Spectra Launches Vail, A Distributed Multi-Cloud Software that Unifies Data to Enable On-Premises Applications and Cloud Services – No Matter Where Data is Created or Stored  

Spectra Logic, a global leader in data management and data storage solutions, today announced the transformation and expansion of its entire product portfolio with Attack Hardened™ and multi-cloud solutions. The introduction of Spectra’s Vail^® is a pivotal addition to Spectra’s new data storage and management ecosystem. Vail is a distributed multi-cloud software designed to provide universal access and placement of data across multi-site and multi-cloud storage, enabling seamless hybrid and multi-cloud workflows. 

The new portfolio also includes the expansion of the Spectra’s BlackPearl^® multi-purpose hybrid storage platform, which has offered capacity NAS and S3 to tape for over 10 years, and now includes a native S3 interface providing local on-premises S3-standard object storage using the same economical scale-up architecture. BlackPearl S3 enables bi-directional synchronisation of data between public cloud and on-premises storage. BlackPearl helps to protect data from external and internal threats with new Attack-Hardened features such as triggered snapshots, multi-factor authentication, encryption and virtual air gap for ransomware mitigation.

Additionally, Spectra Logic has fortified its entire suite of solutions, including its popular StorCycle^®Storage Lifecycle Management software, and its family of enterprise-class tape library solutions, against the impact of ransomware and other cyberthreats with the addition of innovative patent pending Attack-Hardened features that help protect customers from cyberattacks, and offer them improved business continuity through rapid restore of clean data after an attack.

“Our successful 40-year track record has led us to develop a new generation of data management and storage solutions for multi-cloud environments so that customers can take full advantage of the best aspects of on-premises applications and multiple cloud services with a single easy-to-use interface,” said Spectra Logic CEO Nathan Thompson. “And with the increase in global ransomware attacks, as well as Spectra’s success in prevailing against a malicious attack, we have added a host of Attack-Hardened features into our entire suite of solutions to enhance ransomware resiliency for our customers.” 

Spectra’s new data management and storage portfolio includes:  

Vail – Distributed Multi-Cloud Data Management – Any User, Any Data, Any Site, Any Cloud 

Hybrid cloud environments are putting huge strains on IT professionals who must manage and secure data in multiple clouds and on local storage in multiple sites. Spectra’s new distributed multi-cloud software, Vail, centralises data management across on-premises and multi-cloud architectures, enabling dynamic on-demand data access, placement and storage with a single global namespace.  

“Today, 92 percent of IT organisations are leveraging some public cloud services, yet most continue to maintain on-premises data centres for cost and data security reasons, to name a few,” said Scott Sinclair, ESG senior industry analyst. “This hybrid cloud architecture is often difficult to manage and protect without a solution such as Spectra’s Vail software, which can unify and safeguard an organisation’s data, no matter where the data is located, whether in the cloud, multi-clouds, or on premises in multiple sites, anywhere in the world.” 

Vail’s easy-to-use interface delivers effortless policy-based data orchestration that presents all data stored anywhere as a single pool of storage, streamlining workflows and reducing overall costs for organisations that want to leverage the power of the cloud without the hefty egress fees. With Vail, it does not matter where data is created or stored, whether in a public cloud, on-premises, a hybrid set-up or multi-cloud, because all files appear in their native format and are readily accessible and securely protected. Covered by multiple awarded and pending patents, Vail provides:

• A single name space for objects which may be located in multiple locations on varying storage types 
• Multi-directional data synchronisation across cloud(s) and on premises  
• Server-less cloud-based management and configurable policy engine to manage data across multiple clouds and on-premises sites with full consistency 
• Ability to migrate to the cloud or move between clouds to use the best services of particular clouds without cloud vendor lock-in  
• Egress optimisation for lowest cost and fastest data accessibility independent of data’s physical location 
• A secure, central repository for long-term data preservation and disaster recovery 
• On-Premises Glacier* storage using automated tape libraries 

BlackPearl – Affordable, Multi-Purpose and Scalable Backbone of any Hybrid Cloud Strategy 

Spectra’s BlackPearl Platform is a multi-purpose hybrid storage ecosystem that easily and cost effectively scales up as object and file volumes grow, adapts as operational requirements change, and enables easy synchronisation of data between on-premises and cloud storage. BlackPearl offers customers flexible storage that provides multiple types of media (cloud, disk, flash and tape). BlackPearl provides: 

• Scale-up NAS, and S3 storage combined to over 20PB in a single 42U rack with a combination of disk and flash for high performance  
• Support for native S3 protocols with patented BlackPearl S3 technology  
• Support for existing Spectra DS3 applications 
• Seamless support for On-Premises Glacier storage, including spin-down object storage disk and connectivity to automated tape  
• Replication to offsite storage and public cloud for disaster recovery 
• Bi-directional data synchronisation for automatic replication between on-premises storage and cloud  

StorCycle – Free Up Primary Storage and Migrate Data to the Right Storage Tier 

StorCycle Storage Lifecycle Management software helps organisations understand their data and migrate that data to the right tier of storage for cost-effective data access and preservation, as well as to optionally encrypt data to provide additional Attack-Hardened security. The latest StorCycle release (3.6) provides: 

• Ransomware Snapshots: Integrates directly with Spectra’s BlackPearl snapshot feature. When enabled, StorCycle initiates snapshots of BlackPearl volumes at the end of migrate jobs, and optionally maintains immutable read-only status of volumes, providing Attack-Hardened protection from network intrusions, such as ransomware attacks, by reducing accessible attack vectors.  
• BlackPearl Bucket Adoption: Allows users to configure an existing BlackPearl object storage system as a storage location, and automatically adopt the contents of the bucket into the StorCycle database. The objects remain in the bucket, but are available for StorCycle restorations. Bucket adoption enables existing BlackPearl customers to integrate StorCycle into their workflows for easy access to object or tape archive.   

Spectra^® Stack Tape Library – Simple, Scalable, Affordable Tape Storage  

Spectra Stack Tape Library is designed to be easily installed, expanded and managed, starting as a 6U library with 1 to 6 LTO tape drives and 10 to 80 LTO tape slots. The tape library is scalable from 10 to 560 tape slots and 1 to 42 tape drives. Spectra Stack Tape Library provides: 

• New Attack-Hardened features that include a cold partition that locks tapes so that they cannot be overwritten or loaded into a drive if ransomware takes control of the tape library itself 
• Traditional air gap protection as data can be stored on tape and away from the network  
• Now shipping with LTO-9 drives and media 

Availability
Vail and BlackPearl Platform enhancements will be available in November 2021. StorCycle 3.6 will be available in October 2021. Spectra Stack enhancements are currently available. Spectra’s full line of tape libraries will be adopting Attack-Hardened features in early 2022. 

“Spectra’s Vail solution raises the bar with the introduction of a new way to adopt and manage data silos, no matter where they are located, whether on-premises or in the cloud, providing unified access to dispersed data,” said Philippe Nicolas, analyst at Coldago Research. "It is a perfect illustration of U3--Universal, Unified and Ubiquitous – a concept that is driving exciting new product developments in the market."