Data Backup Digest

Having made their presence known throughout nearly 30 years in the IT industry, Hitachi Data Systems, a subsidiary of Hitachi, specializes in consumer- and enterprise-level storage solutions. The currently offer their services to more than half of the companies listed in the Fortune 100 list and they're products are used in hundreds of countries around the globe.

While these achievements might be enough for the average IT firm, Hitachi Data Systems is anything but. Their recent release, the Hitachi Flash Storage system, is an all-flash, software-defined storage solution that offers greater power efficiency, improved workflow and increased data management functionality over comparable platforms by Pure Storage and EMC.

Miklos Sandorfi, vice president of Infrastructure Platforms, Solutions and Cloud with Hitachi Data Systems, described how the HFS rounds out their current line of products and services. He was quoted as saying: "Hitachi has delivered a full portfolio of optimised flash solutions bound together by a software-defined approach to storage infrastructure. This gives customers the ability to optimise solutions for a particular set of use cases while getting the power and efficiencies of common management, workflows and policies across their infrastructure."

The HFS is currently available in one of three different iterations. Officially known as Hitachi Flash Storage A series, current models include the A220, A250 and A270. These devices include a raw storage capacity of 16TB, 48TB and 96TB respectively. In addition, the HFS A series devices feature IOPS of 700,000, 900,000 and 1,000,000 respectively. Average response times clock in at around 1 millisecond.

Users who are interested in starting off small and possibly upgrading in the future will find the process is rather painless. The HFS A series of devices was designed to provide a non-disruptive upgrade. As such, the A220 is easily converted into an A250 and the A250 is quickly transformed into the A270. Rarely has an all-flash array system included such built-in and easy-to-use functionality.

Hitachi has also designed a brand new operating system, simply known as HFS Software, was designed specifically with the A series of devices in mind. The OS features integrated file compression, deduplication, replication, hard drive snapshots and encryption. Moreover, users have full control over the deduplication block size, which allows them to achieve optimal performance.

Finally, HFS Software even features a comprehensive suite of tools that can be used to manage daily workflow, ensure data protection and increase system efficiency as well as performance. While the platform is specifically targeted users who virtual devices on a regular basis, the system is great for anyone who wants an all-flash array that vastly outperforms its competitors.

As you can see, the team with Hitachi is making a huge leap forward with the release of the Hitachi Flash Storage platform. Not only does their direct competition need to take note, but the entire IT industry should keep their eye on Hitachi for future advancements and innovations. To find out more information about the Hitachi File System or about Hitachi Data Systems in general, please visit their official website at www.hds.com.