An Object Storage Revolution: Higher Performance and Flexible Deployments

ECS introduces the all-flash EXF900 to power modern workloads--AI, machine learning, analytics and cloud-native applications.

Introducing the ECS 3.6 & EXF900

The traditional view of block as fast, file as ubiquitous and object as slow, cheap and deep is changing as the massive growth of unstructured data raises the potential of high-performance storage for object-based applications. Organizations are realizing the advantages object offers—scalability, flexibility, API-driven cloud-native architectures—when combined with high performance all-flash media, can support their most data-hungry workloads. The object storage market is primed for a revolution.

That’s why we are introducing a new appliance to the Dell EMC ECS EX-Series lineup: the EXF900.

Built with NVMe-based SSDs on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, the EXF900 appliance delivers extreme performance at scale for modern workloads such as AI, machine learning, IoT, analytics and cloud-native applications. The EXF900 also embraces the NVMeOF (non-volatile memory express over fabrics) protocol for its backend network, accelerating node-to-node communication and unlocking the true potential of the all-flash system’s throughput rate, especially in large scale deployments. According to our recent benchmarking tests, we’re seeing 21x performance improvements* and 19x higher transactions per second (TPS)** when compared to our capacity optimized EX300 appliances!

We believe the EXF900 is going to drive new opportunities and greater business agility for our customers. Michael Holm, Director of Product Development for Cloudist feels the same, suggesting:

“The new, all-flash EXF900 appliance from Dell EMC is going to unlock new use cases for our organization. With NVMe drives we can deliver even more performance from our ECS clusters to support our customers’ analytics initiatives. We are looking forward to this high-performance appliance and believe it will have a significant impact on our business.”

Beyond our supercharged appliance, we have also added new capabilities to the ECS software including:

  • Object cloning: This new feature enables high-speed object cloning and fan-out writes by implementing a fan-out API specification. Essentially, ECS enables a single request to write or copy thousands of private copies on the backend, reducing client-side processing, server-side processing and network load. This capability is ideal for media and entertainment workloads such as Cloud DVR.
  • Security admin role: We’ve also introduced a way for organizations to grant specific usage rights and privileges to security administrators to better protect data. This feature integrates with existing Active Directory/LDAP permissions, making for easy adoption and implementation.
  • Security API: ECS version 3.6 also surfaces a new API to automate the reporting of system security settings. This API makes it simple to integrate ECS with existing monitoring and data protection solutions for improved security across the board.

Please visit the ECS website for additional information and resources.

In case you missed it, we recently announced our latest venture in the software-defined object storage space with ObjectScale—currently in Early Access. ObjectScale is a new scale-out object storage software built from the ground up to take advantage of Kubernetes’ native deployment automation, scaling and management capabilities. At launch, ObjectScale will empower organizations to deploy the software on their platform of choice alongside the full spectrum of ECS appliances, making ObjectScale an ideal solution for edge environments in addition to the traditional data center. Together, ObjectScale and ECS will deliver an even richer object storage portfolio without compromise.

*Based on Dell Technologies internal analysis comparing the max bandwidth of the ECS EXF900 (511 MB/s) to the max bandwidth of the ECS EX300 (24 MB/s) for 10KB writes, November 2020. Actual performance will vary.

**Based on Dell Technologies internal analysis comparing transactions per second (TPS) of the ECS EXF900 (49,915 files/s) to the TPS of the ECS EX300 (2551 files/s) for 10KB writes, November 2020. Actual performance will vary.

About the Author: Tony Yakovich

Tony Yakovich joined the Dell Technologies team as a Product Marketing Manager for ECS in 2018. Tony brings 7+ years of experience to the role and graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Western Washington University. In his free time, Tony likes to follow current events and spend copious time with his two cats.