iXsystems Introduces Globally Distributed Storage and Second Major Version of TrueNAS SCALE

Web3 storage service for TrueNAS with Storj offers offsite S3-compatible storage at a fraction of the cost of AWS

SAN JOSE, CA – September 13, 2022 — iXsystems®, an Open Source pioneer and the company behind TrueNAS, today announced a new Globally Distributed Storage (GDS) service in partnership with Storj, an innovator in Web3 storage. The GDS service, called iX-Storj, is available on TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin BETA, which was also released today. The iX-Storj service will be available on all TrueNAS editions in Q4 2022. When compared to Amazon S3 and similar cloud storage choices, iX-Storj will be faster, more resilient, more secure, and significantly lower in cost.

GDS stores data redundantly across a globally distributed network and provides a compelling option to TrueNAS users for a second or third geographic location for data. It is the ideal complement to a TrueNAS ZFS-based storage system that already provides high-performance and reliable storage within a data center, office, or home. Additionally, TrueNAS systems can now act as either the client that uses GDS, a node that participates as a provider to the GDS, or a combination of both.

“Many organizations in 2022 still struggle with the cost and complexity of reliably storing valuable data across sites and regions,” said Marc Staimer, Chief Analyst, DragonSlayer Consulting. “TrueNAS Globally Distributed Storage is consumed like traditional cloud object storage services at a surprisingly affordable cost, offering a choice that can solve major problems for many IT organizations.”

Like ZFS, iX-Storj is inherently secure with 256-bit encryption for both data-at-rest and data-in-flight. Unlike many cloud storage services, neither iX nor Storj can access user data without those security keys for any reason. Compared to traditional cloud storage services, iX-Storj offers double the bandwidth at only $4 per TB/month for storage, equating to more than 80% savings.

“Storj is bridging Open Source software and decentralized platforms so that developers and IT can confidently build on Web3 infrastructure,” said Ben Golub, Storj CEO. “Together with iX, we are powering better choices for enterprise storage that is more performant, sustainable, and cost-effective. We are excited to help unlock new value-added services for Open Source businesses.”

“Bluefin” is the second major version of TrueNAS SCALE and succeeds “Angelfish” by expanding the capabilities of the scale-out storage and open hyperconvergence software. Within the larger TrueNAS Open Source community, more than 25,000 users of SCALE have contributed to its development process. The powerful new Application catalog using Kubernetes also makes TrueNAS SCALE a platform for third-party Apps that are ready-made to deploy and operate.

In addition to GDS, TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin brings several major enhancements that enable Enterprise adoption:

• Scale-Up Performance Improvements – High Availability (HA) with over 1,000 drives per node
• Active-Active Reliability – Hardened clustering with simplified operations and Kubernetes CSI.
• Linux-based Security Enhancements – FIPS 140-3 encryption compliance and improved Role-Based Access Control.

As with TrueNAS SCALE Angelfish, Bluefin includes tools to migrate smoothly from TrueNAS CORE and also supports HA and migration from TrueNAS Enterprise.

“As the company behind TrueNAS, iX is excited to offer new storage services and ever more capable software to our customers and community,” said Morgan Littlewood, SVP of Product Management, iXsystems. “Globally Distributed Storage with Storj will offer secure control over highly-durable data for all TrueNAS editions, and we look forward to working with our community to ensure a high-quality release of TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin.”

Pricing and Availability

• 150 GB is available for free and is 80% lower in price compared to AWS
• TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin is available as BETA software at no cost

Additional Resources

• iX-Storj Blog
• TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin BETA blog

About iXsystems and TrueNAS

iX is an Open Source pioneer and the company behind TrueNAS, the world’s most deployed storage software. Used by millions, TrueNAS has laid the foundation for the Open Storage Era so that all organizations can access the benefits of true Data Freedom. TrueNAS enables users to harness the power of the legendary ZFS file system and provides unified and hyperconverged storage for private and cloud datacenters, with the reliability and performance demanded by virtualization, backup, and other data-intensive workloads. Thousands of organizations around the world have chosen TrueNAS Enterprise systems and support from iX to scale-up or scale-out their infrastructure while leveraging Open Source economics.