Pure Storage FlashBlade 4.1.5 Enhances Object Replication with DR Resilience, Data Protection, and Object Lock

By Sharyathi Nagesh, technical marketing engineer, FlashBlade division, Pure Storage., Inc.

Pure Storage, Inc. released version 4.1.5 of the Purity//FB operating environment, our unified fast file and object platform, which is included in all company’s FlashBlade deployments.

This release has made multiple improvements to file and object replication environments. These enhancements deliver better data protection through integration with Object Lock, support for different replication topologies, and increased data resilience.

Introduced in June 2022, FlashBlade//S is a storage platform for unstructured data from the firm. It provides data consolidation at a very minimal environmental footprint. Organizations are rapidly adopting FlashBlade//S to manage their growing unstructured data sprawl and to do it in an ecologically sustainable way.

Purity//FB is the software engine that powers FlashBlade//S capabilities. Object and file replication is a key tenant of Purity//FB that enhances data availability and accessibility to end users.

The replication feature was previously introduced in Purity//FB 3.0.0 and has seen continuous enhancements for both file and object replication to this day.

Since its introduction, some of the key enhancements seen over object replications include:

• Active-active object replication, which supports applications to write data to two buckets at two different locations while maintaining data consistency
• Data consistency between source and destination, which is maintained making optimal use of network bandwidth with minimal impact to client workloads
• Replication to cloud, AWS, and other S3-compliant targets, which helps customers leverage cloud-service capabilities and protect their existing investments
• Different replication topologies that include:
  • • Fan-out: Replicating to more than one destination to enhance availability
    • Fan-in: Replicating to one single location for data consolidation 

What’s new in Purity//FB 4.1.5?
Purity//FB 4.1.5 introduces support for 3-site fan-in replication with active-active replication. In addition, Purity//FB 4.1.5 enables Object Lock on the third site to help customers meet compliance requirements and deliver superior data resilience and exceptional data protection.

Three-site fan-in replication offers multiple benefits to customers who are looking to meet higher data resilience and regulatory oversight.

Purity//FB 4.1.5 offers: 

• Enhanced data protection
  • Helps in deploying robust data protection in case of DR activity; users will still have 2 active sites with the latest data
  • Increases data resiliency with a third site for replication for regulatory and compliance data governance purposes 
• Increased resilience in case of an attack 
  • Customers can apply Object Lock on the third site that will prevent any accidents or malware from corrupting the data irreversibly.
  • Protects one copy of the data as a golden copy, free from ransomware attacks and data corruption, through industry standards like Object Lock. Object Lock will prevent objects from getting overwritten or deleted for a fixed amount of time or indefinitely.

• Seamless experience 
  • The solution is tested and compatible with other key FlashBlade capabilities like NDU, multi-protocol, and scalability, providing superior product surety that customers have always experienced from Pure Storage.
  • Deploys in financial, government/federal, and other sectors that require higher standards of data protection and can consider a three-site fan-in replication mode.

Note: Enabling 3-site fan-in replication requires approval from the product management team.