Intelligent Software Defined Storage

Scalable
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File
Object

Nexfs from Nexustorage can significantly reduce data risk and costs through united block, file, cloud and object storage technology.

Nexfs intelligent software-defined storage unites block, file, cloud, and object storage technologies, offering advanced data protection and automated data lifecycle management.

Nexfs combines up to three tiers of block, file, cloud and object storage into a massively scalable single pool of storage. Users and applications consume this single storage pool, leaving it to Nexfs to automatically place that data on the most appropriate storage tier. Data management is at the subfile level, meaning that different parts of the same file will often reside on different storage tiers best matching each part of a files real-time access profile.

Intelligent data placement is a core functionality of Nexfs. There is no need for additional tiering or archiving software. Data movements between storage tiers are transparent, yielding the best performance to cost ratio.

Nexustorage industry-leading technology allows block workloads, including the storage of live virtual machines operating systems, applications and data, mixed-in with everyday file workloads, to actively and cohesively consume cloud and object storage.

Data protection is a critical issue for every business. You can sleep better at night knowing that SmartProtect is built into Nexfs, helping to protect all your data from the risk of data loss by creating replicas of your data in cloud and object storage.

Existing File, Block, Object and Cloud storage technologies have their unique benefits and drawbacks, often requiring IT to select a technology based on the closet workload matching, resulting in solutions that do not best fit the use case, or add true value.

Unfortunately, while many other solutions have attempted to bridge the gap in storage technologies, most have failed in the field, adding cost, complexity.
 

What makes Nexfs is different? Instead of attempting to bridge the divide, Nexfs unites traditional block, file, cloud and object storage technologies, presenting a single feature-rich pool of storage. Nexfs delivers a unified intelligent, cost-effective, massively scalable data-lifecycle enabled storage solution.

As software-defined storage Nexfs offers flexibility, IT can configure and deploy storage systems their way; including a choice and type of hardware, be that physical, virtual, cloud, or hybrid.

Nexfs allows the flexibility to deploy on any industry-standard x86 server and disk hardware that matches performance, durability, and availability requirements.

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If there is no budget for new hardware, IT can utilise existing available hardware rather than buy new hardware, extending the life of existing storage assets.
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Software-Defined Storage helps avoid hardware lock-in and lowers the total cost of ownership compared with combined overpriced storage appliances.

Other storage systems tend to either move entire files to cloud and object storage

That method is slow and cumbersome, resulting in unhappy users and administrators. Often, third party systems are utilised as the "go-between" to forklift data between traditional storage and object storage, adding an extra layer of expense, complexity, latency, and risk. 

Intelligent data placement is a core functionality of Nexfs. There is no need for any middle man or for the business to endure slow file migrations. 

Nexfs supports up to three storage tiers.

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With the hottest data located on the highest performance tier, inactive data is relocated to cost-effective object or cloud storage.

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Non written data blocks are thin provisioned; that is, they do not consume physical storage or incur any storage cost.

Nexfs data migrations are transparent, occurring in the background, yielding a dependable performance to cost ratio of data. No longer is the data lifecycle limited to a file in its entirety.   

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Nexustorage recognises the value of data to an organisation and that it is not the prevailing access profile that is the primary measure of information value. Although data may not be frequently accessed, Nexustorage knows that it does not mean the information it contains has no value to a business. With Nexfs, less used data can be transparently moved to secure cost-effect Object or Cloud storage, freeing up higher performance primary storage for active data.

Data protection is a critical issue for every business.

Sleep better at night knowing that SmartProtect is built into Nexfs, when enabled, SmartProtect helps to protect data from the risk of data loss by automatically creating replicas of your data in cloud and object storage.

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​In the event of a primary storage failure, no data recovery required, reducing any downtime.

Nexfs presents a single intelligent pool of storage, combining the benefits of Traditional Block, Cloud, and Object Storage.

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No other third party software is required to act as the go-between your block and cloud or object storage; with Nexfs the technology is entrenched deep within its core.

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By self-managing the different storage tiers, Nexfs places variable-sized chunks of file data on different performing tiers of storage; unlike other solutions, complete files do not have to reside entirely on object or cloud storage. 

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Nexfs only retrieves or updates those bits of data requested or updated. This technology with Nexassert allows massive multi Terabyte sized files to be stored in the cloud or object storage and treated as though they resided on traditional block storage.

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Nexfs intelligently places parts of files on the most cost-effective available storage performance matching demanded performance!

With Nexfs, inactive data does not hog your expensive primary storage when only a small amount of that data is in use. There is no longer a delay in serving the requested bytes of a large file that sits in Cloud or Object Storage. Whole files are not demigrated to primary storage when only a small part needs updating!  

Nexassert removes the Achilles-Heel of many existing solutions allowing Nexfs to directly locate and access data belonging to a single file that resides on different storage classes without maintaining a separate index or manifest.

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Those location indexes introduced an unnecessary risk of data loss, as well as becoming a performance bottleneck. Nexassert removes that risk and bottleneck.

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Have you heard that block-style workloads are not compatible with Object and Cloud storage?

Well, that is what many storage vendors would like you to believe. Why?  They have not made it work. Their storage systems were designed without consideration for block-on-object, and without a significant and expensive redesign to modernize their technology for them, it will not work.

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We at Nexustorage set out to create a system that embraced both block and object within its core; moreover, they were the first workloads that we tested.

With Nexfs, you can store, run, clone, archive VMs, and many other block and file workloads with your choice compatible S3 Cloud and Object storage.
 

Nexfs offers an underlying filesystem, which can be presented using common software and standard file, block, object and cloud storage protocols.

Tested protocols  include:

• Block:    iSCSI

• File: SMB/CIFS, NFS v3/4

• Object/Cloud: S3 API 

Unlike many of today's storage vendors, we want our software to be accessible. We are making the core community edition of Nexfs freely available, offering real value to everyone, not only those from whom we will benefit financially.

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Free does not mean unreliable or untrustworthy; in fact, quite the opposite; it represents our confidence in our product and the value it offers.

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No more limited-time evaluation licenses, demo access to pre-configured limited access systems, no more pre-evaluation plans, and no more salespeople harassing you daily. Download our software, play with it, use it in production, ask questions; our core functionality community edition is free after all.

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While the software is free, it does not mean we don't stand behind it. And while we cannot provide free commercial support, keep watching this space; we will soon offer options for subscription-based SLA backed support as well.

• Nexfs community edition is free

• Nexfs can be up and running in minutes

• Access a single integrated multi-tiered pool of Block+File+Object/Cloud storage

• Nexassert (Patent Pending) removes the Achilles-Heel of maintaining data location indexes

• Can dynamically reduce expensive traditional storage costs

• Provides block file access to cloud and object storage

• Boot and run Microsoft Windows and Linux servers that reside in cloud and object storage

• An iSCSI block interface to cloud and object storage

• Enables small data changes to large data objects/cloud files

• Enables object storage to work as an effective file-based backup responsivity

• Smart Integrated backup (Comming soon)