Data preservers need a data store and Spectra Logic plans to provide it, with movement from on-premises tape to disk and cloud object stores a benefit.
It has collaborated with the iRODS Consortium to provide an integration of its on-premises disk and AWS Glacier-compatible storage (Spectra Logic’s Vail) with object tape (Spectra Logic’s BlackPearl) and the iRODS data preservation software.
David Feller, Spectra Logic VP of product management and solutions engineering, said: “Organizations that need an on-prem Glacier tier will see many benefits with the interoperability between BlackPearl S3 and the iRODS data management platform. Organizations will be able to take full advantage of on-prem storage and the public, private and hybrid cloud by leveraging the Vail and iRODS integration.”
Terrell Russell, executive director of the iRODS Consortium, added: ”The combined Spectra Logic and iRODS solution will enable organisations that rely heavily on tape to archive petabytes of valuable digital data economically and efficiently in a Glacier-like tier.”
The Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS) is open source data management software for unstructured data, used by research, commercial, and governmental organizations worldwide. It makes use of a relational database to link unstructured data to metadata and external RDMSes are supported. The iRODS Consortium provides a production-ready iRODS distribution and professional integration services, training, and support.
An iRODS FAQ says: “iRODS is really the only platform for policy-managed data preservation. It does indeed virtualize storage, providing a global, logical namespace over heterogeneous types of storage, but it also allows you to enforce preservation policies at each storage location, no matter what client or access method is used. It also provides a global metadata catalog that is automatically maintained and reflects the application of your preservation policies, allowing audit and verification of your preservation policies.”
Spectra Logic is integrating its Vail and BlackPearl software with iRODS’ data management software. Vail software centralizes data management across on-premises and multi-cloud architectures, with on-demand data access, placement and storage within a single global namespace. BlackPearl is a hybrid flash/disk, front-end cache that stores files as objects on back-end tape devices. It says the iRODS integration unlocks multi-site and multi-cloud capabilities.
The iRODS integration with BlackPearl S3 allows organizations to use the performance and cost benefits of on-premises Glacier storage as disk or tape to access “cold” data and automate workflows, while the integration with Vail provides access to services across multiple clouds. The new functionality is available as part of the iRODS 4.2.11 release.
Fujifilm announced an integration between its Object Archive objects-on-tape software and the iRODS data management platform in November last year. Now iRODS members have an alternative choice.
