saves data blocks redundantly on multiple media, meaning that data is not lost even if one medium fails. Redundant server nodes automatically managed by PoINT Archival Gateway mean that the server systems running the PoINT Archival Gateway remain stable.

Use Cases

PoINT Archival Gateway in combination with Spectra tape storage supports a wide range of applications and use cases:

About Spectra Tape Libraries:

Affordable and Flexible: From small and midsize establishments to large Fortune 50 corporations and government entities, Spectra’s comprehensive tape library family scales from 1TB to 2.53EB.
Reliable: Trusted for decades by many of the world’s most recognized organizations, Spectra libraries protect and preserve a vast amount of the world’s data.
Compatible: Integrates with most major backup and archive storage solutions.
Innovative: Spectra Logic has been focused on innovation in storage systems and solutions for more than 40 years. Since its first tape library in 1995, Spectra has built the most rugged, reliable tape systems in the industry.

About PoINT Software & Systems:

PoINT Software & Systems GmbH is specialized in the development and distribution of software products for storage, management and archiving of data. Our data and storage management solutions offer an easy and efficient integration of different storage technologies and systems in consideration of enterprise requirements. PoINT products allow optimized usage of storage systems and help to reduce costs and issues caused by data growth. The software solutions fulfill compliance and archiving requirements and provide independence from storage technologies and vendors. For more information, visit www.point.de.

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