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Introducing the Latest Release of Dell ObjectScale: Unleash the Power of Object Storage
Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:49:26 -0000
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Get ready to embark on a revolutionary storage journey as Dell introduces the latest release of Dell ObjectScale 1.3.0. This cutting-edge object storage solution is redefining the possibilities of enterprise-class storage, showcasing Dell Technologies' unwavering commitment to reliability, high performance, and scalability. With its software-defined and containerized architecture seamlessly integrated within Kubernetes, ObjectScale empowers organizations to adapt swiftly to the ever-evolving business landscape.
New Features in ObjectScale 1.3
The latest release of ObjectScale 1.3 introduces a range of innovative features and enhancements that make significant strides in advancing the field of enterprise object storage solutions.
New deployment option with the powerful ObjectScale Hardware Appliance
ObjectScale can now be deployed on the newly introduced ObjectScale XF960 All Flash Array appliance. The Dell ObjectScale XF960 is an advanced, scale-out object storage solution tailored for enterprise applications and modern workloads like Generative AI and analytics. It enables accelerated innovation with fully managed Kubernetes, robust S3 compatibility supported by the latest generation of PowerEdge's all-flash performance, power/cooling efficiencies, and comprehensive ObjectScale security measures, including consensus-based protection and SED drives.
The XF960 configuration includes the following features:
- A compact 2U form factor
- Dual Intel Processors with 32 cores per processor
- 256GB of memory
- 24 NVMe TLC 30.72TB drives (for the initial release)
- Dual mirrored boot drives for redundancy
- Network connectivity with 100Gb Back-end and 25Gb Front-end speeds.
The XF960 offers hardware alerting features that empower customers or services to address any arising issues proactively or reactively. These alerts are presented on the ObjectScale Portal interface, ensuring prompt action is taken to resolve potential hardware-related concerns.
Object Lock without versioning
Object Lock serves as a protective measure against inadvertent deletions and unintended overwrites. In the S3 protocol, enabling Object Lock requires the presence of versioning. When Object Lock is enabled alongside versioning, it adheres to the standard S3 protocol, applying locking capabilities to individual object versions, each capable of having a distinct lock type.
With the introduction of ObjectScale 1.3, ObjectScale extensions expand the scope of the conventional S3 protocol. This expansion allows for Object Lock to be applied at the bucket level, even in the absence of versioning. Enabling Object Lock without versioning causes the Object Lock functionality to operate at the bucket level rather than on versions of the bucket. Consequently, overwrite and delete operations are effectively prevented.
Efficient handling of large objects
ObjectScale facilitates the seamless uploading of large objects through the multipart upload (MPU) process using the S3 protocol. MPU enables the construction of large objects from smaller parts that can be uploaded at any time and in any order.
With the introduction of ObjectScale 1.3, significant enhancements have been made to improve efficiency, reduce timeouts, and optimize memory usage during MPU processing. Replicated objects can now reach a size of up to 50TiB, with support for up to 50,000 parts.
Bucket Logging capability
Bucket Logging is a beneficial feature that systematically captures all requests directed to a source bucket and archives them in a designated target bucket using a consistent format. This feature can be easily configured either through the intuitive ObjectScale Portal user interface or the powerful S3 API. Moreover, this feature offers support for prefixes on the log objects generated in the target bucket, facilitating clear differentiation between source buckets when multiple buckets are logging to the same target. The logs are meticulously organized in a fixed format within the target bucket, with each object precisely indicating the time of delivery.
ObjectScale replication failure alert and Delete Marker replication
In the event of an object replication failure, an alert is automatically generated, furnishing administrators with a comprehensive error code and a detailed description of the failure to facilitate problem resolution. Moreover, the release encompasses the inclusion of the Delete Marker replication setting in the destination bucket, thereby ensuring consistency between the source and destination buckets while promoting space efficiency through space reclamation.
Security: Optional protection features
To fortify the security of the object environment, ObjectScale 1.3 incorporates a range of optional features:
- Privileged Actions Approval System (PAAS): This workflow-based system mandates approval from a secondary management user before executing high-risk management actions. Its purpose is to prevent any single user from obtaining unrestricted privileges and bypassing security controls.
- Platform Protection Mode: This feature places the ObjectScale system in a lockdown mode, providing robust protection to the platform configuration and infrastructure against alterations by malicious actors. Any predefined configuration action or operating system access requires approval through PAAS. Authorized users can obtain tokens that permit them to open a SSH shell while SSH sessions are prohibited otherwise.
- Account Protection Mode: This mode protects data by enforcing approvals through PAAS for certain predefined data access, account configuration, and bucket configuration changes. It is implemented as a configuration setting on an IAM account and operates on a per-account basis.
ObjectScale Portal user interface enhancements
The latest release brings forth several enhancements to the user interface, encompassing:
- Timeframe Filters now accessible on the ObjectScale and Object Store dashboards
- The ObjectScale Portal application divided into multi-frontend applications, enabling the development of future features seamlessly
- Password change notifications now displayed in days
- Successful login now showcases the user's last login time on the dashboard
- All active user sessions can be viewed and closed, applicable to management users, users from external authorization providers, and approver entity users
- A Performance Monitoring Dashboard exhibiting performance charts for latency, bandwidth, throughput, requests by response codes, and requests by request type methods (Get, Post, Put, Delete, and Head)
Improved storage efficiency
Enhancing space efficiency involves refining the process of space reclamation, thereby reducing the portion of capacity occupied by garage data and its associated metadata. This empowers customers to more accurately estimate their capacity requirements based on actual data needs, fostering a more sophisticated and intellectually driven approach.
SNMP integration
ObjectScale alerts and events can be conveniently accessed via the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and logged externally to a centralized server, allowing for a comprehensive system management approach. Customers have the flexibility to configure SNMP through the ObjectScale Portal user interface as well as the REST API, enhancing their control over the system.
Conclusion
Dell ObjectScale offers a sophisticated solution for deploying and managing enterprise-grade object storage. With its well-designed architecture, robust protective features, and seamless integration with Kubernetes, it presents a compelling option for organizations in pursuit of flexibility, scalability, performance, and security in their object storage solutions.
Author: Cris Banson