Gluster Storage Platform: Open Source Scale-Out Storage

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Gluster Storage Platform

Open Source Scale-out Storage

Manage your unstructured data in a single global namespace on commodity hardware with the open source Gluster Storage Platform.

See what's new in Gluster Storage Platform 3.1.

Storage for the Modern Data Center and Cloud

Gluster Storage Platform is an open source scale-out storage solution. The software is a powerful and flexible solution that simplifies the task of managing unstructured file data whether you have a few terabytes of storage or multiple petabytes. As enterprises struggle with both the explosive growth of unstructured data and the accelerating virtualization of the computing environment, Gluster provides a solution ideally suited for on-premise NAS, storage for virtual machine images, and cloud storage.

The core of Gluster Storage Platform is the GlusterFS file system. The Storage Platform integrates GlusterFS with an operating systems layer and a graphical user interface (GUI) and installer. Gluster Storage Platform installs directly on any industry standard x64 server creating a fully functional storage server. GlusterFS may be deployed independently as a userspace application on supported operating systems for certain use cases or for access to advanced configuration options. Regardless of deployment method, Gluster is fully POSIX compliant and installs on industry standard hardware providing highly scalable, easy to use storage with the superior economics of commodity hardware plus open source software.

Deploying Gluster

Gluster is scale-out NAS for unstructured file data that is applicable to multiple use cases. GlusterFS is modular and can be configured and optimized for a wide range of workloads. The global namespace aggregates disk and memory into a single pool of resources with flexible back-end disk options, supporting direct attached, JBOD, or SAN storage. Storage servers can be added or removed without disruption to service enabling storage to grow or shrink on-the-fly in the most dynamic environments. Gluster solutions are often deployed in the following scenarios:

Scalable NAS: Gluster provides up to petabytes of file storage in a single namespace for data centers that need scalability and performance that traditional NAS and SAN systems can’t provide. Storage servers are added in building block fashion to meet capacity and performance requirements; compute, I/O and disk resources can be added independently. Gluster is a lower cost alternative to SAN storage, providing comparable reliability and performance at significantly lower cost.

Virtual Storage for Virtual Machines: Gluster is a scalable NAS solution, designed for file storage; Virtual Machine (VM) images are files that are efficiently stored on Gluster. With the ability to scale to petabytes and spread I/O across multiple storage servers, Gluster eliminates the primary problems that traditional VM storage solutions suffer from. Unlike SAN storage for VMs, Gluster provides a single mount-point that thousands of VMs can share offering simplified management and lower cost.

Cloud Storage: Gluster is well suited to both public and private clouds. Enterprises build centralized storage pools that are allocated on a per-volume basis to end user customers. Gluster easily deploys on public cloud platforms such as Amazon and Rackspace to aggregate block storage into a single pool that can be shared across many clients. Gluster is POSIX compliant so the interface abstracts cloud vendor APIs and applications do not need to be modified.

Dynamic Data Center and Cloud Environments

The data storage industry is evolving rapidly to address the explosive growth of unstructured data, the move to virtualize the entire data center, and the delivery of services from the cloud. In many areas storage virtualization technology lacks the maturity of server capabilities. As storage evolves it is transforming to reflect and resemble the compute infrastructure. Gluster addresses these emerging needs on multiple dimensions.

Virtualization – Gluster aggregates disk and memory resources into a single unified pool, abstracting the underlying hardware.

Multi-tenancy – With Gluster data is contained in logical volumes that are separate partitions allocated to different users or groups; volumes are centrally managed for efficiency.

Scale on Demand – Storage servers and disk capacity can be added or removed on-the-fly to address the need for capacity growth or changing workload conditions. Logical volumes can grow, shrink, or migrate across systems in the cluster with no downtime or service interruption.

Automation – Gluster includes an advanced console manager that merges the Command Line Interface (CLI), Application Programming Interface (API) and shell into a single powerful interface, enabling automation by giving the CLI higher level API’s and scripting capabilities.

Scale-out – Gluster treats storage as a software problem, leveraging industry standard hardware and providing the compelling economics of commodity hardware and open source software.

Learn More about Gluster Storage Platform

Read the Gluster Key Features and Benefits

via gluster.com