File Transfer

May 03, 2010

Gladinet Unveils CloudAFS to Attach Cloud Storage to File Servers

Gladinet, a cloud computing solution provider, has introduced Gladinet CloudAFS, a new approach to data storage management that attaches cloud storage to existing file servers and intelligently manages data transfer between the two tiers (local-cloud).

Officials with Gladinet said that CloudAFS allows local storage to be used as tier one for fast access and delivers unprecedented storage space by using the cloud as tier two.

Company officials said that IT professionals with storage expansion needs can now attach cloud storage to existing IT infrastructure to create a cost effective multi-tiered storage solution with low impact and faster backup or restore times.

"Tiering is not a new concept in enterprise data storage management," said Jerry Huang, chief executive officer, Gladinet, in a statement.

Huang said that all data is not created equal. And since some storage mediums are much more expensive than others, organizations use hierarchical storage management to put the most important data on the best storage.

He said that by adding the cloud as a tier in the hierarchy, Gladinet CloudAFS changes that paradigm and ranks data importance according to use. In other words, the data that is most often used is kept close for fast access, said Huang.

According to company officials, in essence, Gladinet CloudAFS brings the cloud to the user instead of letting user take the risk of migrating to the cloud.

It allows cloud storage services to be natively accessed from Windows, Mac and Linux clients through CIFS/NFS protocols or accessed from existing Gladinet Cloud Desktop clients.

Company officials claimed out that companies concerned about controlling costs will find CloudAFS to be an excellent fit. CloudAFS enables organizations to use the cloud as a cost-effective extension of their onsite storage.

"Gladinet CloudAFS is a powerful solution that changes the way companies look at data storage," said Huang.

He said that harnessing the power and storage capacity of the cloud to enhance existing file storage solutions is now a reality, thanks to CloudAFS.

Anil Sharma is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anil's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Erin Harrison