Data Backup Digest

Following an extended period of internal testing and development, Elastifile released their Elastifile Cloud File System, ECFS in 2016. Meant to compete with other cloud-based NAS services, including Microsoft Avere, the Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) and more – the team certainly has their work cut out for them.

Thankfully, they're not going at it alone. Thanks to a recent integration with Google Cloud, Elastifile joined their marketplace in 2018 as a software-as-a-service offering for enterprise users – and users are gobbling it up.

Introducing the Elastifile Cloud File System

Often referred to as ECFS, the platform uses a combination of commodity x86 servers and flash-based storage – via solid-state drives – to provide a hybrid IT experience. Each server is also equipped with basic virtual controller software to help allocate and manage storage space.

Perhaps even more importantly, ECFS was designed to address to common challenges of modern file systems – performance and scalability. Built at a "massive cloud-scale," ECFS supports thousands of servers – both on-premises and in remote locations – while maintaining a response time of mere milliseconds.

Andy Fenselau, vice president of marketing with Elastifile, said: "A file system is really the best and perhaps the only way to deliver on true hybrid IT without some crazy connectors and a very kluge process."

ECFS touts several additional key features, including:

- Hybrid cloud functionality with multi-zone, multi-region, and cross-cloud compatibility

- A bevy of extra tools and utilities, including drive snapshots, standardized protocols and more

- Various pricing options to match your exact needs

It's easy to see how ECFS can benefit you and your enterprise. While ECFS is currently available to some users via early access, it is slated for an official, full-scale roll-out in Q1 2019.

Joining the Google Cloud Marketplace

ECFS didn't only join the Google Cloud Marketplace – they've achieved full integration with the cloud-based hub. In technical terms, this means:

- The user interface, initial deployment and ongoing monitoring is all native to the Google Cloud Platform

- The system lets you provision turnkey file storage in a matter of minutes

- It accesses internal APIs from within the Google Cloud Platform

- It works across any Google Cloud Platform zone or region

- Since the service is combined with other offerings from Google, customers only receive a single bill

Not only does this make it easy to launch the
Elastifile Cloud File System from within the Google Cloud Platform, but it means that users will have the full support of Google as well as their cloud-based community when it comes to updates, troubleshooting and general service.

Elastifile's CEO, Erwan Menard, summarized the service by saying: "We take care of everything else for you. We set it up. We run it for you. It's a managed service with a fully integrated experience very close to what you already have."''

For more information on Elastifile, including further details on the Elastifile Cloud File System, or ECFS, please visit the company's official website at www.elastifile.com. To find out more about the Google Cloud Platform, please visit their official web portal at cloud.google.com.