Research Note: Infinidat Ltd releases new G4 Hardware, with updates to InfuzeOS and InfiniSafe

Infinidat Ltd has announced new generation 4 hardware that claims to deliver up to a 2x performance improvement. The new solutions include an upgrade to InfuzeOS 8 (which is now available on Microsoft Azure), with new InfiniSafe data protection features. We dig into the details and see how they match up with the wider industry.

Background

Infinidat Ltd has announced InfiniBox generation 4 (G4) hardware based on AMD EPYC processors. The new systems are built around a single-socket AMD 9554P design, which upgrades previous solutions to DDR5 system memory and PCIe 5.0 I/O. The hybrid configurations now utilise 20TB hard drives for a maximum usable capacity of 3.17PB (or 7.925PB effective). Infinidat claims a performance improvement of up to 2x compared with previous models (although this is dependent on the comparison being made).

Why move from Intel to AMD? As we’ve recently highlighted, the leading storage system vendors have started the migration to Intel Sapphire Rapids, as this platform provides greater memory and I/O bandwidth (see here and here). The architecture also introduces new capabilities, such as QuickAssist Technology, to offload data compression and encryption.

However, AMD solutions offer a higher core count per processor than Intel, with more memory channels (typically 12 versus 8) and more PCIe 5.0 lanes (128 compared to 80 with Intel Sapphire Rapids). These differences are significant in that vendors can implement single-socket designs rather than dual-socket systems. Single-socket systems use significantly less power, while being capable of fitting into a smaller form factor than dual-core equivalents.

Efficiency

As data volumes grow (especially those fuelled by the hype of AI), then system efficiency becomes increasingly important. The original InfiniBox designs were delivered as entire 42U racks and effectively wheeled into place in the data centre. In September 2023, Infinidat announced solutions shipping with 60%, 80% or 100% capacity, allowing customers to grow into upgrades. However, this was still within a single custom rack.

With the release of G4, customers now have a smaller 14U rack-mount option for InfiniBox SSA solutions (the F1400T). The aim is to target edge or smaller data centre use cases, such as co-location where there may not be an option for custom rack installation. This now means InfiniBox SSA has a lower entry-point capacity of just 155TB (387TB effective).

InfuzeOS

InfuzeOS, the InfiniBox storage operating system has been upgraded to release 8. The Cloud Edition has been ported to Microsoft Azure, providing customers the option to replicate data from on-premises solutions into the public cloud, or even from AWS to Azure (although the use cases for this scenario are probably limited).

Functionally, InfuzeOS Cloud Edition is the same as the on-premises software, but crucially, doesn’t have the same resiliency, as it is implemented as a single node (or single virtual instance). As a result, we continue to see the option to use Cloud Edition for data mobility and data protection purposes rather than production workloads.

InfiniSafe

One differentiating aspect of InfiniBox technology is the focus on cyber-resilience. InfiniSafe encompasses a suite of capabilities that were first introduced in February 2022. Guarantees of snapshot immutability and recovery were introduced in August 2022 and extended to InfiniGuard (the dedicated backup appliance) in October 2022.

In May 2023, Infinidat introduced InfiniSafe Cyber Detection, a subscription-based service that uses Index Engines to proactively scan snapshots and detect malware or data corruption from ransomware attacks.

The latest release of InfiniSafe introduces two new features. Cyber Detection now scans VMware datastores to identify possible malware in virtual machines. InfiniSafe Automated Cyber Protection is a new capability that provides an API which integrates with existing SIEM and SOAR platforms used by the customer to trigger the automatic creation of an immutable snapshot should a threat be detected. The solution is provided with a reference architecture guide that enables customers to customise the process to their requirements.

Coverage

Why is the automation of immutable snapshots so important? As we discuss with Eric Herzog in a podcast recorded to discuss the G4 announcements (embedded below), typical data protection is scheduled around time intervals and operational processes. It is usual for full snapshots to be taken daily or perhaps every few hours.

The gap between identifying a ransomware breach and having a clean snapshot therefore becomes critical. The older a valid snapshot is, the more manual data recovery (or subsequent data loss) there may be. The only way to reduce the threat window is to automate.

The Architect’s View®

The G4 update introduces a welcome improvement in performance, but more importantly for Infinidat, increases the TAM (total available market) and possible deployment options for InfiniBox and InfiniBox SSA. By moving to AMD, Infinidat gains two advantages. Systems become more efficient from an environmental perspective but can also be scaled down to meet the brief of a broader market.

Although the new F1400T is aimed at edge scenarios, it also opens up options for customers in the mid to high-end of the market. Widening the TAM is a tactic we’ve seen from HPE 3PAR to Pure Storage and makes total business sense.

The automation introduced into InfiniSafe is a positive addition. However, we’d like to see this technology taken a step further with the concept of a “snapshots sliding window”. In this instance, snapshots would be continually created over a set period with a pre-determined frequency (for example, every 5 minutes for 2 hours). As the time window moves forwards, old snapshots are released as new ones are created. However, if a malware or cyber-attack is detected, the automation feature can lock snapshots taken before the breach rather than just after.

We continue to be quietly impressed by Infinidat’s progress. It’s interesting to note that shared or centralised storage isn’t going away, but instead has new reasons to be an area of growth in the modern data centre.