HPCwire: Xyratex Updates Lustre Storage Appliance

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June 14, 2012

Xyratex Updates Lustre Storage Appliance

HAVANT, United Kingdom, June 14 -- Xyratex Ltd, a leading provider of data storage technology, today announced the ClusterStor(TM) 6000, the High Performance Computing (HPC) industry's fastest data storage solution delivering two times the Lustre® file system performance over competing designs. With an enterprise level resiliency architecture, ClusterStor 6000 provides the highest levels in integrated solution reliability, availability and serviceability. ClusterStor 6000 will be available exclusively through Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the third quarter of this year.

ClusterStor 6000 delivers a new standard in file system performance, scalability and efficiency. Its unique architecture brings together what were previously discrete server, network and storage platforms with their own separate software layers, into a single integrated modular scale out storage building block. This innovative approach enables the system to scale both performance and capacity while aggressively reducing space, power and administrative overhead.

ClusterStor 6000 Scalable Storage Unit (SSU) is the easy to use building block that enables rapid deployment, scale and productivity. The SSU is only five rack units high and delivers up to six gigabytes/sec of sustained read and write file system performance. ClusterStor 6000 offers support for installations with unprecedented linear performance scalability from 6 gigabytes per second to one terabyte per second file system processing capability, as well as linear data storage capacity from terabytes to tens of petabytes.

"The ClusterStor product family of scale-out HPC data storage solutions features a tightly integrated distributed computing architecture. Xyratex has integrated Lustre into storage appliances designed to operate as turnkey solutions, contrasted with the traditional piecemeal, less-productive HPC storage solutions. The integration of heterogeneous traditional nodes into high performance, dense platforms results in a reduced footprint and the foundation for lower cooling and infrastructure costs," said Steve Conway, Research Vice President, High Performance Computing, IDC. "Xyratex is involved in some of the largest and most challenging storage deployments in the world, at least one of which aims to become the first high-density platform to scale to 1 TB/second sustained file system performance."

ClusterStor 6000 is designed for users who want to build efficient petascale computing solutions for high performance computing applications in areas such as scientific research, simulation, climate modeling, and energy exploration.

"We've been using ClusterStor 3000 as part of our GENCI/PRACE funded(1) 'Exascale I/O prototype' for the last 3-6 months and are pleased with the Lustre performance numbers being achieved as well as the ease of installation and management," said Jacques-Charles Lafoucriere, Chief of Services, CEA. "Our next phase of the project is a simple upgrade to the ClusterStor 6000 OSS with the next generation Intel E5 processors where we fully expect a significant increase in Lustre system level improvements."

ClusterStor 6000 deployment is a snap - it only requires physical installation and simple setup steps. Instead of spending weeks gathering separate hardware and software, resolving interoperability issues and testing to get a Lustre environment into production, users can be productive with ClusterStor in hours. ClusterStor includes pre-installation of all internal software components, configuration of the integrated system, intensive system reliability testing and ships ready to go to work.

ClusterStor Manager is a comprehensive system management application that is part of ClusterStor's distributed management framework and is responsible for pulling everything together as a singly managed system. ClusterStor Manager consolidates management of the entire storage infrastructure, RAID data protection layer, operating system, and the Lustre file system into a single, easy-to-use, administrator interface. From initial installation, creation of file systems, ongoing monitoring and management, to expansion and software upgrades, ClusterStor Manager brings the entire storage cluster solution to a single pane of glass. This provides unprecedented system visibility to the Lustre system administrator.

"The ClusterStor 6000 is a truly next generation storage system developed to address the pervasive need for massively scalable storage systems within the HPC and broader Big Data market," said Ken Claffey, Xyratex Senior Director of the ClusterStor Business Line. "ClusterStor provides two levels of integration. The first combines file systems and RAID data protection onto our embedded server modules and the second consolidates these capabilities into our high density storage platform as a Scalable Storage Unit. These levels of integration enable linear scalability delivering 1TB/sec file system performance with 30% less power, and floor space of competitive systems. With the performance needed in many new applications, the legacy approach to HPC data storage doesn't work."

About Xyratex

Xyratex is a leading provider of data storage technology, including modular solutions for the enterprise data storage industry and hard disk drive (HDD) capital equipment for the HDD industry. Xyratex enterprise data storage platforms provide a range of advanced, scalable data storage solutions for the Original Equipment Manufacturer and High Performance Computing communities. As the largest capital equipment supplier to the HDD industry, Xyratex enables disk drive manufacturers and their component suppliers to meet today's technology and productivity requirements. Xyratex has over 25 years of experience in research and development relating to disk drives, storage systems and manufacturing process technology.

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Source: Xyratex Ltd

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