ParaScale Rolls Out Cloud Scale Data Protection and Security

Late last year, we told VARs about ParaScale, a cloud vendor with a platform that lets VARs turn legacy Linux hardware into a storage cluster. Today, they enhance their value proposition with the launch of ParaScale Cloud Storage 2.5, with new features designed to make the platform more reliable, more accessible, and, most importantly, more secure. I spoke with ParaScale VP of Marketing and Business Development Jack Norris about the announcement. Here’s the scoop.

What’s driving demand for ParaScale solutions, Norris says, isn’t documents or e-mails or even video — it’s the machines. Machine-generated content, like log files, sensor data, equipment output, and the like, is filling up legacy systems and making administrators reconsider the cloud. It’s with that in mind that ParaScale designed the new release.

That’s why ParaScale Cloud Storage 2.5 supports running applications directly on top of a storage node, Norris says, rather than pull the data across the network for processing, improving efficiency.

The new release also introduces what ParaScale calls “Cloud Scale” data protection and security: the former brings enhanced data integrity and self-healing to the table; the latter brings what Norris calls “keyless encryption,” where encryption keys are generated on the fly without the help of a third-party application, and all actions like replication and actions like replication or evacuation occur on the encrypted data.

The enhanced security measures also means that data on stolen discs or nodes can’t be accessed unless the thief has the dedication to make an exact copy of your storage cluster on their end, Norris says.

The last feature of the 2.5 release I want to call attention to here is what Norris says was easily the single most-requested feature, and now ParaScale is the only one that has it: advanced multi-tenancy access. FTP users are connected to a unique virtual file system (VFS) with authenticated access to files, removing physical constraints.

My take: ParaScale Cloud Storage 2.5 is a huge indicator of what’s to come for cloud solutions. We’re coming to the end of cloud novelty, and into an age of refinement, where new security and usability features are going to attract more resellers than endless hype.

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