Startup Launches Array Tuned for Unstructured, Structured Data
Startup Starboard Storage Systems today came out of quiet mode with its first product: a storage array that discerns between structured and unstructured data in order to tailor I/O performance. It's also designed for use in virtualized server environments.
Mon, February 13, 2012
Computerworld — Startup Starboard Storage Systems today came out of quiet mode with its first product: a storage array that discerns between structured and unstructured data in order to tailor I/O performance. It's also designed for use in virtualized server environments.
The AC72 Storage System has a modular design, which makes it possible to add to the base unit through expansion modules. The system is highly automated and, therefore, is being marketed at small and midsize enterprises with 50 to 5,000 employees, according to Karl Chen, chief marketing officer for Starboard. Chen said the company has already sold units to 30 customers.
The AC72 Storage System
Starboard's leadership is made up of former executives from other storage vendors, including HP StorageWorks, Storage Tek, Compellent, Xiotech and RelData. The company's chairman is Bill Chambers, the founder of LeftHand Networks, a maker of iSCSI storage arrays that was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2008 .
Starboard's storage array offers a single management console for both block and file data. Through what it calls its "Mixed Workload, Application Crafted Storage" section of the operating system, special software in the system's controller detects whether data is block or file-based. If file data is detected, it's sent to either 15,000-rpm or 7,200-rpm SAS hard drives. If it's block data, it's sent to solid-state drives for higher application performance. The AC72 controller has redundant, hot-swappable nodes for resiliency.
"The system ensures consistent performance amongst these different workloads," Chen said. "And, we don't charge for software based on capacity, so the bigger the system grows, the more cost effective it is."
Chen said system pricing works out to just under $1,000 per terabyte of capacity, regardless of the configuration.
The Starboard OS comes with thin provisioning capability -- meaning it serves up the capacity an application needs and no more -- along with data replication and snapshot capability.
Starboard offers several expansion card choices for high-speed connectivity, including 1GbE, 10Gbps Ethernet, and 8Gbps Fibre Channel; 6Gbps SAS is used for the expansion shelves.
The AC72's tiered architecture isn't markedly different from other arrays sold by EMC and NetApp, which use special software and multiple drive tiers to migrate data to the right hardware for optimum application performance. In fact, Chen said the AC72 will compete primarily against EMC's VNX 5000 series unified storage array and NetApp's FAS2000 and FAS3000 storage systems.
The difference between the vendors' systems is that the AC72 has twice the performance and comes in at half the cost, Chen said. It's also more fully automated, according to Lee Johns, vice president of product management.
