DataCore CEO Dave Zabrowski sees an opportunity in Arcastream to complement Software-Defined Storage (SDS). A parallel file system was still needed to complement block-based and object-based storage. We spoke with Zabrowski shortly before the acquisition was finalized. What will companies soon be able to do thanks to Arcastream’s technology?
Late last year, we wrote about DataCore’s market approach. Attracting Arcastream falls within that market approach, Zabrowski makes clear to us. The SDS vendor also calls this the DataCore.NEXT vision, which means as much as working on a universal storage portfolio. For this, all storage scenarios must be covered: block, object and file, and core (on-premises), cloud and edge.
Since Zabrowski became CEO of DataCore in 2018, the company’s priority has been expanding its products. To do so, they choose organic growth or an acquisition, depending on what makes sense in the given scenario. The traditional DataCore product, SANsymphony, involves a solid amount of R&D each year to provide optimal support for the most common block scenarios.
DataCore’s other tools generally took the path of acquisition. Before attracting Arcastream, these included Swarm, OpenEBS and AI+. Respectively, companies control S3 object storage, container-native storage and the connection of AI apps to storage infrastructure with these technologies. AI+ is still relatively new within DataCore. It is in the workflow to act as a data manager there.
Filling the gap with a parallel file system
Zabrowski indicates that DataCore.NEXT could still use a parallel file system. They started looking for that, which led to the acquisition of Arcastream. “It’s a very fast file system that complements our block- and object-based storage very well. It is intended for Tier 0 and Tier 1 workloads. So it’s very performant and has global namespace capabilities, which is common especially in the post-COVID world. Arcastream complements our existing portfolio. It allows us to complete the DataCore.NEXT vision, so we now have best-in-class products in our universal storage portfolio that covers from core to cloud to edge,” Zabrowski indicated in a conversation with Techzine.
The parallel file system offers high throughput, which is useful for the workloads DataCore plans to support. These are the two most performance-intensive and critical workloads. In addition to high throughputs, very low latency, high availability, and reliability are also desired. Tier 0 involves high-performance computing (HPC) and media, while Tier 1 is often related to enterprise and cloud applications.
According to Zabrowski, companies are increasingly considering moving workloads between environments. Therefore, additional support from the SDS vendor was desired. “We see a lot of workloads moving from the cloud back to the core or to the edge. And so we have our DataCore.NEXT vision to really have best-in-class products that cover the whole core-to-cloud-to-edge scenario. And that’s what this does: it gives us that high-speed performance file system.”
One product with multiple capabilities
The acquisition of Arcastream also shows a shift in DataCore’s approach to file storage. Those who have been using DataCore for some time might think that with vFilo, there is already what can be accomplished at the file level. When we asked Zabrowski about this, he indicated that vFilo was an OEM partnership tied to another collaboration. Exactly, that partnership had ended. With DataCore, Zabrowski preferred not to go down the path of partnerships and reselling again, but to get technology completely in-house. This allows the product to better blend into the broader SDS approach. With high-speed and performance-oriented requirements, they decided to partner with Arcastream.
The original Arcastream product was created by founders Barry Evans and Ben Leaver. Three years ago, they sold it to Kalray, and DataCore is now acquiring the file storage business back from Kalray. Zabrowski explains that this covers two main use cases underlying the same technology. There is the parallel file system aimed at media purposes, while it can also cover the IT market as a whole. The go-to-market strategy differs, but Zabrowski assures that the product is identical. In all scenarios, the product excels in supporting AI and HPC.
A nice detail: for HPC, Arcastream now has a strong partnership with Dell Technologies. The acquisition of Arcastream will thus undoubtedly affect the relationship between DataCore and Dell Technologies. Zabrowski indicates that they are now “competing in fairness,” also collaborating on different projects. So, it seems that relations will not change much in that regard. The Arcastream file storage solutions are offered through Dell’s HPC division, and DataCore expects this partnership to continue to grow.
Puzzle is finished
With the acquisition, DataCore completes a piece of the puzzle in its DataCore.NEXT vision. The vendor now envisions a best-in-class storage portfolio that spans the entire infrastructure, from core to cloud and edge. This enables companies to manage their most critical and performance-intensive workloads with a flexible, software-driven solution. The expansion with Arcastream strengthens DataCore’s position as a universal storage provider. It responds to companies’ growing need for efficient, scalable, high-performance storage solutions.