Nexsan Assureon | NetStorageSales.com

Overview:

Compliant-level privacy, integrity and longevity
Self-auditing, self-healing file management technology
Enterprise class manageability, scalability and energy efficiency
Affordable: enterprise class archive to meet your needs at a price to meet your budget

Privacy – Integrity – Longevity

Most storage systems provide you "hope" - hope about your data privacy, integrity and longevity. But there is some data that demands guarantees.

Can you guarantee a file. . .

has not been tampered with?
is safe from prying eyes?
is not corrupted over time?

Enterprise storage provides some protection with RAID and replication but it cannot guarantee the privacy, integrity or longevity of your data. Files can still be secretly read, modified, stolen, deleted and corrupted.

What you need is a storage system that is as secure as a safe deposit box and as easy to access as your wallet. Nexsan’s Assureon online disk storage archive provides the privacy, integrity and longevity of a digital safe deposit box with the high speed access of disk drive technology.

Assureon assures Privacy

Assureon ensures the privacy of data with innovative security features

Data Separation and Security
Every user or department can have their files in their own virtual safe deposit box. Within Assureon, your data is logically and physically separate from the rest of the data ensuring privacy and security.

Access Audit Trail
Assureon establishes an unalterable audit trail for the life of an archived file. Every time a file is accessed, a record is kept of who accessed it and when it was accessed.

Assureon assures Integrity

Fingerprint & Integrity
When data is archived, it is assigned its own unique fingerprint that stays with the file through its life cycle. If a single byte ever changes, the fingerprint will change. Revolutionary safeguards have been put into place to ensure that a file will retain its exact fingerprint through its life cycle.

Self-Auditing and Self-Healing
Assureon continually monitors files for fingerprint discrepancies protecting against tampering, viruses, corruption, accidental or deliberate deletion and theft. If discrepancies are discovered, Assureon notifies you and automatically self-heals the file.

Assureon assures Longevity

Assureon ensures the longevity of data with industry-leading file immutability technology

File Availability Audit
Assureon continual checks to ensure all files are present. If a file is missing, Assureon notifies you and automatically returns the file to its original state.

Automated Retention and Deletion
In a new world of regulatory compliance, you need to guarantee the retention and deletion of files. With automated integrity management and file immutability technology, Assureon protects against accidental or unauthorized file deletion and ensures you can retain files for compliant or flexible time periods as well as delete them when their retention period is over.

Advanced Features:

More Secure

File Fingerprinting
Using advanced CAS (Content Addressable Storage) technology, Assureon protects the integrity of your data with innovative digital fingerprint technology. With Assureon’s original technology, a unique digital fingerprint is generated for each file using concatenated SHA1 and MD5 cryptographic algorithms. This next-generation approach provides the benefits of integrity while eliminating file collisions that can result in data loss in competitive products. Assureon’s fingerprint feature ensures the data you put on storage is the data you get back regardless of time
Physical Separation of Data
Individual applications, departments, organizations or businesses can share a single Assureon but have their own secure archive with dedicated storage to ensure physical data separation and privacy
Self Auditing and Self Healing
Assureon transparently checks the integrity of all stored files and automatically self-heals if any discrepancies are discovered
File Audit Trail
Assureon tracks all users and applications that access each file providing administrators with an unalterable audit trail of information access
File Availability Audit (Serialization)
Each file is given a unique inventory serial number. Assureon continually takes inventory of all stored files ensuring all files are present. Any missing files will be automatically replaced using a redundant copy
WORM Storage
WORM (write once read many) ensures retention periods are enforced and provides file immutability. Once a file is archived, it cannot be changed and is protected against accidental or deliberate deletion, tampering, false file insertion and date or time altering
Encryption
Assureon protects information privacy and security with AES256 encryption - the encryption level authorized by the US Government for Top Secret Classified Information. Assureon encryption services ensures the highest levels of file privacy and security
Secure File Deletion
Use compliant-level file deletion with encrypted and non-encrypted files. Optional 7-pass DOD wipe can be enabled for DOD data deletion
File Versioning
File versioning can retain only the last few versions of a file and automatically disposes older versions. The number of versions to be retained is fully configurable from 1 to all versions
Independent Date and Time Stamp
As part of the encryption key service, Assureon’s independent time source prevents modifications to the system’s time clock ensuring the integrity of retention periods. With Assureon there is no tampering to the system clock or the date stamp on the file itself
Redundant Architecture
Assureon is designed as a fully redundant, high availability system providing no single point of failure. This fault tolerant architecture ensures the highest levels of business continuity and continuous data availability
High Availability Storage
Supporting the innovative Assureon appliance is Nexsan’s highly reliable, green storage. The SATABeast, SASBoy and SATABoy provide redundant controllers, power supplies and fans along with support for RAID 6 to overcome double drive failures
High Density Storage
Optimize datacenter space while reducing power and cooling costs with Assureon high density architecture. Assureon storage systems deliver 42TB of capacity for every 4U of rack space providing users with one of the most space efficient solutions available

More Manageable

Compliant or Flexible Retention Periods
Use compliant-level retention periods to ensure data cannot be deleted before the end of the retention period. Use flexible retention periods for files that do not require regulatory compliance. Users can select retention types for each type of data being archived
Legal Holds
Legal holds can be placed on files to protect against file deletion when its retention period has expired. This ensures availability of files in cases of litigation or potential litigation
De-duplication
With CAS technology, store only a single instance of duplicate files maximizing storage efficiency. Meta data and retention policies will still be preserved for each instance
Active/Active Replication
Assureon has taken data replication to a whole new level with its digital fingerprint technology. Assureon combines active/active replication and automated failover/failback with innovative fingerprint technology to enable business continuity with data integrity
Assureon FSW (File System Watcher) Client
Configure host archive policies with Assureon FSW Client. Policies can be configured for different file folder locations and data categories including when to archive a file, retention periods and what is left behind (original file, shortcut, or nothing)
Assureon Edge
Extend Assureon archive service to include multiple remote offices, branches, facilities and even other businesses. See the Assureon Edge data sheet for more details
Assureon NFS and CIFS Interface
Assureon Edge can provide a CIFS and NFS interface. Files written to these Assureon shares can be automatically archived to Assureon based on pre-described configurable policies
Application Support
Assureon has been integrated with leading applications to provide a complete and secure disk archiving solution. These include: email archive, PACS, document management (ECM), financial reports (ERM/COLD), imaging and other applications
Storage-as-a-Service
Assureon is an ideal platform for outsource management of archiving services. See the Assureon for Storage Service Providers for more details

AutoMAID™ Energy Saving Technology:

Nexsan's evolutionary AutoMAID (Automatic Massive Array of Idle Disks) energy saving technology transparently places disk drives into an idle state to vastly reduce power and cooling costs. AutoMAID delivers the cost-effecdtive benefits of MAID 2.0 without the limitations of slow access times and special host software.

AutoMAID is granular to an individual drive or RAID set and offers multiple levels of energy savings. AutoMAID is user selectable enabling users to determine the right level of response time performance to energy savings. AutoMAID is the first MAID 2.0 architecture that supports VTL, full file format D2D and standard high performance RAID implementations.

Key Points

AutoMAID reduces power and cooling costs
Nexsan’s AutoMAID delivers the benefits of MAID without the limitations
Available on Nexsan Assureon, SATABoy, SATABeast, and SATABeast Xi

AutoMAID Defined

AutoMAID automatically reduces power consumption and heat generation on idle drives
Trade-off between response times and power savings are user configurable
AutoMAID behavior happens automatically and transparently to host – no software changes required
Typical configuration settings:
- Level 1: Heads Unloaded
  - 15% to 20% savings
  - Sub-second recovery time
- Level 2: Heads Unloaded, slows to 4000 RPM
  - 35% to 45% savings
  - 15 second recovery time
- Level 3: Stops spinning (sleep mode; powered on)
  - 60% to 70% savings
  - 30 to 45 second recovery time

AutoMAID Safety Features

In maximum power saving mode, drive spin up is sequenced to reduce power surges
Drives automatically wake up for periodic surface scan to ensure data integrity (user configurable)
AutoMAID has no impact on performance if left on in data-intensive server applications
Only two simple configuration settings – "timeout" and "power savings desired"

Competitive Edge:

Assureon is known for its next generation security measure, but there is much more to Assureon. When you look 'under the hood,' Assureon reveals a full suite of features.

Finding the most secure archive available is not enough. You also need a system package in a simple, fully integrated solution that offers enterprise class manageability, scalability and energy efficiency...at a price to meet your budget.

This si where you discover how Nexsan is changing the rules of storage - by delivering an enterprise class archive to meet your needs at a price to meet your budget, Along with innovative security features, how does the rest Assureon stack up?

Manageable

Simple to understand, simple to install, simple to use

Automated audits of file availability, integrity and access
Automated file fingerprinting
Automated 'lights out' management
Automated file ingestion, retrieval, audits, de-duplication and replication without user intervention
Quick and easy search of files based on file properties or content with near instantaneous retieval

Scalable

Scale without penalty

No object limit; scale without performance penalty
Scale performance and capacity independently
Scale performance to thousands of files per second
Scale from a few terabytes to multiple petabytes

Green

All the benefits of green without the limitations

Energy saving AutoMAID reduces energy cost up to 60%
Speed with green - near instantaneous response from idle state
Green Maximizer automatically migrates files to 'green, greener, greenest' states of energy savings based on file usage

Technology:

Assureon is based upon a combination of CAS (Content Addressable Storage) with advanced 256-bit AES encryption and other security and data protection technologies. CAS technology produces a unique file identifier or "fingerprint" for all objects, based on their content. Assureon's object storage model stores files, images, recordings, web pages, etc, as objects with a unique universal identifier. This approach differs from traditional file system models, where an application or user names the file and then places it in a hierarchical file system. Traditional file system models suffer from a lack of scalability and a high management cost.

In an object model, the archived physical object is completely separate from the logical location or application. Administrators can be relieved of performing typical storage housekeeping tasks, such as formatting file systems, creating volumes and binding LUNs (logical unit numbers).

Assureon's CAS technology provides:

Immutability - because each file fingerprint is based on the specific bit pattern of that file, if a bit is changed then the file fingerprint would be different. Assureon does not allow changes and will detect if any tampering has occurred.

Single-instance storage - one copy of each file is stored, regardless of how many users write that file to storage, giving significant storage-use efficiency.

Scalability - Additional storage can easily be added

Reduces Storage Management Cost - Storage housekeeping tasks, such as formatting file systems, creating volumes and binding LUNs are not necessary

Load Balancing - Enables a uniform distribution of files across available storage locations. Assureon's load balancing enhances performance and enables storage to scale into the petabytes

Assureon uses a dual cryptographic process (MD5 and SHA-1 hashing algorithms) to create its unique file identifier (UFID). The dual cryptographic process offers fail safe security against the occurrence of a collision.

Encryption with patent-pending secure encryption key management

Encryption a powerful tool to ensure privacy and protect against data theft. Assureon implements encryption on a file by file basis using the AES256 encryption standard. Each file has its own unique key, which is transparently and automatically handled by Assureon's secure "key manager."

Secure Key Management: The management of encryption keys is critical to data protection. Key management needs to be secure from attack and also from inadvertent corruption by insiders or physical theft of the hardware that contains the keys. Assureon's advanced, automated encryption key management system has a unique quadruple backup process safeguarding the keys against disaster. Assureon provides support for multiple offsite repositories of keys, which are themselves encrypted, as well as active deposits of file manifest information at secure locations or with a neutral third party.

Scalability - Assureon's performance and capacity scale independently

Assureon's architecture is not a "pizza box or brick" design whereby a certain number of server nodes need to be configured based upon the amount of storage and the two are locked together - if you want to scale capacity you must also scale performance. Assureon is flexible. Storage capacity can be vastly increased if needed and more server nodes can be added to the configuration for faster performance independent of each other. This allows the customer to purchase exactly what they need for their environment and, in the case of a large archive, reduces the cost per terabyte dramatically.

Media Independence

In addition to disk, Assureon supports offline media such as tape and optical. By combining CAS single instance store technology with secure encryption on removable media, Assureon reduces costs and prevents any unauthorized access to stored data including security breaches, attacks and lost or stolen media.

Security:

Compliance and Best Practices require Better Security

Information and storage security are very important topics - privacy and data theft are at the forefront of today's customer concerns. In addition, many regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Privacy Acts, and HIPAA, spell out specific requirements for secure information access and data storage. Assureon offers powerful answers to these important requirements through the integrated technologies it is built upon - security, file disposition, the individual destruction of offline files, WORM protection and file authentication.

Encryption

Assureon can encrypt any file, using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES256). There have been no successful attacks against AES, and it has been approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) for top secret documents. Multiple Privacy Acts, HIPAA, California 's SB 1386 and the FDA's CFR part 11 recommend or require encryption of information for security purposes. When Assureon encryption is enabled, files cannot be viewed even if a hacker manages to compromise security.

Secure Accessibility

Assureon's Access Control has three components.

Authentication verifies that a client is who they say they are
- Assureon optionally uses security certificates (Smart Cards)
Authorization determines that the client has the appropriate permissions to access the resources they are requesting. Authorization is given to an authenticated client by policies established within Assureon and then published into Active Directory.
Audit logs that can be used to account for any and all access to managed information.

Assured Individual Key Destruction

At the end of an information asset's retention period, Assureon destroys the file's encryption key and all access to that file. Assureon is unique in its key management capabilities in that it can identify and dispose of individual files - not only on its integrated disk storage, but also on offline media such as tape or optical.

Authentication of Information

When a file is placed under Assureon management, it is processed by dual cryptographic hash functions (MD5 and SHA-1) to create a unique identifier sometimes called hash value, digital fingerprint, CAS (Content Addressable Storage) address or UFID. This unique identifier allows the system to verify that the file has not been altered or inadvertently corrupted.

When a file is authenticated, Assureon retrieves the file, creates a cryptographic hash value for the document, and then compares it to the original cryptographic hash value that was generated when the file was placed under management. If any changes were made to the document, even down to the bit level, the hash values will not be the same and the file is not authenticated; if the hash values are identical, the file is authenticated as an original. This process ensures the authenticity and integrity of all files stored by the Assureon system.

Documentation:

Nexsan Assreon Datasheet (.PDF)