DataDirect Networks
Optimizing Storage Infrastructure for High Performance

Building an efficient storage environment not only demands powerful tools and strategies, but also the right solution for that infrastructure. Unfortunately, the storage landscape is cluttered with traditional storage solutions that do not efficiently deliver a data-driven competitive edge and desired business results. Additionally, relatively flat budgets paired with an inability to leverage data strategically stands as a major concern for companies. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, DataDirect Networks (DDN) extensively addresses the challenges of extracting business value from data through storage and processing solutions with the highest levels of systems scalability, efficiency and simplicity. Deployed in thousands of mission critical environments worldwide, their customers include the world’s leading online content and social networking providers, high performance cloud and grid computing, life sciences, media production, and security and intelligence organizations.

With over 15 years of experience of delivering high performance storage to a range of industries, DDN provides end-to-end solutions that allow customers to optimize their storage infrastructure in a single technology platform. “At DDN, we leverage large number of user applications that drive the creation and delivery of data in a high performance manner,” says Molly Rector, Chief Marketing Officer of DDN. With a history of focus on high performance computing and research, the company believes in not only investing time with examining the internal systems, but also in working closely with partners to deliver the best solution possible for customers.

The company's solutions include the Storage Fusion Architecture® and Scaler platforms, which are scalable block storage and file systems appliances designed to deliver unprecedented IOPS and mas-sive throughput. DDN's solutions are powering many supercomputers used in different applications like advanced sci¬entific research initiatives. More recently, DDN is testing and preparing to launch its Infinite Memory Engine™ (IME), a burst buffer like technology. The IME software layer optimizes the connection between compute and storage by efficiently utilizing bandwidth and processors. DDN has designed IME by working closely with customers to understand their bottlenecks so they can more efficiently improve their performance.

In addition to their high performance file and block appliances, DDN also provides object storage solutions to support the massive scalability requirements of Big Data and secure cloud collaboration, file sharing and content distribution.

Web Object Scalar (WOS) is a comprehensive object storage platform designed to meet the robust requirements of unstructured data. WOS offers flexible configuration settings to make it the ideal solution for applications ranging from web origins and collaborative workflows to content delivery and active archives.

“Our differentiation comes from focusing on delivering the most efficient, scalable and highest performing storage platform,” says Molly. The company doesn’t aim to solve problems for general IT, like storage that used for exchange servers. Instead, they focus on optimizing and improving the environments that seek to derive value from data. As more Enterprises adopt Big Data and HPC infrastructures, DDN stays ahead in the competition through its dedication to innovating and developing storage technologies that helps customers leverage massive amounts of data.

DDN's solutions are powering many supercomputers used in different applications

Since its inception, major players across many industry verticals have used the company’s best-of-the-breed solutions and services. For example, a leading genomic research institute was facing challenges to support its diverse research community with a large-scale and high-throughput infrastructure. The institute also needed to support sequencing technological advancements that would create a surge in data volume. By implementing DDN’s SFA platform, the institute meets its current demands and keeps pace with advancements in sequencing technology. To accommodate for future data growth, the storage platform also scales seamlessly without the need for forklift upgrades.

Moving ahead, DDN aspires to bridge the compute-storage gap by introducing technologies that address the inefficiencies that exist between the two. The company aims to lower the cost of infrastructure, throughput and storage as data continues to grow at a significant pace. “Our focus is to continually push the limits of large scale storage technology to help every Enterprise extract maximum value from their data,” concludes Molly.