TL;DR:
- Dell introduced ObjectScale XF960, an all-flash appliance for generative AI and real-time analytics.
- ObjectScale, a software-defined object storage system, is now available as a hardware appliance.
- XF960 features dual Intel Xeon CPUs, 737.3 TB raw capacity, and impressive network connectivity.
- ObjectScale v1.3 software offers distributed, multi-tenant object storage with S3 API support.
- Scalability up to 16 nodes with no architectural limits.
- Compatibility with VMware vSAN nodes and support for S3 bucket logging and enhanced replication.
- Object Lock functionality at the bucket level for data security.
- XF960 leverages Kubernetes for high-performance, seamless data flow.
- Potential for combining ObjectScale and Starburst for infinitely scalable lakehouses.
- Dell’s XF960 competes with other object storage solutions like Cloudian and MinIO.
Main AI News:
Dell is making waves in the world of business technology with its recent release, the ObjectScale XF960. This cutting-edge, all-flash, scale-out appliance is designed to cater to the needs of generative AI and real-time analytics workloads. In a move that underscores Dell’s commitment to innovation, ObjectScale, originally a software-defined object storage system, is now available as a turnkey hardware appliance, albeit with limited scalability.
The XF960 marks the inaugural member of the ObjectScale X-Series family, running on a robust PowerEdge server equipped with ObjectScale v1.3 software. Each node boasts dual Intel Xeon CPUs encased within a 2RU chassis and can accommodate a staggering 737.3 TB of raw capacity. Clusters, on the other hand, can range from a minimum of four nodes for standard operation to a maximum of 16 nodes, yielding an impressive 11,796 TB of raw capacity (11.8 PB). The key features of this groundbreaking system include:
- Dual Intel gen 4 Xeon SP Processors, each with 32 cores per processor
- A whopping 256 GB of memory
- 24 x NVMe TLC 30.72 TB drives for the initial release
- Dual mirrored boot drives for enhanced redundancy
- Network connectivity boasts dual 100 GbE back-end and dual 25 GbE front-end speeds.
But what truly sets ObjectScale apart is its software infrastructure—a distributed, microservices-based, multi-node, scale-out, and multi-tenant object storage system with a unified global namespace that supports the S3 API. Remarkably, it shares the same code base as Dell’s renowned ECS software. With support for over 1,000 nodes, starting from just three nodes, the scalability of ObjectScale is impressive and only constrained by the hardware, not the software itself.
ObjectScale also flexes its compatibility muscles by running seamlessly on VMware vSAN nodes and providing support for VMware VCloud Foundation (VCF), Tanzu, and Red Hat Open Shift. The recent v1.3 release introduces valuable enhancements such as S3 bucket logging and improved S3 replication. With this update, replicated objects can now reach a size of up to 50TiB, accommodating up to 50,000 parts. Additionally, v1.3 supports multipart upload (MPU) using the S3 protocol, making it possible to construct large objects from smaller parts and allowing for uploads at any time and in any order.
Version 1.3 also brings Object Lock functionality to the bucket level, even in the absence of versioning. This innovative feature prevents overwriting and deleting operations effectively. For more in-depth insights into these enhancements, a dedicated ObjectScale v1.3 blog offers comprehensive information.
Dell proudly presents the XF960 as a fully integrated, turnkey system, heralded as “the world’s most powerful object storage appliance custom-built on Kubernetes.” The vision is clear: software-defined ObjectScale systems deployed at edge sites will feed data directly to XF960 appliances situated in data centers, creating a seamless and high-performance data flow.
Customers can leverage this combination of ObjectScale and Starburst, a Trino-based data lake offering, to establish a robust foundation for a high-performance, infinitely scalable lakehouse. However, it’s important to note that while the XF960 is a remarkable solution, it does have scalability limitations, topping out at 16 nodes.
Conclusion:
Dell’s ObjectScale XF960 represents a significant step in the realm of object storage appliances, offering impressive performance and scalability. Its compatibility with AI/ML and analytics processes positions it as a powerful player in the market, as it competes with other industry-leading solutions. This innovation underscores Dell’s commitment to pushing boundaries and catering to the evolving needs of businesses in the digital age.
