Ctera Networks adds Dell and HPE gateway appliance options

New Ctera Networks appliances enable multiple VMs

The new, more-powerful HC Series Edge Filers will enable customers to run multiple VMware virtual machines (VMs), applications and storage on the same device, Eshel said. The HC Series supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking with fiber and copper cabling options.

"Our earlier generation was just a cloud storage gateway. It didn't do other things," Eshel said. "With this version, we actually have convergence -- multiple applications in the same appliance. Basically, we're providing top-of-the-line servers with global support."

The Dell and HPE partnerships will let Ctera Networks offer on-site support within four hours, as opposed to the next-business-day service it provided in the past. Ctera will take the first call, Eshel said, and be responsible for the customer ticket. If it's a hardware issue, Ctera will dispatch partner-affiliated engineers to address the problem.

Using Dell and HPE servers enables worldwide logistics and support, which is especially helpful for users with global operations.

"It was challenging to do that with white box manufacturing," Eshel said.

Software-defined storage vendors require these types of partnerships to sell into the enterprise, said Steven Hill, a senior analyst at 451 Research.

"In spite of the increasingly software-based storage model, we find that many customers still prefer to buy their storage as pre-integrated appliances, often based on hardware from their current vendor of choice," Hill wrote in an e-mail. "This guarantees full hardware compatibility and provides a streamlined path for service and support, as well as compatibility with an existing infrastructure and management platform."

Cloud object storage options

The Ctera product works with on-premises object storage from Caringo, Cloudian, DataDirect Networks, Dell EMC, Hitachi, HPE, IBM, NetApp, Scality and SwiftStack. It also supports Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle and Verizon public clouds. Ctera has reseller agreements with HPE and IBM.

Eshel said one multinational customer, WPP, has already rolled out the new appliances in production for use with IBM Cloud.

The list price for the new Ctera HC Series starts at $10,000. Ctera also continues to sell its EC Series appliances on white box hardware. Customers have the option to buy the hardware pre-integrated with the Ctera software or purchase virtual gateway software that they can install on server hypervisors on premises or in Amazon or Azure public clouds.