Ctera Networks Ltd. today expanded its line of hyperconverged platforms for distributed organizations with a new model that manages data across multiple clouds.

The Ctera X Series combines a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. SimpliVity processor with Ctera’s global file system to support edge storage with unified access across a corporate network.

The Israel-based company describes its products as “a private cloud IT-as-a-service platform for storing, syncing, sharing, protecting and governing data across endpoints, remote offices and servers.” It uses a global file system on top of cloud object storage to provide unified access to all data regardless of location.

The benefits of the hyperconverged approach include local de-duplication, a global namespace and the ability to consolidate file services and applications in a single gateway that synchronizes with the cloud, said Sabo Taylor Diab, vice president of global marketing.

In the the case of a branch office in which most data isn’t being accessed on a regular basis, said Chief Strategy Officer Oded Nagel, “we enable them to move most of that data to the cloud while still keeping the same security layer. They need access on demand but don’t need storage on the local server.” File de-duplication is performed at the edge and the de-duplicated data is uploaded to the cloud.

Ctera, which has raised $100 million from investors that include Cisco Systems Inc., sells a line of secure file servers that include encryption by default. The X series is at the high end of the company’s product line, with support for up to 5,000 users. The company also sells low-end edge file servers and virtual appliances.

The new X Series features server message block and network file system support for shares, applications, virtual desktop infrastructure and home folders and uses a managed VMware Inc. hypervisor. Frequently accessed data is stored on local flash drives, while infrequently accessed data is automatically migrated to the appropriate cloud destination defined by policies. All data is persisted synchronously across a pair of highly available local nodes and asynchronously replicated to offsite private cloud storage

The X Series Edge Filers come in a two-node cluster configuration, with options for nine or 12 SSD drives per node. Pricing begins at $100,000.

Photo: Unsplash