Start-up unveils SAN-to-cloud optimizer appliance

Start-up Cirtas Systems unveil its first product today, an appliance that caches high priority data locally and stores secondary data in the cloud using WAN optimization technology.

Cirtas’ 2U (3.5-in high) appliance, the Bluejet Cloud Storage Controller, acts as a local cache that uses a combination of DRAM, solid state drives (SSDs) and 7200RPM hard disk drives. The multiple tiers of storage enable users to set up policies for storing data based on priority. The appliance offers up to 3.5TB of internal capacity.

The Bluejet appliance also compresses and deduplicates data before replicating it offsite via either Iron Mountain’s Archive Services or Amazon’s S3 cloud storage service, depending on data storage and restoration requirements.

“The appliance connects to the customer’s SAN and appears like another array, but it allows the enterprise to use (cloud storage) instead of accumulating data on site,” said Dan Decasper, co-founder and CEO of Cirtas. “We will announce other (cloud service) providers in coming releases.”

The Bluejet appliance offers data compression ratios of 2:1 to 3:1 depending on the data type, and a data deduplication ratio as high as 50:1 for backup, Decasper said.

One advantage to using the Bluejet appliance for disaster recovery, Decasper said, is that a user company does not need connectivity between a primary data center and a secondary offsite data center. Instead, if a primary site goes down, the company can open a link to the cloud service provider, which has connectivity to the secondary disaster recovery site.

“So for disaster recovery to work, you don’t need an expensive leased line between primary and secondary sites,” he said.

Cirtas is targeting midmarket enterprise companies with its new appliance, or companies with annual revenues between $200 million and $10 billion.

The Blujet appliance comes with several service support plans — a next-day service plan or a 24-hour, 7-days a week premium plan.

The appliance is available immediately, and will have a starting retail price of $69,995.

“Cirtas Bluejet makes migrating data to the cloud fast and painless, and perfectly complements our portfolio of cloud storage and information management services,” Jaimin Patel, director of developer programs for Iron Mountain, said in a statement. “Together, Cirtas and Iron Mountain offer enterprise customers an integrated cloud solution that is easy to implement and manage while ensuring stored information is accessible and secure.”