Enterprise cloud storage provider Avere Systems has completed a SPECsfs2008 NFS.v.3 test that shows using an edge-core storage architecture can be replaced by cloud storage arrays as a repository for corporate data. The company simultaneously unveiled FlashCloud for Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), providing cloud NAS storage enabling performance scalability using familiar NAS protocols provided by S3 in the core of the storage network.

According to Avere, using S3 eliminated the need for owning, provisioning and managing the storage capacity.

“Until now, public cloud storage has been used primarily for backup and archive applications because of poor performance due to latency imposed by the physical distance of the data center to the cloud, and the simple gateway products used to translate file to object protocols are not designed to handle the demands of enterprise applications,” said Ron Bianchini, president and CEO of Avere Systems, in a prepared statement. “These results show that with a scalable, cloud-ready storage architecture, organizations can begin to move data currently stored on premises to services like Amazon S3 in order to take advantage of the enormous cost savings.”

Backed by S3, the tested Avere Edge filer consisted of three FXT 3800 nodes. They achieved a 180,141 ops/sec with an overall response time of 0.86 msec.

Avere plans to make FlashCloud generally available this month. And the company seems like it’s ready to put its money where its mouth it in regards to storage and accessibility of data. As for cloud vs. traditional storage, the SPEC benchmarks show cloud storage can fulfill the needs currently served by more traditional on-premise storage.