Primary Data Transforms Datacenter Architecture With Data Virtualization and Intelligent Data Mobility

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - November 19, 2014) - [DEMO Fall 2014 booth D10] -- Primary Data today emerged from stealth at DEMO Fall 2014, unveiling its platform that virtualizes data across a single global dataspace. Just as server virtualization decoupled compute from the underlying server infrastructure, the Primary Data virtualization platform decouples application data from the underlying storage infrastructure to bring dynamic data mobility to the enterprise for the first time. Data virtualization gives applications, servers, and clients the ability to transparently access data while it is intelligently migrated between direct-attached, network-attached, private and public cloud storage across a single global dataspace to deliver unprecedented manageability, performance, and efficiency.

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"Primary Data is a catalyst that makes the software-defined datacenter a reality," said Lance Smith, Primary Data chief executive officer. "By virtualizing data across a single global dataspace, enterprises can extract more performance from their infrastructure and easily scale with growth. Automated, policy-driven data placement enables IT to finally respond dynamically to business requirements in real time, delivering breakthrough agility that transforms today's datacenters."

"Enterprise applications and datasets require a wide range of performance and capacity, and those requirements change significantly over time," said David Flynn, Primary Data co-founder and chief technology officer. "Data virtualization is the inevitable next step for enterprise architectures, as it seamlessly integrates existing infrastructure and the full spectrum of specialized capabilities provided by ultra-performance and ultra-capacity storage resources."

Primary Data makes data virtualization possible by separating the metadata that describes files from the actual file data to allow universal access to data across all types and tiers of storage. An intelligent policy engine provides on-demand data placement, agnostic storage protocols deliver access across file, block and object stores, and a full complement of data services enable seamless linear scalability of both performance and capacity. By dynamically matching data demands and placement with storage supply, Primary Data helps IT professionals proactively meet application needs while simplifying manageability.

Initially available as an integrated platform, Primary Data makes it easy to add storage capacity and performance from third-party vendors when needed. Elements of the Primary Data virtualization platform include:

• Data Hypervisor: Virtualizes data by decoupling the access channel from the control channel. The Data Hypervisor makes clients protocol-agnostic and allows data to be transparently placed across third-party storage under a global dataspace.
• Data Director: A central management system that acts as a metadata server for the Data Hypervisor clients and provides policy definitions for data movement and placement.
• Policy Engine: Enables organizations to manage data independently of storage. User-defined policies automate data movement across all storage types based on the data's current performance, price, and protection needs.
• Global Dataspace: The Primary Data platform gives data administrators global visibility into all storage resources in the enterprise. Real-time policies dynamically migrate data between storage tiers as application and data demands change.

"SDS [software defined storage] abstracts storage capabilities dynamically derived from physical or virtual devices and/or services -- independent of location or class of storage -- which offers agility and delivers quality of service (QoS) while optimizing costs," wrote Dave Russell and Arun Chandrasekaran, Gartner Analysts. "While SDS is still largely a vision, it is a powerful notion that could revolutionize storage architectural approaches and storage consumption models over time."

Primary Data is currently working with early access partners who are interested in our data virtualization solutions. Pricing will be announced in 2015. To discuss the benefits of data virtualization for your enterprise, please contact Primary Data to schedule a meeting. Software engineers and IT industry professionals interested in joining Primary Data can review open positions at www.primarydata.com.

About Primary Data
Primary Data is developing data virtualization solutions that transform datacenter architectures by matching data demands with storage supply across a single global dataspace. With Primary Data, applications, servers, and clients gain the ability to transparently access data while it is intelligently migrated between direct-attached, network-attached, private and public cloud storage to deliver unprecedented manageability, performance, and efficiency. The Primary Data platform features an intelligent policy engine that automatically places data on the right resources across file, block, and object storage to meet evolving application requirements in real time. Visit us at www.primarydata.com or follow us on Twitter at @Primary_Data.