Maginatics Cloud Storage Platform Version 3.0 Feature Brief

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1 Maginatics Cloud Storage Platform Version 3.0 Feature Brief The launch of the Maginatics Cloud Storage Platform (MCSP) version 3.0 brings an exciting range of new functionality and features to further enhance the capabilities and performance offered to enterprise customers. MCSP 3.0 includes enhancements to the Maginatics Virtual Filer or MVF (formerly known as Maginatics File System or MagFS) and the introduction of two new performance features Maginatics Content Delivery Cache and Maginatics Site Cache. Key features of this release include: 1. Maginatics Site Cache 2. Maginatics Cloud Delivery Cache 3. Management and orchestration APIs 4. Partner ecosystem expansions 5. Component-level licenses 6. Dedicated POSIX-only mode for applications demanding POSIXcompliant behavior

2 Performance in MCSP 3.0 Delivering high, sustainable throughput for all endpoint devices within an MCSP deployment is one of the basic tenets underpinning the engineering philosophy at Maginatics. MCSP pushes intelligence to the edge, enabling customers to benefit greatly in terms of cost and performance, while delivering ubiquitous yet controlled access to centrally-managed data. MCSP also maintains the scalability of a globally distributed namespace by employing a multi-layer adaptive cache architecture with complete separation between data and metadata. In v3.0, Maginatics has extended the range of MCSP and introduced two major new features. The first, Site Cache, is a data cache that extends the benefits of existing MagFS Agent level caches. Site Caches bring numerous advantages across a number of use cases by enabling one endpoint s data access to benefit all other endpoints (and users) within the same office. Site Caches bring true locality of the most frequently accessed data within a LAN-connected user group. MagFS Agent-level caching and WAN optimization support remote and mobile endpoints, while Site Caches deliver a tremendous gain to colocated users, whether human or machine, sharing a small WAN pipe to their site. The introduction of the Maginatics Cloud Delivery Cache in MCSP 3.0 enables further performance optimization for users located far from the object store. Maginatics Cloud Delivery Cache provides a Content Distribution Network (CDN) for your data, enabling efficient read access even when users are located continents away from the centrally-managed object data store all without sacrificing file system consistency.

3 Maginatics Site Cache With MCSP 3.0, Maginatics is introducing a Site Read Cache. Site Caches are data caches that can be deployed as a VM within remote offices. Because of MCSP s split data / metadata plane architecture, data caches may be deployed throughout your network without any impact on file system consistency, since the metadata path remains real-time for all users. Site Caches are centrally controlled via the MCSP Management Console User Interface. From this single-pane-of-glass view, IT admins can create and manage logical sites within which to deploy Site Caches. The site construct facilitates easy management and identification of VMs in a large deployment. All VMs in your deployment (including those acting as Site Caches) are clearly visible and accessible via the VMs tab.

4 Deploying a Site Cache simply requires the availability of a VM at your chosen location (site) that is reachable from the Maginatics Virtual Filer (MVF). Site Cache VMs operate on VMware vsphere version 4.x or newer with a minimum of 8 GB of reserved RAM and 8 reserved vcpus. Within a newly created site (e.g., London in the example shown below), the IT admin simply clicks + New Read Cache and selects an available VM from the pool. The VM will be configured to operate as a Read Cache and will begin caching reads as soon as configuration completes.

5 Site Caches are very low maintenance components. Furthermore, each Read Cache deployed within your network can be STOPPED or DELETED at any time. Stopping a cache will stop the read caching service; agents will no longer be able to read from the cache and will bypass it for future reads. A cache in a stopped state can be started again at any time. Deleting a cache will halt the caching service and return the VM to the VM pool for redeployment in another role. Since these are read caches, performing either a STOP or DELETE on them will have no impact on file system consistency or impose any risk whatsoever of data loss.

6 For users, Site Caches are entirely transparent. Each MagFS Agent is intelligent about the network environment in which it operates and will automatically route requests via a cache if it is present to enhance performance. Users need not adjust any settings in order to benefit from the best performance path possible. When a user is within range of a Site Cache and executes a read on the namespace, the data will not only be read; it will also be cached. By populating the Site Cache, one endpoint s read benefits subsequent requests for the same data by other endpoints on the LAN. Among other things, read caching thus reduces overall WAN traffic at the branch. Maginatics Cloud Delivery Cache At its heart, the Maginatics Cloud Delivery Cache allows MCSP deployments to deliver a read cache experience for users across large geographic areas. Again, this is enabled by the complete separation of metadata and data paths within MCSP.

7 Data flows within MCSP are ultimately stored as objects in the public, private or hybrid object store of your choice. The MagFS Agent directly accesses these objects for reads and writes via signed, temporary URLs provided by the corresponding MCSP Virtual Filer. All objects stored using MCSP are static and immutable, so caching them poses no challenge to consistency. Indeed, the MVF is the real-time locus of control, ensuring that the file system remains strongly consistent for all endpoints within a deployment.

8 Understanding the MCSP model helps to explain how MCSP 3.0 can enhance read access to these objects, and the files they ultimately represent, using a content delivery network (CDN). When users are far removed from the underlying object store (perhaps continents away), the use of a CDN allows for read caching over a vast geographic area. One such CDN is Amazon CloudFront, offered by Amazon Web Services. CloudFront operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, as described at aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/pricing/. In order to use CloudFront as your CDN with MCSP v3.0, the backing object store must be AWS S3. With a simple mouse click, an admin can enable an MVF to use AWS CloudFront. Management and Orchestration APIs The introduction of REST APIs for MCSP in v3.0 allows customers to drive MCSP deployments in a headless manner; e.g., via direct integration with your own orchestration environment. REST API coverage supports deployment, manipulation and general operation of a MagFS share or Maginatics Virtual Filer (MVF) and its sub-components via simple GET, PUT, POST and DELETE calls. Version 1.0 of the Maginatics Management and Orchestration APIs includes Bash, curl and Python endpoints along with example code for each.

9 Named Admin Accounts Increased scale entails increased responsibility. MCSP 3.0 introduces multi-user named admin accounts to ensure that all actions performed on an MVF are attributed to the user who performed them. While all MVFs ship with a local admin account, the introduction of multi-user account authentication provides a finer level of control over access and supports audits of system-level changes. Beginning with MCSP v3.0, admin accounts for MVF access can be driven by your identity management provider and restricted to specific groups e.g., Domain Admins.

10 Other enhancements available in MCSP 3.0: Lower TCO Some MCSP components may be licensed individually, enabling customers to pay for them only if they are used. Dedicated POSIX mode Support for applications and workflows with POSIX-only interface requirements. Deploying a MagFS share in POSIX-only mode ensures that POSIX file handling is applied. (POSIX-only mode also prevents Windows clients from connecting to the share.) Increased Web Client scalability A Web Client requires the availability of at least one VM. Since MCSP 3.0 permits customers to add additional VMs to any platform component, Web Client scalability can be increased simply by adding more VMs to the Web Client VM pool Expanded partner ecosystem MCSP 3.0 adds support for EMC ViPR storage using ViPR s native S3 interface.