the point of durability

The solution for compliance and archiving
PoINT Storage Manager - Gateway Edition

PoINT Storage Manager

The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition is a software-based archiving solution for long-term, legally compliant data storage independent of any single storage technology or system. The solution uses common standards to ensure data remains available and intact. It fulfils legal requirements relating to long-term storage, data protection and retention periods. The solution can migrate from one archive storage system to another without any interruption to operations.

A holistic approach – A file system for archiving

PoINT Storage Manager - Archive File System

The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition provides a standardized file system platform for legally compliant data archiving which can in principle use any type of application that saves data to file systems. It delivers a holistic gateway-based approach meeting archiving requirements for all business applications, avoiding the need for isolated application-specific solutions. Users or applications determine which data can be archived according to which criteria.

The data is handed over to the archive system via a standardized file system interface – the archive gateway. The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition offers legally compliant storage and guarantees the integrity of the data it handles.

 

Independence – Choose your archive storage system freely

The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition operates independently of the archive storage system in use and supports all available storage technologies and methods (disk/flash, tape, optical, cloud/object). It also supports the use of multiple different archive storage systems in parallel, for example to allow “air gaps” between media to improve security. This also includes offline media management for removable media like tape and optical drives. This transparent support for a wide range of different storage technologies relieves users and applications of the need for their archive systems to possess specific hardware characteristics. The PoINT Storage Manager takes care of storage system management.

Properties

File Archiving, including Versioning with Archive Volumes

The PoINT Storage Manager protects files stored by applications in the specified archive file system (WORM protection) and packages them in so-called “archive volumes” (UDF containers) which can then be written to one or more configured archive storage systems. Applications retain transparent access to archived data via the file system.

The archiving functionality also permits the archiving and management of multiple versions of the same file. This makes changes to archived files trackable. Previous versions of an archived file can be accessed via a web client or by other means.

WORM and Retention Management

Every business needs to align with a number of requirements and laws in order to archive data legally and in compliance with all rules. With the PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition, these compliance requirements can be fulfilled very efficiently thanks to integrated WORM functionality and dedicated archive storage hardware.

Integrated retention management enables targeted, time-limited protection for archived files against manipulation, changes or deletion. Once the retention period expires, specific files can be selected and deleted from the archive system. If versioning is used for archived files, a ruleset can be configured to specify how many versions to retain.

Encryption and Authenticity

The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition offers encryption functionality to prevent unauthorised access to archived data.

User data and metadata is encrypted using AES-128 in block chaining mode at the logical block level. Different keys are used for different logical blocks, generally derived from the 256-bit System Key and 128-bit Storage Vault key. The Storage Vault key can optionally be stored in the archive, in which case it is secured with AES-128 encryption. Information required to authenticate files is protected in the same way.

PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition includes functions that can help to check the authenticity of archived files and identify potential tampering. Relevant information is captured during the archiving process, both for individual files and the archive volume as a whole, and stored in an encrypted format on the archive volume and in the PoINT Storage Manager database.

Connectors for On- and Off-premises Archive Storage

The supported archive systems are cloud and object stores, NAS systems, tape systems and optical systems. These are integrated natively (i.e. with no additional software required) using so-called connectors. The PoINT Storage Manager – Gateway Edition can write to up to four systems, of the same or different types, in parallel to one storage vault.

By using multiple archive storage systems simultaneously, businesses can improve data security by putting technological and physical distance between their data. The use of a multi-cloud approach can mean, for example, that dependency on any one cloud provider is reduced.

Migrate across Archives without Interruption

Whenever data is stored for long periods of time, it will eventually need to migrate to another storage technology or archive system. The PoINT Storage Manager enables convenient migration across archive systems without interrupting normal operations. The actual data transfer process runs in the background while the usual archiving process continues as always.

Since the PoINT Storage Manager works with archive volumes, the transfer rate is significantly faster than copying individual files. Once the migration is complete, the administrator will receive a log of all files migrated.

Benefits and Advantages

  • Meet compliance and legal archiving requirements
  • Data integrity and security
  • Independence from any one storage technology or manufacturer
  • Permanent availability of archived data
  • Migrate across archives without interruption

Technical Information

Source Systems

Here you can find information for the source systems.

Target Systems

  • NAS (Dell/EMC, HP, NetApp, Fujitsu, …)
  • Object-based Storage (Cloudian, Dell/EMC, HDS, NetApp, Scality, IBM, SUSE…)
  • Public Cloud Services (Amazon, Microsoft, …)
  • Appliances (Crossroads, FAST LTA, NetApp, …)
  • Tape (HP, IBM, Quantum, Qualstar, ...)
  • Optical (Dacal, DISC, HIT, SONY, …)

 

Here you can find additional information for the target systems.

System Requirements

Here you can find information for the system requirements.

Case Studies

White Paper