Back then, flash was not that prevalent. As a result, IBM combined disk and tape. They also felt that the system should decide which files to move between disk and tape. IBM got it right when they used two tiers!
Enter automated tiered storage
It wasn’t until 2005 that Compellent added intelligence to multi-tier storage. By 2012 both EMC and NetApp had introduced automated storage tiering. These vendors had algorithms that monitored the performance of a file (or part of a file) and automatically move it up or down the tiers to ensure optimal performance. Their multiple tiers ranged from an ultra performance tier using costly SSDs to a low performance, high capacity tier that used economical HDDs. Many vendors had complex tools that calculated how many SSDs and HDDs needed to be purchased to get optimal performance. Most customers found these tools to be opaque so they relied on the vendors to propose a solution, which becomes very expensive.
“Managing our in-house storage was requiring a lot of manual work. We were constantly having to monitor our data usage, having to put data onto external drives. Implementing our TrueNAS system really took a load off.” Henry Yeung, Systems Administrator, Discovia
Why spend more and get less?
TrueNAS does not require manual processes or costly multi-tiered storage or multiple short-stroked, high-performance drives to get the performance and capacity required. It uses hybrid storage that has two tiers, flash for performance and disk for capacity. TrueNAS uses significantly less flash than other vendors, without sacrificing the cost, performance and capacity required.
“Storage this powerful should have another zero in the price tag.” Terry Rataiczak, CEO, Kinetic Networking
TrueNAS uses TrueCache™, which combines the power of flash with the flexibility, simplicity and capacity of HDDs. TrueNAS and its hybrid storage technology provides high-availability, high-performance, feature-rich storage for a variety of business applications. With SAN and NAS in one appliance, as well as a wide variety of services and protocols, TrueNAS covers every use case. TrueNAS provides a reliable, fast, and easy-to-manage solution with a significantly lower cost for performance and capacity than legacy vendors. Hello, hybrid storage!
