HPE unveils a new storage initiative

HP Enterprise this week introduced what it calls “the future of storage,” an array of new hardware and software supported and sold through its GreenLake service that leases hardware on a consumption basis.

HPE’s new Alletra Storage MP platforms are attached to an NVMe data fabric, delivering file or block storage using a controller that can be configured for either performance or capacity, HPE said. It breaks down into two service categories: HPE GreenLake for Block Storage, which HPE promises scale-out block storage with a 100% data-availability guarantee, and HPE GreenLake for File Storage, which HPE claims will offer hundreds of gigabytes per second of throughput.

“So we’re building the future of storage,” said Patrick Osborne, senior vice president and general manager of Cloud and Data Infrastructure Platforms at HPE. “We’re bringing to market the next generation of hybrid-cloud data services designed specifically for customers that are taking that data-first modernization journey. They want to store, manage, and protect data for all workloads, wherever their data lives, on this one unified platform.”

HPE GreenLake for File Storage is designed for NFS cloud-native applications and uses an AI-based scale-out storage-oriented OS from Vast Data that is designed to provide accelerated application performance.

HPE GreenLake for Block Storage provides what HPE calls “first-in-class” block storage in a consumption model that provides 66% better price performance than prior offerings. With the disaggregated architecture of Alletra Storage MP, more drives can be added to provide more capacity without manual provisioning.

The HPE Alletra Storage MP architecture is managed by Cloud Control, a data-management control panel that can be accessed either via a console or a remote device like a tablet.

“From a user perspective, the majority of our customers are moving to a cloud operational model,” said Omer Asad, senior vice president and general manager of the HPE Data Infrastructure and SaaS Platforms business. “The HPE GreenLake platform gives them a very, very simple pane of glass to manage across their architecture.”

New backup and recovery functionality

HPE is also offering integrated hybrid-cloud data protection with a new HPE GreenLake for Disaster Recovery service and HPE GreenLake for Backup and Recovery. Those services are integrated directly into GreenLake, said Osborne.

HPE is expanding its GreenLake Backup and Recovery service, introduced last fall, to offer cloud-native backup capabilities as well as disaster recovery. The SaaS-based disaster recovery component comes from Zerto, a company HPE acquired two years ago.

HPE said its disaster-recovery platform automatically discovers data sources and destinations and configures itself based on the availability characteristics of the environment.

In addition, HPE is expanding its VMware backup capabilities by adding SQL backups to the same environment. It automatically discovers network infrastructure and backs it up.