Quantum Intros Q-Cloud: Seamless Expansion From On-Prem Storage To Cloud

Quantum has started offering three new ways to tie cloud storage to its data protection appliances and software as part of a multitier, hybrid storage architecture.

Those three solutions, falling under Quantum's Q-Cloud moniker, are tied closely to Quantum's StorNext data management platform and streaming file system designed to work with large sets of files, said Dave Fredrick, senior product director for San Jose, Calif.-based Quantum.

In addition to being a file system, StorNext includes global namespace capabilities across disparate systems, a data move, policy-driven services, and multiprotocol capabilities, Fredrick told CRN

[Related: Quantum Acquires Symform, Plans To Bring Cloud-Based Backups To Enterprise]

"A lot of people don't think of StorNext as more than a file system," he said. "The new Q-Cloud solutions are waking people up to the possibilities."

Quantum this week also expanded its StorNext solution for high-performance object storage with the introduction of its new QXS-5600 with up to 336 TB of raw capacity in a 4U rack space.

Two of the new cloud solutions, Q-Cloud Archive and Q-Cloud Vault, work together with Quantum's Lattus family of online object storage appliances to extend its capabilities between private and public clouds, Fredrick said.

Q-Cloud Archive provides high-speed access to data stored long term on a public cloud, while Q-Cloud Vault offers lower-cost, slower "cold storage" for long-term data retention and disaster recovery in a public cloud, he said.

Both leverage Quantum's StorNext 5 capabilities and require no additional appliances or hardware. The data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, he said.

"Both offer an advantage over Amazon," he said. "StorNext retains the advantage of managing data while in the cloud and on-premises. And StorNext customers miss out on some of the risk of keeping data in the cloud. The data is moved according to customer policies. And they don't have to change their applications, workflow, hardware, or software. They just create a new policy to position the data to Q-Cloud Archive or Q-Cloud Vault."

The third solution, Q-Cloud Protect for AWS, provides for the replication of either a physical or virtual Quantum DXi data protection appliance that runs as a virtual DXi instance in the AWS cloud.

Quantum, with its Q-Cloud solutions, is providing a way for customers who have either fought the cloud or who think the cloud is the only answer to tie their existing storage infrastructures to the cloud, said Jason Kranitz, vice president of sales at Integrated Media Technologies (IMT), a North Hollywood, Calif.-based solution provider and Quantum channel partner.

While many vendors offer gateways to cloud storage, Quantum's Q-Cloud family offers a choice of how to get there, Kranitz told CRN.

"Quantum has traditional SAN and NAS store for on-premises working for customers now," he said. "They can push storage to different tiers including object storage and tape with Quantum's integrated data mover. And Quantum has probably the most robust portfolio to embrace the cloud. And it's all integrated in StorNext 5."

There's really no other solution that is as flexible as StorNext and Q-Cloud, Kranitz said. "Having a shared file system that can speak to all these technologies is important," he said.

PUBLISHED FEB. 13, 2015