Turnkey File Storage & Sharing Solutions
- High-Capacity & Scalable
- Secure & Resilient
- High Throughput
- Manufactured & Serviced in North America
Secure & Resilient File Sharing
Through years of delivering mission-critical file storage and sharing solutions to enterprises and government agencies, we have learned that high-capacity, performance, scalability, and security are essential to keep their files secure, accessible, and shared with clearly defined permissions.
Legacy Vendors offer file storage built from tightly integrated systems along with being a one-stop shop and point of accountability. However, their systems are proprietary and create contractual risk through vendor lock-in. Open-Source alternatives avoid vendor lock-in, but often lack a single point of accountability and are a complex, risky project needed to implement it.
45Drives provides the best of both worlds for file storage and sharing. Like legacy vendors, our solutions are tightly integrated and we provide a single-PO purchasing and a point of accountability for both hardware and software. We differ from legacy by use of open-source software and non-proprietary hardware, giving complete control, flexibility, and security for your files.
No Vendor Lock-In
Open-Source Software Non-Proprietary Hardware
High-Capacity & Scalable
Single Servers & Clusters
Resilient File System
Defense Against Data Deletion, Corruption, And More
Extreme High-Performance
High Transfer Speeds And I/O
Client OS Agnostic
Windows, Macs, Linux
Houston User Interface
No Command Line Experience Needed
Simple To Backup
To Separate Private Storage Or Cloud
Architect, Configuration, Training & Continuous Support
24/7 Access North American Team
Storage Solutions Designed for File Storage and Sharing
All models feature a direct-wired architecture, where each drive has an independent connection to the HBA card. This ensures maximum throughput for every hard drive, delivering full performance and enabling fast file transfers.
45Drives offers four classes of storage to meet any file sharing requirement. From high-capacity HDD servers to ultra-high-performance all-NVMe systems and everything in between, we deliver the right solution for your file sharing needs.
Storinator: All Hard Drive (HDD) File Storage
For file storage and sharing, HDDs deliver high-capacity storage with an optimized cost per terabyte, making them well-suited for reliable and scalable data needs when paired with proper redundancy. Their strength in handling large sequential reads and writes makes them ideal for serving and transferring large files efficiently. For majority of file sharing requirements, HDDs will get the job done. The 45Drives Storinator offers all HDD servers from 4 to 60 bays, delivering up to 1.8 petabytes of raw capacity in a single server with 30TB HDDs.
Storinator Model Quick Specs
| Model | Drive Bays | Max Raw Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Mi4 | 4 | 120TB |
| C8 | 8 | 240TB |
| AV15 | 15 | 450TB |
| Q30 | 30 | 900TB |
| S45 | 45 | 1.35PB |
| XL60 | 60 | 1.8PB |
Storinator Hybrid: Hybrid Hard Drive & Solid State Drive File Storage
SSDs outperform HDDs in random IOPS and low latency, making them ideal for use cases where there are millions or billions of KB sized files. However, their cost per TB can pose budgetary challenges when storing files that accumulate to mass amounts of storage. The 45Drives Storinator Hybrid combines the high performance of SSDs with the cost-efficient capacity of HDDs in a single server.
Storinator Hybrid Quick Specs
| Model | HDD Bays | SSD Bays | Max Raw Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| F8X1 | 12 | 8 | HDD: 360TB, SSD: 60.8TB |
| F8X2 | 24 | 16 | HDD: 720TB, SSD: 121.6TB |
| F8X3 | 36 | 24 | HDD: 1.08PB, SSD: 182.4TB |
| XL60H32 | 45 | 32 | HDD: 1.35PB, SSD: 243.2TB |
Stornado: All Solid State Drive (SSD) File Storage
The 45Drives Stornado all flash lineup delivers extreme IOPS and ultra low latency, making it ideal for file sharing workloads that require high performance, such as frequent and random access to many small files. When file sharing and transfer speed are critical to your operations, the SATA and NVMe Stornado Servers provide the fastest solution. Whether in collaborative environments, high frequency file access, or latency sensitive applications, the all flash Stornado ensures exceptional responsiveness and throughput.
Stornado Quick Specs
| Stornado Model | Drive Bays | SSD Type | Max Raw Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | 32 | 2.5" SATA/SAS | 243.2TB |
| F16 | 16 | 15mm U.3 NVMe | 491.5TB |
Open-Source Software for File Storage & Sharing
Single Server & ZFS on Linux
45Drives storage servers use the ZFS file system and volume manager on Linux, designed for data integrity and resilience. ZFS offers snapshots to protect files from deletion, checksums every read to detect and repair corruption, and runs scheduled scrubs to keep archived data intact.
As a software defined storage software, ZFS enables protection from storage drive failure with flexible RAID configurations without the proprietary risks associated with hardware RAID controllers. It also combines the throughput of the drives, delivering exception single client transfer speeds.
Storage Cluster with Ceph
While single servers with ZFS deliver blazing fast file storage and transfer speeds for a single client, their capacity under a single file sharing namespace is limited by the amount of drives they hold. Adding more servers increases total file storage capacity but creates separate namespaces, making collaborative file sharing harder and turning storage into an untamed “zoo” to manage.
Ceph solves this by clustering three or more servers into a single, unified file storage and sharing system. Capacity scales seamlessly by adding drives or servers, while maintaining a single, easy-to-manage namespace. Data redundancy is built in at the server level, ensuring high availability file sharing and access with up to 99.99% uptime.
Ceph's performance for file sharing shines when it comes to high user quantity access, maintaining consistent performance for all users. As the cluster scales in capacity and size, the max quantity of users that can access the files on the cluster scales as well.
Ceph excels at scalable file sharing for many users simultaneously, delivering consistent performance even as the cluster grows. As capacity and size increase, so does the maximum number of users who can reliably access and share files.
Best Practices Architecture to Defend Against the Perils of Data Loss
45Drives' single-server ZFS and Ceph cluster solutions are architected following our best practices for open-source storage, developed through years of experience deploying systems for enterprises and federal government agencies. The table below highlights the common perils to organizational data and how our configurations are designed to protect against them.
| Peril of Data Loss | Single Server ZFS Defense | Ceph Cluster Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Drive & Hardware Failure | Software-Defined RAID, Redundant Components | Erasure coding & replication, Server level redundancy |
| Accidental and Intentional Deletion | Copy-on-Write File system, Snapshotting Schedules | Copy-on-Write File system, Snapshotting Schedules |
| Data Corruption | Check-summing, Scheduled Scrubs | Check-summing, Scheduled Scrubs |
| Ransomware | SnapShield Behavioral Analysis and Ransomware activated Fuse | SnapShield Behavioral Analysis and Ransomware activated Fuse |
| Disasters | Off-Site Replication (Cloud or Private Host) | Off-Site Replication (Cloud or Private Host) |
| Unauthorized Access | Root hardening, Permission Settings, 2FA | Root hardening, Permission Settings, 2FA |
Architect & Configuration
When engaged to provide a file storage and sharing solution, a 45Drives solutions architect will design a solution based on your organizations specific use case, workflow, IT environment, and performance requirements. Once the unit is delivered and installed, our team of experts will configure the storage solution, integrate it with your IT infrastructure, and align it to our best-practice storage architecture. The storage will be configured to ensure security and resilience against common risks of data loss such as hardware and storage drive failure, corruption, accidental deletion, unauthorized access, and can schedule backups to separate servers or the cloud. SMB or NFS file sharing will be configured to accommodate mixed clients OS including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
File Protection from Ransomware
SnapShield adds an additional layer of protection against ransomware. Using behavioral analysis, it near instantly detects abnormal data writes to the server. It then acts like a 'fuse' and disconnects and isolates the infected client from the storage server.
For all uninfected clients, it's business as usual as they can continue to access files from the server. The small amount of files that were encrypted prior to the fuse popping, can be selectively rolled back. This limits damage and significantly reduces down time, turning a ransomware attack into a non-event.
Administrative & In-Dept Training
Having an IT team trained in their storage methods puts organizations in the driver's seat of their IT infrastructure. This empowers quick, strategic decision-making and ensures smooth operations, optimizing both performance and reliability. All 45Drives deployments include basic administrative training on the Houston User Interface. For deeper expertise, we also offer Fundamentals of Linux and Ceph Bootcamp training, available both remotely and in person to meet your team's needs.
Our Commitment to Open Source
As sponsors of the Linux Foundation, Diamond Members of the Ceph Foundation, and principal sponsors of Rocky Linux (Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation), we are deeply committed to advancing the open source community and driving innovation.
Brett Kelly
45Drives Technical Director
Ceph Foundation
Board Member
Mitch Hall
45Drives Chief Architect
Ceph Foundation
Board Member
The Industry's Best Support
45Drives is your single point of accountability for open-source solutions, proudly supported from both the United States and Canada. Our North American-based team provides end-to-end expertise in hardware, software, networking, and application interfaces. We offer a wide range of support packages—from basic hardware troubleshooting to fully managed, white-glove service with 24/7 emergency response. Whether you're in the planning phase, deep into deployment, or maintaining operations long term, our dual-country support presence ensures your success every step of the way.
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