* Isilon allows storage systems to scale to 1.6PB
Isilon last week bolstered its clustered storage environment with the release of two products that allow its storage systems to scale to as much as 1.6PB of capacity in a single file system and single volume.
Targeting the near-line archiving market, the company introduced the IQ 12000 and EX12000. The IQ series appliances allow the cluster to scale by performance; the EX allows scaling by capacity.
The nodes use 1TB Hitachi drives and allow users to pack 12TB of storage into a 2U (3.5-inch) high form factor. With these systems, customers can create 250TB clusters in a standard rack configuration. Each IQ 12000 and EX 12000 node contains 12 1TB Serial ATA II drives.
Isilon’s systems can be added or removed from the cluster as needed, allowing ‘pay as you grow’ scalablity. Isilon nodes use the OneFS operating system, which allows capacity and performance scaling to occur in lockstep configuration.
The company’s FlexProtect-AP software lets customers protect their cluster and allow as many of four simultaneous failures to occur without loss of data. If a drive fails, the OneFS file system can rebuild a 1TB drive in less than three hours, according to company claims.
Increased scalability is important as the amount of data in the network grows. Being able to manage that data under a single volume and file system is also important.
Isilon faces increased competition from vendors such as Network Appliance and EMC, which has acknowledged that it will be entering the clustered storage market next year. HP, which earlier this year acquired PolyServe, also represents competition for Isilon.
The IQ 12000 costs $47,250 per node for a minimum five-node cluster; the EX 12000 costs $29,250.
