Solution Sheets: CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform
Cyber-resilient file platform from any edge to any cloud.
File Services over Object Storage
Reduce File Storage Costs by 80% Without Changing How Your Business Operates
CTERA’s file services over object storage provide the scalability and cost savings of object storage while maintaining the functionality and security of a traditional file system. Object storage alone often lacks features like file sharing and permission management. CTERA fills this gap, offering robust file-level access, secure sharing, and comprehensive control—all on a scalable, cost-efficient platform.
Object Storage Benefits
- Scales to hundreds of petabytes
- Slashes costs by 80% compared to enterprise filer
- Well-suited for secondary storage of massive volumes of unstructured data (e.g., archiving)
- Fast and efficient data recovery and retrieval based on detailed metadata
- Simple REST API and permissions model
Object Storage Limitations
- High latency in retrieving specific objects
- Applications designed for standard file systems need to be rewritten
- Not suited for databases that are frequently updated or real-time applications
- Objects are arranged in flat buckets rather than familiar filesystem hierarchy
- Not compatible with CIFS/SMB protocol and NT ACL permissions
Unlock the Potential of Object Storage Solutions with CTERA File Services
CTERA enables traditional filesystem-based applications and workloads to work with object storage so enterprises can enjoy the benefits of object storage without the limitations. The CTERA Edge Filer exposes the file server interface (e.g., SMB and NFS protocols), replacing the existing file server.
With CTERA’s object storage solutions, applications don’t need to be rewritten, and users continue to work with a hierarchical file structure and Microsoft-compatible NT ACL permissions. The Edge Filer caches files locally for fast user access and syncs files across multiple sites, while the bulk of the data is kept in low-cost object storage on-prem or the cloud.
Infinite Scalability
CTERA enables boundless storage capacity for all sites, caching and storing hot files at the edge while tiering cold files to cloud object storage. Elastically scale your storage capacity to multiple petabytes, without introducing latency at the edge and allowing seamless migration from your legacy file servers
Enhanced Data Visibility and Insight
CTERA aggregates and audits every aspect of distributed file storage, sharing and access across the enterprise, eliminating data silos, enabling organizations to monetize the data at their disposal. Reduce governance and security risks related to Shadow IT and give users full access to data created at the edge in a searchable and analyzable repository.
Reduce Storage Costs
Edge caching, as well as deduplication and compression of files prior to storage, help to reduce egress charges and object storage volumes. Enterprises can reduce storage costs by up to 80% by replacing legacy file servers with affordable object storage. View TCO Calculator –>
End-to-End Data Security
CTERA offers military-grade data security for enterprises using cloud object storage services. Source-based encryption with private key management secures your data before it before it leaves your devices, offices and servers. This means that even in the case of a data breach or cyber-attack in the cloud, your data cannot be decrypted or read.
Global Data Management and Control
Managing up to thousands of endpoints, remote offices and applications, CTERA’s Global File System provides centralized management and control over all organizational data, reducing your IT burden. Files are consolidated into a global namespace and use the same file structure as a legacy file server for a familiar and productive user experience.
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FAQ
What is CTERA’s approach to data tiering between on-premises storage and cloud-based object storage?
We use intelligent, policy-based data tiering to move data between on-premises storage and cloud-based object storage automatically. Frequently accessed data is cached locally for high-performance access, while inactive or archival data is migrated to object storage to optimize costs. Tiering rules can be configured based on file access patterns, size, or age, ensuring that storage resources are used efficiently while maintaining fast access for end users.
Can CTERA’s file services over object storage handle multi-petabyte scale environments?
Yes, our architecture is designed to scale horizontally, allowing it to support multi-petabyte file systems with billions of files. By decoupling the file system from the underlying object storage, our hybrid cloud data platform can easily manage massive datasets across distributed environments. Data can be automatically partitioned and tiered across different storage locations, ensuring scalability without compromising performance or security.
How does CTERA ensure high availability and fault tolerance when using file services over object storage?
By employing a highly redundant architecture with built-in failover mechanisms to ensure high availability. Data is replicated across multiple sites or cloud regions using synchronous or asynchronous replication, depending on the desired consistency model. In case of node failure, we automatically redirect requests to healthy nodes, ensuring uninterrupted file access. Cloud object storage also provides inherent durability with built-in replication and data checksumming to protect against hardware failure.
Transform Storage into a Strategic Asset
It’s time to modernize your data strategy, cut costs, and scale effortlessly without disrupting your existing operations. Trust CTERA to provide a future-proof solution that keeps your enterprise ahead.