Symantec Corp. today released FileStore, a storage platform for delivering storage and online backup services via a private or public cloud infrastructure.
Jeff Reed, director of product management for Symantec’s server and storage management group, said FileStore is a solution for businesses and for service providers who want to offer services to their customers. The value proposition of Symantec FileStore is around performance, availability, scalability and a competitive price, Reed said.
The solution is delivered as a soft appliance on a DVD, which is comprised of Symantec FileStore technology and an embedded operating system. This delivery method enables an easy deployment and installation process for channel partners, Reed added.
“Symantec FileStore is a new product family and we’ve optimized it for file serving and managing and protecting critical information,” he said. “Customers will want an integrated solution, so we provide the software and our channel partners can go in and also deliver different backup, security and hardware solutions and package that together too.”
FileStore integrates natively with Symantec’s existing solutions such as Symantec NetBackup, Symantec Enterprise Vault and Symantec Endpoint Protection. When using FileStore, these services run on storage nodes. One FileStore system can support up to 16 storage nodes with up to 2PB of total storage. The solution is built to be linear, so if a customer wants to add more performance, they can add a new node. This linear scale, combined with the storage capacity, makes the solution great for growing businesses who want to scale out their cloud infrastructure, Reed said.
Reed said Symantec recommends two CPUs for most environments that are starting with two node on FileStore. So if a customer had 16 nodes, they’re recommended to use it with 32 CPUs, he explained.
The solution is designed to work in almost any type of environment and across many verticals, making it a viable partner and customer opportunity, Reed said.
Symantec FileStore is now available at a price point of US$6,995 for two nodes and two CPU sockets.
Coming out next year, Reed says the will introduce a solution, which is currently codenamed “S4,” which will target larger enterprise environments. This solution, he says, will have massive scale and the ability to deal with multiple billions of files. But for now, Reed says partners and end-users can use Symantec FileStore since it’s now available in the market.
