ISILON'S SIXTH-GEN ONE FS SYSTEM AVAILABLE SOON
Randi Altman
June 29, 2010

ISILON'S SIXTH-GEN ONE FS SYSTEM AVAILABLE SOON

“We are going back to [a] single-file, single-management system delivering across many performance tiers, so our customers can manage content not storage,” emphasizes Isilon’s Lucas Welch. “With this simplified system you cut down on how much storage you actually have. The user just moves their storage to the appropriate tier, giving different applications you are using what they need.”
SmartPools allows users to put three storage performance tiers — I/O per sec., throughput and archive — into one system that is scalable over time, allowing the user to create a system that grows with the needs of the studio.
Using SmartPools with InsightIQ, the company’s new storage analytics app, administrators establish policy settings and criteria, and the system moves that data through the tiers all on its own. “It’s about making room and optimizing higher-cost storage,” says Welch, adding that InsightIQ can also be used individually as a single cluster or in concert with SmartPools.
Sony Imageworks in Culver City is taking advantage of this solution. “Sony Imageworks currently has the S- and X-series, but they needed to manually move data between them,” explains Welch. “With SmartPools they can make settings to work behind the scenes, optimizing their storage to meet the different application needs from a single point of management.”
Both solutions are available on July 30, with SmartPools ranging from $3,950 (lowest capacity) to $9,950 (highest capacity) a node and InsightIQ ranging from $1,950 (lowest capacity) a node to $3,850 (highest capacity) a node.