(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Cloud storage gateway provider Nasuni (www.nasuni.com) has partnered with Rackspace Hosting (www.rackspace.com) to radically simplify file storage by eliminating the intricacies of backup or needing to manage multiple storage tiers, offering Rackspace customers a simple, scalable and cost-effective online storage solution.
The Nasuni Filer is a virtual network-attached storage file server that uses the cloud to deliver primary storage and disaster recovery protection. According to Nasuni’s Tuesday announcement, Nasuni Filer will enable Rackspace customers to use Rackspace’s Cloud Files for their primary storage needs, extending the use of the cloud beyond backup and file archiving. The Nasuni Filer solution simplifies file access, storage and protection, while eliminating the expense of storage hardware and infrastructure expansion.
“We want to give our customers the widest selection of cloud storage providers and the ability to switch providers with ease and without incurring onerous fees,” Nasuni chief executive officer Andres Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our goal is to help establish a marketplace for storage as a service that encourages providers to provide the best levels of service at the best price for our customers.”
Making it possible for customers to combine multiple cloud providers, the Nasuni Filer bypasses the threat of vendor lock-in with the ability to migrate data from one cloud provider to another through a standard file system interface. Each customer receives their own credentials, ensuring end-to-end security, and separate storage usage metering. Nasuni absorbs the bandwidth charges making it possible for customers to move data among cloud vendors without incurring additional fees. The Nasuni Filer passed its initial beta testing stage in April, and is now available for download, allowing businesses to easily store data offsite for safety on the infrastructure of one or several cloud storage partners including Amazon Web Services, Iron Mountain, Nirvanix and Rackspace.
Because it provisions storage capacity automatically and includes high-performance caching for quick retrieval, it can be used as primary storage instead of or in combination with traditional file servers. It features synchronous snapshots, deduplication, and encryption plus key management for security. Those not ready for a complete transition to all-in-one cloud storage can use the Nasuni Filer for storing second copies offsite for disaster protection.
“We are continually searching for partnerships with well-established and respected cloud storage providers within the industry that are capable of meeting our high standards for performance and reliability,” Nasuni president Rob Mason said in a statement. “The official launch of a new cloud provider like Rackspace marks the end of a long cycle of integration and testing. All of our partners pass a rigorous set of availability and data integrity tests that we continue to run indefinitely. We have been working with the team at Rackspace to ensure that account creation is automatic and completely secure for our customers.”
