Universal Software-Defined Storage (SDS) – A Better Way to Manage Your Storage Infrastructure

What is SDS? So, just what we need, another acronym.  Right? But what we do need is a way to manage storage software separately from the underlying hardware. That’s SDS — Software Defined Storage.  

It’s a relatively new term that is being bandied about a lot lately, and not everyone uses it exactly the same. However, the simplest and most basic definition is that SDS decouples storage software from the hardware where data lives to achieve continuous availability, faster performance, higher efficiency, unlimited scalability, and reduced costs.

Big data is driving the market place to embrace SDS. In 2013, the total amount of data in the world was 4.4 zettabytes. By 2020, the total amount of global data will grow 10 times and rise to 44 zettabytes, doubling every two years. This growth is driven by the increasing number of people using digital devices, the growing number of companies doing business online, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Moreover, these days, more and more companies are putting their data up in the cloud — that’s where all your analytics and big data, marketing content, website content, databases and applications, backups, videos, images, and whatever else can be digitized is headed because it is cheaper and safer than on-site servers. Which is why the cloud storage market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 25.8% from 2016 to 2021 — from US$ 23.76 billion in 2016 to US$ 74.94 billion.

All this data has to be stored, managed and protected. The better all this is done, the better an organization can provide its services and products.  SDS is the more cost-efficient and flexible means to achieve better storage management.

With the explosion of data, every company needs storage, every company needs to store everything, and every company will always need more storage.

Right now there are a lot of “flavors” of SDS out there as the types of technologies that support SDS are continuously expanding.  For example, vendors such as Acronis offers a Universal SDS Solution. What’s the difference between an SDS solution and a Universal SDS solution? Many vendors offer SDS solutions that only satisfy selected use cases and workloads. A Universal SDS Solution is architected to satisfy all use cases and workloads. More specifically, a Universal SDS solution:

1. Implements  file, block, and object storage  in a single solution to store any kind of data: Block storage, such as hard disk drives (HDDs) to store virtual infrastructures and databases Shared file storage for file share, backups, virtual infrastructures, and shared hosting Object storage for backups, application storage, static web content hosting, online services storage, and big data
2. Supports any interface including iSCSI, Network File System (NFS), SMB connector, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) interface, and Backup API to provide flexibility and meet your specific needs
3. Provides support for any type of workload: Hot storage for quick access to mission-critical data such as production application data on physical and virtual machines, databases, and file sync and share (FSS) data Cold storage to store inactive data such as backups for data protection and disaster recovery purposes, and images Object storage such as Open-Xchange data, web hosting data, and big data

Both small or large organizations have diverse IT environments and are challenged to support growing volumes and types of data. If this is the case with your organization, you want to choose a Universal Software-defined Storage solution that can efficiently store any data and support any interface and type of workload.

Acronis Storage is a Universal SDS solution that delivers on the promise for fast, universal, safe, efficient and proven storage that manages any data, any interface, and any workload. Looking for a feature-rich storage service that eliminates expensive brand-name storage hardware, and delivers lower TCO associated with complex storage management? Sure you are! It’s a universal need for just about any organization.

To learn more about the new features of Acronis Storage, go to http://www.acronis.com/en-us/provider/software-storage/