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Microsoft Updates Its StorSimple 8000 Hybrid Storage Appliance
Microsoft issued an update today to its StorSimple storage management product.
Update 1 to the StorSimple 8000 series now supports using other cloud storage service providers besides Microsoft Azure for backend cloud storage. It supports the use of "Amazon S3, Amazon S3 with RRS, and OpenStack-based clouds," according to Microsoft's announcement.
Microsoft also added support for Azure Zone Redundant Storage with Update 1. This service maintains three copies of data at various Azure datacenters to assure data recovery.
The StorSimple 8000 product with Update 1 now supports Microsoft's cloud service for government entities called "Azure Government." As part of that support, its cryptographic modules now align with Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2, according to the announcement.
Microsoft is also making it easier to upgrade from StorSimple 5000 or StorSimple 7000 products using StorSimple 8000 Update 1, without moving the data. That's done via PowerShell cmdlets. In general, Microsoft has been working to help automate management tasks in StorSimple by adding to its collection of Azure PowerShell cmdlets.
StorSimple is Microsoft's cloud-integrated appliance that stores data locally but also in hosted datacenters run by service providers. The appliance typically works by keeping the more active data located on premises, while less active data gets housed in the cloud. There's also a "Virtual Appliance" version that runs in an Azure virtual machine. Microsoft bought the company that made the StorSimple products back in 2012.
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.