Dell Technologies has announced the release of Dell ObjectScale 1.3, including the ObjectScale XF960, an all-flash appliance. This new version aims to enhance object storage with features such as speed, sustainability, and security, said the company.
Object storage, increasingly used for high-growth workloads like analytics and generative AI, is evolving rapidly. Dell said its ObjectScale is a containerised object storage solution designed to meet the demands of modern applications. It offers a global namespace, S3 compatibility, high performance, and security.
The ObjectScale XF960 is built on Dell’s latest-generation PowerEdge server. This release emphasises flexibility and is positioned as a powerful object storage appliance. It is designed specifically for Kubernetes, marking a step forward in unstructured data management, particularly in AI applications, said the company.
ObjectScale version 1.3 is designed to offer scalability, supporting growth from current needs to petabytes and beyond. It provides different pricing models, suitable for various operational and capital expenditure preferences. The software-defined solution is targeted for data ingest at edge locations, while the XF960 is intended for data center operations. Combined with Starburst, it aims to create a scalable lakehouse architecture for on-premises and multi-cloud environments.
Two software-defined options are available for ObjectScale: a Software Bundle for deployment on an organisation’s infrastructure managed by Dell, and an As-an-Application option where Dell handles ObjectScale while customers deploy it on Red Hat OpenShift.
The ObjectScale XF960 is designed to meet the performance needs of AI, machine learning, analytics, and cloud-native applications. It leverages microservices and Kubernetes orchestration, offering high S3 compatibility. The appliance features full-stack NVMe connectivity, promising high data access and transfer speeds. It includes sustainability features like Smart Cooling technology and a Smart Flow chassis, aiming to optimize cooling and reduce waste and emissions.
Dell’s ObjectScale inherits its enterprise pedigree from Dell ECS. It is designed with a Zero Trust mindset, incorporating built-in security and data protection. The latest update introduces features for enhanced auditing, compliance, and protection against internal threats. These include new S3 bucket logging, enhanced S3 replication, and protection against rogue administrators through consensus-based protection and self-encrypting drives.
The company said that it aims to provide an experience similar to public cloud services, but with added operational control, performance, and security. The company manages the environment, including Kubernetes orchestration, allowing teams to focus on training new data sets and reducing development cycles.
