Spectra Logic has announced the latest release of its award-winning StorCycle Storage Lifecycle Management software. StorCycle 3.3 comes with a range of new features including an open RESTful API that allows users to integrate StorCycle into a broader set of workflows, as well as new enhancements that advance the software’s ability to migrate data to disk, tape and cloud storage, including all tiers of Amazon and Microsoft Azure.
StorCycle is a storage lifecycle management software solution that ensures data is stored on the right tier throughout its lifecycle for greater IT and budgetary efficiencies. Created for organisations that need lasting protection and access to data which is no longer active, but still critical to retain, StorCycle scans primary storage for inactive files and migrates them to a lower cost tier of storage, which includes any combination of cloud storage, object storage disk, network-attached storage (NAS) and object storage tape. Interoperable with Linux and Windows, StorCycle migrates data, without changing original formats, and allows users to have easy access to all data including data migrated to higher latency storage mediums like cloud “cold” tiers and tape.
StorCycle 3.3 delivers the following new benefits:
- Open API
With the exposed RESTful API, users can take advantage of StorCycle’s core features, including scanning, migrating, and restoring data to build integrations and applications that leverage StorCycle’s Storage Lifecycle Management capabilities. The exposed API is an excellent tool for advanced users who wish to integrate StorCycle into wider workflows. In addition to providing core commands to configure storage locations, the API helps users build applications to better manage jobs or perform bulk actions without using the web interface.
- Extended Cloud Support to Microsoft Azure and Amazon
StorCycle 3.3 extends cloud support to Microsoft Azure, including both the standard (hot/cool) and archive tiers. Azure can be used as a storage target for migrate/store jobs, helping organisations leverage the cost-effectiveness and ease of cloud storage. This is in addition to StorCycle’s existing support for Amazon S3 standard and archive tiers. Additional support for Amazon has also been added in StorCycle 3.3 so that users can leverage StorCycle’s capability to tier data to Glacier and Deep Archive from standard tiers after a migration.
- Automated Restore Notification Alerts
When configuring a restore job, StorCycle users now have the ability to request automatic email alerts when the restore job completes. This is especially helpful and convenient for restore jobs which may take several hours (such as with Amazon Glacier or Azure Archive).
- Real Time Performance and Progress Data
Real time performance and progress data is now displayed when a migrate or restore job is active. Migrate/store and restore jobs will display the data rate (MB/s), the amount of data transferred thus far and the job size. Scan jobs will display the total directories and files migrated per second. Each performance chart is easily available on the respective jobs pages (migrate, restore, scan), as well as the main jobs page which will display all active jobs in StorCycle. This feature is especially useful when many large jobs are running in parallel and other organisational tasks depend on job completions.
- OpenLDAP
In addition to Active Directory, StorCycle now provides full support for OpenLDAP for user authentication. When configured, users on the LDAP domain can be given Restore User permissions where they are able to restore migrated data without Administrator assistance. Configuring OpenLDAP also makes it easier for Administrators to add named users to StorCycle, where they can be given additional permissions in the application, such as Administrator or Storage Manager roles.
StorCycle — Award-Winning Software
StorCycle won several product awards for excellence in innovation, data management and cloud enablement in 2020. The list includes: Digital Media World 2020 Gold Awards – StorCycle Storage Lifecycle Management software earned the 2020 Digital Media World Award in the Best Digital Asset Management award category. Spectra’s StorCycle was recognised for its ability to bring visibility and insight to better manage storage volumes through intelligent tiering and data migration, while maintaining direct, consistent access to migrated assets and enhancing search capabilities with the use of metadata tags. The Cloud Awards – StorCycle was a finalist in the international Cloud Computing Awards program, The Cloud Awards. StorCycle was recognised as the Best Hybrid Cloud Solution for enabling organisations to implement a more effective and efficient hybrid cloud solution which reduces data storage costs while optimising data protection. The Storries – StorCycle software was honoured with the Storage Innovation of the Year award by Storage Magazine, which recognises Spectra’s innovation in providing one of the industry’s most effective storage lifecycle management software solutions to enhance IT infrastructures. DCS Awards – StorCycle software was a finalist for the Product of the Year category by the 2020 DCS Awards, which rewards the achievements of product designers, manufacturers, suppliers and providers operating in the data centre arena in Europe.
