Current clustered Samba uses its homegrown distributed database "ctdb" as a storage backend for maintaining coherent fileserver state. ctdb predates most cloudy distributed NoSQL databases that came to rise on the wings of the likes of Google Bigtable, Amazon Dynamo, Apache Cassandra and so on in the 2000's. It has worked extremely well for the high performance scaleout NAS usecase, but the emerging shift to the cloud entails serious scalability, elasticity and managability challenges. So are there alternatives to ctdb?

The Key Per IO (KPIO) project was a joint initiative between NVM Express® and the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Storage Work Group to define a new KPIO Security Subsystem Class (SSC) under TCG Opal SSC for NVMe® class of Storage Devices. Self-Encrypting Drives (SED) perform continuous encryption on user accessible data based on contiguous LBA ranges per namespace. This is done at interface speeds using a small number of keys generated/held in persistent media by the storage device. KPIO allows a large number of encryption keys to be managed and securely downloaded into the NVM subsystem.

As industries grapple with an ever-expanding and complex sea of data, there is a paramount need for rethinking storage and analytics. Traditionally, data is categorized as structured or unstructured, but at AirMettle, we perceive data through a different lens. Most data embodies a semi-structured nature, an overlooked characteristic that holds the key to unlocking unprecedented efficiency in data analytics.

The IEEE Security In Storage Work Group (SISWG) produces standards that many storage developers, storage vendors, and storage system operators care about, including: a) A family of standards on sanitization: the IEEE 2883 family b) A family of standards on encryption methods for storage components: the IEEE 1619 family c) A standard on Discovery, Authentication, and Authentication in Host Attachments of Storage Devices: the IEEE 1667 specification IEEE has a different work group (IEEE P3172) focusing on post-quantum cryptography, but when they are done, a family method that recommends new q

This presentation by provides an overview of the NVM Express® ratified technical proposal TP4146 Flexible Data Placement and shows how a host can manage its user data to capitalize on a lower Write Amplification Factor (WAF) by an SSD to extend the life of the device, improve performance, and lower latency.

It’s been a year since the announcement that Intel would “Wind Down” its Optane 3D XPoint memories. Has anything risen to take its place? Should it? This presentation reviews the alternatives to Optane that are now available or are in development, and evaluates the likelihood that one or more of these could fill the void that is being left behind. We will also briefly review the legacy Optane left behind to see how that legacy is likely to be used to support persistent memories in more diverse applications, including cache memory chiplets.

Object storage systems provide significant value for storing and managing data. The nature of data stored in object systems opens up opportunities to get more value out of these systems than the common expectations of cost reduction, ease of use, resilience, and durability. Maintaining the metadata for large unstructured data sets is difficult and can be time consuming. The system I propose here is an add on engine that adds Artificial Intelligence inferencing functionality to object storage systems.

The recent uptick in generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has put the more pressure on hardware vendors to reduce the carbon footprint of running these power hungry large language models (LLM) in the datacenter. One way to accomplish a lower in-silicon power profile is to break the Von-Neumann bottleneck by tightly integrating traditional SRAM memory cells with interleaved programable processors in the same die.

Data immutability and retention locking have gained enormous traction over the last many years owing to a severe surge in number of cyber and ransomware attacks. This presentation covers many aspects of data immutability and retention locking/WORM in the backup ecosystem. It talks about regulatory requirements for long term data retention, variants of retention locking, dual authorization model and role of security officer, various attributes of retention locking, integration of backup applications with retention locking, retention locking in replication and cloud storage.

Welcome remarks by J Michel Metz, Chair and Executive Committee, Technical Director, AMD