Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2013/03/22/quantum_lattus_m_ael6000/

Quantum tries to attract HOT TV stars ... by adding object storage to archive

If that doesn't convince 'em, maybe trip to Vegas will

By Chris Mellor

Posted in Storage, 22nd March 2013 12:45 GMT

Quantum is introducing a 2-tier archive inside its StorNext data management product for TV biz types. The new gear has disk-based object storage front-ending a tape library, providing both nearline and long-term archive stores with automated movement between them.

Details are sparse, but it will demo the object storage product as well as a high-density tape module at the National Association of Broadcasters conference at Las Vegas in April. They will arrive next quarter.

StorNext is a data management framework that provides a single data access space for data residing on disk and tape. It has found favour in the video and entertainment industries where video files large and small need to be stored for the long term and when they come back into use must be moved onto the disk storage tier.

Tape is great for long-term storage, being reliable, high capacity and cheap, whereas disk arrays are fast but more limited in space. Quantum is inserting an object storage tier between the two, with the general speed of a disk array but scalability more like that of tape. This is based on its Lattus product which uses Amplidata object storage technology.

The Lattus-M product combines its object storage with automatic tiering capabilities in StorNext with data moved from the Lattus-M storage to primary arrays at near-primary array speed. Quantum says Lattus-M "is more durable than RAID with self-healing and protection capabilities and lower latency for predictably fast retrieval times at a price more typical of long-term storage." Data access is via the StorNext File System, via HTTP/ representational state transfer or via optional CIFS/NFS.

On the tape side, Quantum is going to offer the StorNext AEL6000 Archive HD product - a 5PB-75PB tape library using LTO-6 tapes with 5PB per rack. According to Quantum, this is more than any other supplier. It has StorNext's tiering engine included and a EDLM (Extended Data Life Management) feature for automated tape integrity checking.

It is based on the Scalar i6000 tape library's recently announced expansion module featuring a circular array of slots inside it.

Quantum states: "With Lattus-M as a new archive tier, content can automatically move between online primary disk, object storage and tape, including the StorNext AEL Archive."

Lattus-M will arrive in May with the AEL6000 coming in the same quarter. ®