IBM announces the Elastic Storage System 3500 and partners with Predatar for backup cyber resiliency

Launching the ESS3500

ESS is a software defined storage solution incorporating IBM’s Spectrum Scale software and its Global Data Platform. It is storage designed for customers who need simple, automated ways of building and running modern (often container-based) applications including those that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). There are currently 2 lines:

• The ESS5X00 – an array incorporating HDDs for data lakes and
• The ESS3X00, which is SSD-based and used for analysis.

The new ESS3500 is a 2U product including half-populated (12) or fully-populated (24) 2.5″ NVMe drives of various specifications. The maximum capacity is thereby 368TB – impressive for a 2U height box with associated low weight and power consumption. It is up to 12% faster than the ESS3200 which it replaces, mainly due to its use of a newer AMD EPYC processor.
The ESS3500 includes embedded Red Hat’s RHEL 8.x operating system and IBM Spectrum Scale, its data management solution for scale-out file and object storage. Support includes a standard 3-year warranty, IBM on-site 9×5 and next business day support. I’ve summarized its specifications in my Figure above.

Predatar endorsed for backup data cyber resiliency

IBM also announced the availability of Predatar from the partner of the same name. It is a SaaS offering that leverages IBM Spectrum Protect and Protect Plus for applying cybersecurity measures to backup data. It further enhances IBM Storage division’s offerings designed to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (see my Figure above).
Predatar includes analytics, alerts, automated recovery, testing and automated malware scanning (based on Trend Micro’s offering, although users can integrate alternatives).
Predatar provides:

• Backup anomaly detection – including a recoverability dashboard, data exploration with school-like grade marking, and various notifications.
• Automation and orchestration – including anomaly detection, global infection search, backup anti-virus scanning, and automated recovery testing.

To search for anomalies Predatar includes scheduled, randomized, behavior- and event-based testing.
With Spectrum Protect it provides:

• Scanning of all or just some backups,
• A secure testing environment,
• A clean-room for threat removal and
• Backup tagging and restoration.

It effectively adds analytic, testing, and diagnoses to Spectrum Protect’s recovery environment.
Both announcements prove how IBM’s Storage division is master of the increasingly complicated storage environments that large and ‘born on the Web’ organizations are adopting. Not only is it making it easier for non-pioneers to adopt AI and ML, HPC and container-based applications, it is doing so securely and taking into account those who want to use a mixture of on-premises and cloud computing and/or for those who want to choose how they will pay for these resources.