Everpure FlashArray is an all-flash array (100% NVMe) block storage platform optimized for mission critical (Tier 1) workloads requiring ultra-low latency and high performance. Built-in features include inline data reduction (on average, 5:1), snapshots, replication, encryption, and business continuity. In addition, it has the capability to run virtual machines and containers on the FlashArray. The FlashArray current model is the //X series which ranges from 55 TB to 3 PB of effective capacity, where effective capacity assumes high availability, RAID, and metadata overhead, GB to GiB conversion, data reduction, compression and pattern removal. For more details, refer to the FlashArray//X product web page and https://www.purestorage.com/pure-folio/showcase.html?type=pdf&path=/content/dam/purestorage/pdf/datasheets/ps_ds_flasharray_03.pdf datasheet.
Integrated and native to FlashArray is the snapshot capability for efficient data protection of its volumes. FlashArray snapshots are immutable, point-in-time images of the contents of one or more volumes. For simplicity and ease of management, FlashArray offers protection groups. FlashArray protection groups provide automatic snapshot and replication scheduling as well as retention options for volume(s).
Although the amount of storage space consumed by snapshots on FlashArray is minimized by Redirect-On-Write (redirection of all overwrites to new blocks to avoid additional writes or data copy), compression and array-wide deduplication technologies, FlashArray may not be optimal for the long-term retention of its volume snapshots. Snap to NFS and CloudSnap have been introduced with Purity version 5.2 to provide the means of protecting FlashArray volumes and their snapshots by offloading them to another media. Snap to NFS and CloudSnap allow customers to replicate protection group snapshots from FlashArray to any NFS target or AWS S3 for long term retention. This offload snapshot feature requires no additional license to use.
Snap to NFS is also highly available. During the FlashArray controller upgrade procedure or in the event of the controller failure, the offload application which runs in Purity Run environment fails over to the surviving controller and resumes operation from the point when it was interrupted.