The Symphony unstructured data estate data manager from Panzura has extended its reach into IBM Storage Deep Archive territory, integrating it with S3-accessed Diamondback tape libraries.
Symphony is Panzura’s software for discovering and managing exabyte-scale unstructured data sets, featuring scanning, tiering, migration, and risk and compliance analysis. It is complementary to Panzura’s original and core CloudFS hybrid cloud file services offering supporting large-scale multi-site workflows and collaboration using active, not archived, data. The IBM Storage Deep Archive is a Diamondback TS6000 tape library, storing up to 27 PB of LTO-9 data in a single rack with 16.1 TB/hour (4.47 GBps) performance. It’s equipped with an S3-accessible front end, similar to the file-based LTFS.
Sundar Kanthadai, Panzura CTO, stated that this Panzura-IBM offering “addresses surging cold data volumes and escalating cloud fees by combining smart data management with ultra-low-cost on-premises storage, all within a compact footprint.”
Panzura Product SVP Mike Harvey added: “This integration allows technologists to escape the trap of unpredictable access fees and egress sticker shock.”
The Symphony-Deep Archive uses S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval storage classes to “completely automate data transfers to tape.” Use Symphony to scan an online unstructured data estate and move metadata-tagged cold data to the IBM tape library to free up SSD and HDD storage capacity while keeping the data on-prem. Symphony’s data catalog gets embedded file metadata automatically added. It’s searchable, with more than 500 data types, and accessible via API and Java Database Connectivity requests.
Specific file recall and deletion activity can be automated through policy settings.
Panzura’s Symphony can access more than 400 file formats via a deal with GRAU Data for its Metadata Hub software. It is already integrated with IBM’s Fusion Data Catalog, which provides unified metadata management and insights for heterogeneous unstructured data, on-premises and in the cloud, and Storage Fusion. IBM Storage Fusion is a containerized solution derived from Spectrum Scale and Spectrum Protect data protection.
According to IBM, Deep Archive is much more affordable than public cloud alternatives, “offering object storage for cold data at up to 83 percent lower cost than other service providers, and importantly, with zero recall fees.”
Panzura says the IBM Deep Archive-Symphony deal is “particularly crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads,” because it can make archived data accessible to AI model training and inference workloads.
It claims the Symphony IBM Deep Archive integration enables users to streamline data archiving processes and “significantly reduce cloud and on-premises storage expenses.” The combined offering is available immediately.
