VAST Data is adding support for block access and Apache Kafka APIs to its proprietary Data Platform. This extension makes the platform suitable for both block storage and event streams.
Block Access over NVMe (or NVMe over TCP – Block Access) supports large VAST clusters. Up to 32,000 NVMe subsystems (virtual arrays) and up to one million volume elements and hosts are supported.
Enabling block access is relatively simple: an admin need only set up a Virtual IP Address pool and then create a view with block protocols enabled. From then on, an NVMe subsystem is active within which logical volumes can be created. “Robert is your father’s brother,” as VAST Data puts it.
Further expansion
The expansion of the VAST Data Platform builds on previous innovations, such as in the areas of RAG and AI inferencing. In October, for example, InsightEngine arrived as an addition to the offering, which is spread across the VAST DataStore, DataBase, Data Platform and DataEngine. That’s quite a few, and we encourage anyone not already too familiar with VAST Data to check out our comprehensive October article explaining all of these solutions:
Read more: VAST Further Expands Data Platform: InsightEngine makes all RAG data available in real time
Event broker
New event broker functionality has been added to VAST DataEngine. It enables organizations to respond immediately to incoming data. This is especially relevant for real-time AI applications and automation purposes. According to VAST Data, the event broker offers more than ten times better performance than traditional Kafka implementations, with the ability to process more than 500 million messages per second.
With the integration of Apache Kafka support, VAST Data combines event streaming, analytics and AI in a single platform. Co-founder Jeff Denworth states that with this, his company is eliminating “decades of data pipeline inefficiencies and event streaming complexity.”
With this update, VAST Data consolidates block, file, object, tabular and streaming storage into a single system. The certified infrastructure provides enterprise features such as snapshots, replication, multi-tenancy and role-based access control for all access methods.
Comprehensive security and multi-tenancy
In addition to the new protocols, VAST Data has also expanded its security offering with support for Fortinix and HashiCorp enterprise key managers. In addition, multi-tenancy functionality has been enhanced, allowing tenant managers to now access the VAST GUI and dashboards.