Oct 28, 2024

NetApp , CTERA , and Hammerspace are the leaders in the cloud-native globally distributed file system market, according to analyst GigaOm’s first report on the industry segment. In previous years, it has evaluated the “cloud file storage” market, and has produced reports on “distributed cloud file storage,” and “high-performance cloud file storage.” “However, for this latest evaluation, we’ve updated the scope and table stakes, and are considering this report V1.0 as a result,” said GigaOm analyst Chester Conforte. GiogaOm’s Radar diagram for cloud-native globally distributed file systems. This GigaOm Radar report examines seven of the top cloud-native globally distributed file system solutions on the market, and evaluates how they serve the key customer markets of cloud service providers like AWS, Azure and Google, network service providers (including telcos), managed service providers, SMBs, large enterprises, and multinational enterprises. The deployment models of physical appliances, virtual appliances, public cloud images, software only, and software as-a-service (SaaS), are considered. The seven vendors studied are CTERA, Hammerspace, LucidLink , Nasuni , NetApp, ObjectiveFS , and Panzura . In the case of NetApp, that vendor’s BlueXP Global File Cache was considered. All seven were included as they possessed the table stakes GigaOm thought necessary to be a key player in the market. These were: cloud-native architecture, metadata enrichment, global file locking, POSIX file operations, error handling and conflict resolution, space management, and “consistency and reliability.” Key performance features evaluated were: Advanced data management and analytics, access and permissions, enhanced security and compliance, I/O performance, throughput performance, data capacity in terms of the ability to store “vast amounts of data across multiple locations to ensure scalability and flexibility,” and data volume with reference to the system’s capacity to “manage and organize vast numbers of files and directories in a single namespace” – “which is essential for handling large-scale data operations efficiently.” Across these key performance features, with the top mark being five, Hammerspace was given an average score of 4.1, with NetApp given 3.8, and CTERA awarded 3.5. Nasuni, ObjectiveFS, and Panzura were all just behind CTERA on 3.4, with LucidLink only given 1.9. Key business and operational considerations were also measured, including scalability, flexibility, ease-of-use and manageability, cost and licensing, and the vendor’s ecosystem. On these, Hammerspace, NetApp, CTERA, and Panzura were all given an average 4 by GigaOm. The bottom line from all the scores, according to the GigaOm Radar study covering the market, is that Hammerspace, NetApp and CTERA are deemed “leaders,” and Panzura, ObjectiveFS and Nasuni are “challengers.” LucidLink is described as an “entrant.” TAGS