Pure Storage has unveiled several new features for its FlashBlade file and object flash storage family during this week’s Accelerate London event. Among these innovations are zero-move tiering, secure multi-tenancy, always-on quality of service, an AI co-pilot for file management, and an entry-level storage array.
These updates have been characterized by Pure as a “reinvention of file storage,” promoting a vision of a seamlessly manageable and easily upgradable storage solution for unstructured data. This concept is built on Pure’s unified FlashBlade architecture, which combines file and object storage, as well as the integration of the Fusion management plane and the existing Purity operating system, alongside the Pure1 management layer and the Evergreen consumption model.
FlashBlade, known for its high-speed file and object storage capabilities, consolidates file access and object storage into a single array. This design is tailored for use cases that have evolved beyond traditional secondary storage applications—such as backup, archiving, and analytics—to demand rapid input/output for tasks like data analysis and recovery.
Key among the new features is secure multi-tenancy, which enables Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and other clients to utilize a single physical hardware setup while maintaining separate namespaces and managing diverse workloads. Patrick Smith, Pure’s field chief technology officer, stated, “Customers can confidently offer independent domains to their clients,” as the system can segregate authentication, client access, and data management at the Purity operating system level.
Another significant enhancement is the always-on quality of service (QoS), designed to prevent any resource contention that might arise from varying workloads on the underlying storage platform. This addresses concerns about the “noisy-neighbour” phenomenon, where multiple systems contend for disk resources in FlashBlade deployments—a crucial feature to support multiple customers’ systems concurrently.
The introduction of zero-move tiering allows FlashBlade to deliver storage at different performance and cost tiers without the need for separate hardware. Instead of relying on distinct drives with varied attributes, data is managed flexibly within FlashBlade, with “tiered” access assigned based on performance levels set by the Purity OS. Smith elaborated that while the flash module consistently meets the performance demands of frequently accessed (“hot”) data, it can also prioritize data access based on required profiles, ensuring effective capacity management across the storage pool.
In addition, Pure has launched the new entry-level FlashBlade S100 array, which sits below the S200 model but can be upgraded to the specifications of either the S200 or S500, offering customers a more accessible option than previously available.
The FlashBlade S200 begins at 126TB and can scale up to approximately 3PB, utilizing high-density QLC flash modules.
Pure has also introduced an AI co-pilot for file management, which is a generative AI-driven assistant that enables users to query their FlashBlade systems using natural language. Additionally, the new VM Assessment tool allows customers to audit their VMware deployments, providing insights into utilization and resource consumption. This tool comes in response to heightened customer scrutiny following VMware’s acquisition by Broadcom and aims to help clients determine if they can reduce their core licenses or consider alternatives to VMware’s vSAN storage solutions.
Finally, Pure announced the introduction of Universal Credits, allowing customers to leverage discounted rates obtained in one area—such as storage array capacity—for other subscription services, including Pure’s Cloud Block Store and Portworx, its container management platform.