F5 extends power of intelligent automated storage tiering to cloud

F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), today announced major enhancements to its Data Solutions portfolio, including the ARX Cloud Extender solution, which supports a variety of cloud storage providers and object storage platforms; an ARX Virtual Edition (VE) appliance, which delivers the power of ARX as a flexible virtual machine; and the F5 iControl file services solution, which provides an open storage management API.

These enhancements help customers seamlessly extend the file storage infrastructure from the data centre to the cloud, accelerate their return on investment for intelligent automated storage tiering, and provide more flexible deployment options for F5 Data Solutions.

As a strategic point of control in the file storage infrastructure, ARX and its intelligent file services enable customers and third-party vendors to create more powerful and granular file data management policies to improve business operations and reduce costs.

“The real problem for organisations isn't just that the volumes of information keep expanding rapidly, it's that they need to continually improve the way this information is classified and organised,” said Richard Villars, Vice-President of Storage and IT Executive Strategies at IDC. “Solutions like F5's open API for the ARX platform make it easier for storage systems partners and customers to design and implement information management solutions that reduce costs, boost performance, and better monetise information assets.”

“F5's API initiative for ARX will enable our partners and customers to realise the same kinds of benefits that our iControl API has long provided on the network side for BIGIP Application Delivery Controllers,” said Kathleen Ferraro, VP of Data Solutions Product Management and Marketing at F5. “iControl offers direct access to the power of F5's Application Delivery Controllers, enhancing their value as strategic points of control in the IT infrastructure. In the same way that it has changed the game in Application Delivery Networking, it will change the game in storage.”

Highlights of the new ARX capabilities include:

* Support for cloud storage - F5 has extended ARX's intelligent, automated storage tiering capabilities to support cloud storage services, making it easier for companies to seamlessly integrate cloud storage into an existing infrastructure.
* Virtual platform - With the introduction of ARX VE, the solution will be available as a virtual appliance in addition to physical, hardware-based offerings.
* iControl File Services API - F5's iControl file services API allows software vendors and customers to integrate ARX's file virtualisation capabilities to enhance their existing data management solutions and enable entirely new applications.