CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform Architecture for HP Helion Content Depot Whitepaper by CTERA Networks Highlights How unstructured data growth drives cloud storage adoption Putting cloud storage to work: Building blocks and approaches The need for a unified, interoperable, multi-application platform CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform architecture and benefits Leveraging CTERA and HP Helion platform for IT-as-a-Service transformation www.ctera.com info@ctera.com USA: (650) 227-4950 Intl.: +972-3-679-9000 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserved 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 1
Growth of Unstructured Data The rapid growth of storage consumption, particularly for unstructured data, has driven organizations to adopt cost-effective cloud storage solutions as a substitute or complement to more expensive block or file storage systems. Beyond cost savings, cloud storage offers many benefits to organizations, such as: elastic use of storage to match changing demands, usage metering and pay-per-use cost models, built-in geographical redundancy, global name space, flexible data access methods, and the ability to easily shift data between private and public storage spaces. The first step in creating a cloud storage offering is having the right infrastructure (deployed in-house, or hosted), and for many applications that infrastructure is object storage. However, the storage infrastructure, on its own, is not sufficient to create and deliver the storage-based applications that users need. As with any emerging technology space, a plethora of vendors have developed tools to enable specific cloud storage applications. Yet IT organizations and service providers are struggling with the integration of disparate tools into a consistent set of cloud storage services, in an environment fraught with immature technologies and unclear standards. A different approach is needed: an enterprise file services platform that supports multiple storage applications in a consistent, integrated and scalable fashion. approach creates a maintenance and support nightmare. Cloud storage gateways are an ideal substitute for on-site file servers, providing an easyto-manage, disaster-proof alternative, while retaining compatibility with existing applications without sacrificing performance. Mobile Access: Many organizations have adopted bring your own device (BYOD) policies, tolerating or encouraging employee use of personal smartphones and tablets to access their corporate data. Cloud storage can be used to support BYOD data access, enabling users to access their files anytime, anywhere. VDI: Storage is a significant portion of virtual desktop costs, and can be reduced and optimized by storing user files (as opposed to the VDI images) in object stores. Killer Apps of Cloud Storage Cloud storage has given rise to several types of file services: File Sync & Share: Cloud storage can be used to create a simple, intuitive file sharing environment, whereby employees can grant secure file access to team members and guest users, and synchronize files across their devices. Figure 1: Cloud-Based File Services Backup: Cloud storage is ideally suited for backing up user-generated files, and is an ideal replacement for tape backup and off-site tape storage services. Branch Storage: Traditionally, enterprise branch offices have local file servers in each office, for storing local, unstructured data. As their business scales, many enterprises now recognize that this 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 2
Cloud Storage Building Blocks Deploying a cloud storage solution involves integrating key elements, and addressing several key issues: Storage infrastructure: Since cloud storage is often used for storing unstructured data (e.g., files), it is often implemented using object storage architecture. Object storage excels in storing and retrieving variable size objects along with their associated attributes. It typically has application programming interfaces (APIs) that support creation, retrieval and manipulation of stored objects. The industry standard for object storage APIs has evolved around the HTTP protocol, and is commonly referred to as REST API. Storage clients: The devices that access objects (or files) stored in the cloud. Those typically include users workstations, departmental servers and mobile devices. Connectivity: Most storage clients support traditional network protocols for accessing files remotely, for example: SMB (Microsoft Windows), NFS (Linux/Unix) and AFS (Apple OS X). These protocols are not compatible with the new cloud storage APIs. Therefore, a bridge is needed between the traditional file access protocols and the new cloud storage APIs. Security: Since cloud storage usually resides off premises, data exchanged between storage clients and the cloud must be protected (e.g. encrypted) both in transit and at rest. Performance: For end-users to adopt cloud services, they must be able to access their files with reasonable throughput and low latency. Therefore, any solution that moves primary data to the cloud must employ clever caching and tiering mechanisms. Additionally, the volume of data transferred to/from the cloud should be minimized to avoid taxing of network resources and bandwidth, for example by employing WAN optimization, data de-duplication and compression. Reliability: For end-users to adopt cloud storage services, they must be able to rely on availability of data, even during inevitable Internet connectivity or service disruptions. To reduce the impact of such failures, it is crucial to use a hybrid approach such as on-site storage or pinning of the most important data to be always available locally. Management: A single cloud storage pool may be used by thousands of sites and numerous users. Any cloud storage service would require sophisticated and scalable management utilities that support quick service provisioning, real-time monitoring and simplified maintenance. Putting the Pieces Together Organizations who are considering building a cloud storage service (external or internal) can adopt any of the following approaches: Do It Yourself (DIY): Picking individual cloud storage building blocks and putting them together. This involves deploying specific storage infrastructure, installing protocol conversion gateways, creating a management framework, developing individual storage services, and integrating the entire system. The advantage of this approach is having full control over the architecture. However, the complexity and TCO of such an effort will be very high, making it an unrealistic option for most organizations. Best-of-breed solutions: Implementing vendor supplied systems for each particular cloud storage file service. For example, deploying one system that supports backup, another that offers file sharing services and a third to handle mobile access. The advantage of this approach is the ability to select an optimal solution per each storage application. The challenge is integration between disparate systems. Users and admins are required to deal with multiple interfaces, depending on the application they need to access, and a larger footprint on end-point devices. Unified platform: Deploying a services platform that supports multiple cloud storage applications. The platform should support multiple storage applications out of the box, and seamlessly integrate with existing IT infrastructure. The main advantages of this approach are integration and consistency between multiple storage applications. The challenge here would be to support new applications currently not supported by such a platform. 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 3
What s in a Platform? The adoption of new technology typically involves progression from do-it-yourself systems, through bestof-breed tools till finally reaching a platform approach. The cloud storage market has evolved quite rapidly, reaching a maturity level where the platform approach is not only feasible, but delivers benefits that are impossible to achieve using other approaches: Flexible deployment scenarios: Cloud storage applications may be deployed as a public cloud service, on private cloud infrastructure, or in virtual private (hosted private) infrastructure. The data may be accessed from desktops, laptops, web browsers, smartphones or tablets. Users may reside in a corporate office, home, or be on the road. They may include permanent employees as well as consultants, partners or customers. An enterprise file services platform must therefore successfully address and support all these deployment scenarios. IT infrastructure integration: Cloud storage is not deployed in a vacuum. Organizations have made significant investments in existing IT infrastructure. Management systems, authentication services, billing systems, and self-service app stores are examples of infrastructure already deployed in datacenters. An enterprise file services platform should be able to interface and interoperate with existing IT infrastructure, both at the data center and remote offices. Scalability: A cloud storage service may be used by a large number of businesses, thousands of corporate remote offices, and numerous end-users. An Enterprise file services platform must therefore scale from a few to 100,000 s of users and devices. Since demand for storage constantly grows, the platform should scale to virtually any size of back-end storage. through encryption, data stored on the cloud storage infrastructure (i.e. at-rest), as well as protect data transferred to/from storage clients and storage infrastructure (i.e. in transit). User authentication procedures and data access rights must be strictly controlled. The platform should also ensure data integrity, to prevent accidental data corruption or unauthorized tampering. Lastly, all data, metadata, encryption keys and access privilege data should all be kept behind the firewall. Performance: Cloud storage applications involve large volume data transfer (e.g. during backup) and remote data access (e.g. from mobile devices or remote sites). Successful adoption of cloud storage requires that access performance, network load, and storage size requirements are optimized. To that end, the enterprise file services platform must employ techniques such as de-duplication, compression and bandwidth throttling. Service Management: IT teams must be able to easily provision, monitor and maintain the cloud storage service. With 100,000 s of devices and users accessing the service, manual management processes are highly inefficient, or even impossible to implement. Multi-tenancy support and administration tiers are also required. All these capabilities combine to deliver agility that facilitates the transformation of IT departments into IT-as-a- Service organizations. Multiple File Services: Naturally, the enterprise file services platform must support multiple file services such as backup, file sharing or mobile access. Its architecture must be scalable and extensible to allow for future addition of new storage applications. Security: One of the key concerns associated with cloud storage adoption is data security. The enterprise file services platform must protect, 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 4
The CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform Figure 2: CTERA platform logical architecture, integrated with HP Helion platform CTERA recognized the need for an integrated enterprise file services platform to enable the delivery and management of multiple cloud storage-based applications. Figure 2 outlines the key elements of the CTERA platform: Storage infrastructure: The CTERA platform provides native support for HP Helion Content Depot via an optimized OpenStack Swift connector. Storage Clients: The CTERA family of storage clients includes its cloud storage gateways, which are deployed in physical locations; desktop and server software agents; mobile apps for ios, Android and Windows Phone smartphones and tablets; 3 rd party web browsers. The cloud storage gateways are all-inone branch office network attached storage (NAS), collaboration and backup appliances. As part of their NAS functionality, they also offer protocol conversion (see figure 3 next page) of local network storage protocols such as CIFS, NFS, AFP and FTP thus enabling seamless deployment of cloud storage into existing IT infrastructure. The wide range of storage clients enables the CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform to support virtually any deployment scenario, including small businesses, enterprise ROBOs, individual users, mobile users and anyone with a web browser. Device Connectors: Handle the interface between the CTERA storage platform and its diverse set of storage clients. The device connectors communicate with cloud storage gateways over a web-optimized protocol named CTTP. The gateways handle/convert any legacy protocol to CTTP, while the storage connectors convert CTTP to any proprietary cloud storage protocol. This makes the integration between cloud storage and existing IT systems seamless. Security and Acceleration: The CTERA platform has built-in functionality for security and acceleration. Data is encrypted as soon as it leaves the storage client, ensuring full protection in transit and at rest. Users have full control over encryption keys, ensuring that their sensitive data is not accessible to others. On mobile devices, access is verified with 2-factor authentication, and data is encrypted, sandboxed (sequestered) from other applications, with a remote wipe feature for lost or de-authorized devices. On the acceleration front, CTERA employs client side 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 5
source-based de-duplication, compression and bandwidth throttling. Any data redundancy is removed before being transferred over the WAN, thus reducing network load and required cloud storage space. These techniques also enhance performance for end-users. Multi-Tenant, Multi-Tier Management: Designed to support large deployments by service providers or large enterprises, the CTERA platform offers highly scalable provisioning, monitoring and maintenance capabilities. Built in templates and automation features help administrators control 100,000 s of users and devices. There are several management tiers within the system to allow delegation of administration rights to customers, divisions, or agencies, and multi-tenancy keeps data and service plans separate between them. Enterprise Integrations & APIs: Designed for integration with existing IT infrastructure, the APIs enable a seamless interface with important functions such as: existing directory services (e.g. Active Directory, LDAP) for user authentication and rights management; Anti-Virus (AV) scanning to prevent, detect and remove malicious software; Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions to manage and maintain the use of mobile devices; Data loss prevention (DLP) to detect and prevent potential data breaches; Single Sign-On (SSO); Billing systems; and a variety of other existing IT services. Core File Services: The CTERA platform includes several key application workflows. Among those are: File sync & share (FSS) for secure sharing of files amongst devices and users whether roaming or at branch offices; Hybrid backup that combines local backup with cloud backup of user workstations and servers; Team collaboration tools that support adhoc and project-based information sharing; Remotely managed network attached storage (NAS) for SMBs and enterprise remote offices; etc. The platform can be extended to support future applications, developed by CTERA or its partners (through APIs). Figure 3: CTERA platform s protocol conversion 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 6
The following table summarizes how the platform requirements outlined earlier in this white paper are addressed by the CTERA platform: Platform requirements Back-end interoperability Flexible deployment IT infrastructure integration Scalability Security Performance CTERA capabilities Cloud storage connectors offer certified interfaces to a variety of storage vendors and cloud storage services, configurable via a wizard interface with no coding required. The broad offering of cloud storage gateway appliances, end-point software agents and mobile apps addresses multiple deployment scenarios. CTERA Portal, the management system, includes enterprise integrations & APIs for billing, monitoring, and web shop front. The CTERA platform scales to 100,000 s of users and end-point devices. Load balancing and high availability are supported for scale-out deployments. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest; User authentication is based on existing directory services (AD, LDAP); Mobile device data is sand-boxed and can be wiped remotely; Single Sign-On (SSO) is supported. Source-based de-duplication, compression and bandwidth throttling ensure that users enjoy maximum performance with minimum load on network and storage resources. Disaster recovery CTERA portal, the management system, includes point-in-time recovery and built-in replication of the Portal database. Service Management Customization Storage applications CTERA Portal offers centralized provisioning, monitoring and maintenance of large scale deployments, with multiple tiers of management. Templates are employed to manage and configure a large number of remote appliances. CTERA Portal look & feel can easily be white labeled to meet corporate or service provider branding needs. CTERA has multiple built-in, full-featured storage applications, such as: hybrid-backup of workstations and servers; truly private file sync & share (FSS); team collaboration services; mobile data access with BYOD support; centrally-managed NAS appliances. Benefits of CTERA Deployed on the HP Helion Content Depot Adopting an integrated platform approach to cloud storage offers significant benefits: Enterprise Productivity: A simple, comprehensive approach to enterprise user file access & data protection direct-to-cloud or from remote & branch offices. Maximum Data Security & Privacy: Flexible deployment, all behind the enterprise firewall, to ensure maximum data and metadata security and sovereignty. Cost-Efficient to Minimize TCO: Leverages software-defined-storage and central management tools aggregate data & administration from a cost-effective cloud resource. Comprehensive Data Governance: Centralizes all data and access history to one comprehensive data management system comprehensive insight and centralized control. Simple, Scalable IT Delivery & Support: Automated service delivery: Creates new IT efficiencies while also enhancing the end user service level experience. It provides faster deployment times, while reducing operational IT overhead. At the same time it provides end-users with consumer-like apps and self-service provisioning that enhance productivity and satisfaction. 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 7
Summary Organizations who wish to deploy cloud storage and associated applications are best served with a unified storage platform that handles integration, interoperability and manageability challenges. The CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform, deployed on the HP Helion platform, enables enterprises and service providers to quickly deploy a full-featured cloud storage-based file services. It seamlessly integrates with existing IT infrastructure, is architected for multi-tiered management, includes built-in security measures, and offers back-end storage infrastructure flexibility. With CTERA and HP Helion, organizations can adapt to any deployment scenario, offering robust storage applications to all users, including remote and mobile ones, while enabling IT-as-a-Service transformation, increasing business agility and reducing total cost of ownership (TCO). Figure 4: CTERA Portal provides scalable, centralized management of remote appliances and end-point agents 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserve Page 8
CTERA Networks enables enterprises to securely sync, share, protect and govern files from any device or remote office, all from the cloud of their choice. Trusted by the Fortune 100 and leading service providers, CTERA provides industry s most secure approach to file services, with the widest choice of use cases and infrastructure options to enable the IT-as-a-Service transformation. For more information, visit www.ctera.com The OpenStack word mark and the Square O Design, together or apart, are trademarks or registered trademarks of OpenStack Foundation in the United States and other countries, and are used with the OpenStack Foundation s permission. www.ctera.com info@ctera.com USA: (917) 768-7193 Intl.: +972-3-679-9000 2015 CTERA Networks Ltd., All Rights Reserved