IBM Cloud introduces storage options for SoftLayer Cloud Servers

“As businesses move to the cloud or create more amazing cloud-based services, the diversity of workloads we see is growing at an astonishing rate. No two workloads are the same, and each has a unique storage profile,” said Marc Jones, CTO for SoftLayer. “When an application or data set is mission critical, it is important to be able to control as many dimensions of its storage as possible. Being able to choose from a full range of storage types—from block to file and object—is great, but not enough. So as we created our new Block Storage and File Storage, we engineered them with Endurance and Performance options so that customers can fine tune their environment by whichever attribute is their highest priority.”

SoftLayer’s new Block Storage and File Storage are built on an industry-leading storage architecture that seamlessly fuses solid-state drives—ideal for computing operations that need higher input/output operations per second (IOPS)—with enterprise-grade spinning disks—allowing near-limitless scalability while minimizing costs.

All Block Storage volumes and File Storage shares provide enterprise-grade performance and data durability, standard. They are also resilient, using high levels of data redundancy to protect data integrity and availability in case of events such as operational errors or hardware failure.

But going even further, users can choose an Endurance-class level of either storage type, ideal for workloads that require the highest level of data durability. With Endurance, users can select the performance tier that matches the needs of their workload. Total performance is determined by volume size, with larger volumes having higher performance. Endurance class also provides additional storage features, including automated snapshots and replication, making it easy to seamlessly backup and mirror data between multiple SoftLayer cloud data centers. Multiple Endurance tiers allow customers to choose the right balance of performance and cost: volumes or shares can be ordered in sizes from 20GB to 12TB at a starting price of $0.15/GB.

Alternatively, customers can select to have a Performance-class level of either storage type, perfect for workloads that require a specific level of input/output operations per second (IOPS). The Performance class allows users to specify the maximum level of IOPS that their storage must always deliver, independent of volume size. This level of storage is best suited for users with well-understood performance needs that fall outside of the tiers available within Endurance class. Performance class volumes and shares can be ordered in sizes ranging from 20GB to 12TB with user-selectable IOPS ranging from 100 to 6,000, with a starting price of $0.10/GB and $0.12/IOP.

The new storage offerings define a new structure for SoftLayer’s already extensive portfolio of storage options for SoftLayer bare metal and virtual servers, which includes Object Storage, an object-level storage system offering built on OpenStack Swift.

SoftLayer’s new Block Storage and File Storage are available in SoftLayer cloud data centers around the world. With these data centers seamlessly integrated through the advanced SoftLayer network—including private network connectivity between all data centers and unlimited data center to data center data transfer—customers can use the new storage offerings to create exceptionally robust and cost-effective data accessibility, backup, and recovery strategies.