ActiveCluster for File
We’re proud to announce the availability of ActiveCluster for file, Everpure’s premier business continuity solution and a fundamental enabler of our Enterprise Data Cloud vision, where Service Level Agreements define what storage, network and compute resources are assigned dynamically to application data sets rather than an hardware-to-app architectures. With ActiveCluster for file, Everpure is extending the benefits of data mobility, continuous access and policy-driven management to file workloads. What is ActiveCluster? Everpure launched ActiveCluster in 2017, and rapidly took the mission critical, enterprise block storage world by storm. ActiveCluster rapidly enabled enterprise customers with the most demanding block workloads to deploy synchronous, always available, always up-to-date, LUNs or volumes to hosts stretched across geographic distances. What set ActiveCluster apart from the existing solutions at the time, and even now, is how simple to set up Everpure RTO-0 and RPO-0 file solutions are, and how flexible and adaptable to the ever changing business needs hosting these data sets become after being deployed on a Everpure Fusion fleets. Today, we’re adding file protocol support like NFSv3, NFSv4.1, SMB 2.0, and SMB 3.0 w/ continuously available shares to our ActiveCluster solution. Realms as a new container ActiveCluster for file utilizes a new, high-level container called a Realm, to synchronously mirror both user data and storage configuration information necessary to provide data access to authorized users on either side of the stretched file system(s). Realms are handy to put applications with similar Recovery Point Objectives and similar Recovery Time Objectives together. Realm Synchronous Replication The act of synchronously mirroring both the user data and storage configuration information across two different FlashArrays is called ‘stretching’. Similar to how a pod is stretched across two FlashArrays, a Realm can be stretched between any FlashArray system that has no more than 11ms Round Trip Time average latencies on their array replication links. Either Fibrechannel or Ethernet array replication links can be used to replicate file data synchronously. Figure 1. ActiveCluster for file can be deployed in different modalities Realms as namespaces for policies Realms contain unique snapshot, audit logging, replication and export policies. These policies are only viewable and attachable to storage objects within the Realm, creating a building block for hosting multiple different end customers or tenants on Fusion fleets. These policies are automatically replicated over to the other array if the Realm is stretched, reducing operator burden in failover scenarios. To prevent split brain scenarios (where a network partition in the array links or replication links stop communication between the pair of FlashArrays) Everpure’s fully managed Cloud Mediator service will determine which remaining FlashArray controller pair can process writes, and which array will not. Unlike other business continuity solutions, ActiveCluster customers don’t have to worry about patching or maintaining the security of separate VMs to act as a mediator service to prevent split brain scenarios. Multiple servers supported per Realm, different IDPs allowed. Each Realm can have one or more servers configured in it, which act as protocol end points for clients and hosts to connect to. Each server in a Realm can have a different IP address, or utilize a different Identity Provider Service. When a failover condition occurs (like a site disaster on one side), automatic failover and the clients in either data center are on the same Ethernet segment or broadcast domain, a failover condition will emit a gratuitous Reverse Address Resolution Protocol request (RARP), mapping the new MAC address of the ethernet interface on one side to a same IP address being used. Applications may see a small pause in reads or writes being serviced, but will not have to re-issue I/O or remount / remap shares or exports. Managed directory quotas can also be used for any filesystem or managed directory attached to the servers in the Realm being stretched. These quota policies automatically get replicated with user data, so the same customer experience in terms of usable space exists both before and after an automatic failover. New Guided Setup available for ActiveCluster for file Deploying new ActiveCluster for file solutions can occur in less than five minutes on already racked and powered arrays. A Guided Setup wizard is available to quickly capture the necessary information to stretch a Realm. This wizard can be started from multiple locations within the Purity GUI. ActiveCluster for file fully takes advantage of Fusion fleets and the ability to manage storage infrastructure as code, programmatically and via policy. Realms are not tied to hardware, and can ‘float’ Realms with ActiveCluster for file support not only provide a 0-RTO and 0-Recovery Point Object at the storage layer for mission critical applications, but they also provide a mechanism to transparently move the data and configuration in the Realm non-disruptively somewhere else within your fleet, whether it’s follow the Sun type round-robin hops, where the Realm’s location changes depending on the time of day, or is moved as a part of a data-center migration. Coupled with Fusion, Everpure’s intelligent control plane, ActiveCluster for file enables workloads and application data and their configuration information to dynamically and seamlessly move to the right location, at the right time, at the right granularity. Seamless movement across greater geographic distances can be accomplished by stretching and unstretching the same Realm between different arrays, as long as the RTT latency between them is <11ms. Service Level Agreements are the lingua franca of the Enterprise Data Cloud Service Level Agreements are the natural language of business owners, and are integral for companies who want to move away from managing storage arrays to managing their business data. They capture answers to questions like “How fast do you need access to this data? Does it need to be backed up or otherwise protected against site-wide failure? SLAs are what forms our vision behind the App-to-data operational model. This App-to-data model takes abstract, high level business requirements as input, and then automatically configures and deploys the required storage services to meet the service level agreement just defined. A Fusion fleet manager’s perspective is one of many different application tiles, and their health, not just a series of HA pairs spread out across different data centers. Data management operations, like instant backups, cloning, movement is applied as “verbs” to the application data set’s name or workload ID, and not to a mismatched storage container whose hardware boundaries impose limits on your app team. An Intelligent, unified control plane manages and enforces SLA’s across the fleet autonomously, like a modern cloud operating model but that can be deployed in any modality, whether on-prem, in the cloud or a hybrid. This scalable model, with Fusion’s intelligent control plane, supports ALL workloads, from modern AI workloads, containers and High Performance Workloads to extremely large image or rich media archives. An Enterprise Data Cloud, made up of discrete nodes tied loosely together, where Service Level Definitions define autonomous system behavior. Stop managing your storage arrays, and start managing your data. Learn more about ActiveCluster for file Read the support documentation for Purity 6.12.0 Test and deploy Fusion fleets and file presets Ask your account executive or system engineer for a demo!Flash Array Certification
All FlashArray Admins, If any of you currently hold a Flash Array certification there is an alternative to retaking the test to renew your cert. The Continuing Pure Education (CPE) program takes into account learning activities and community engagement and contribution hours to renew your FA certification. I just successfully renewed my Flash Array Storage Professional cert by tracking my activities. Below are the details I received from Pure. Customers can earn 1 CPE credit per hour of session attendance at Accelerate, for a maximum of 10 CPEs total (i.e., up to 10 hours of sessions). Sessions must be attended live. I would go ahead and add all the sessions you attended at Accelerate to the CPE_Submission form. Associate-level certifications will auto-renew as long as there is at least one active higher-level certification (e.g., Data Storage Associate will auto-renew anytime a Professional-level cert is renewed). All certifications other than the Data Storage Associate should be renewed separately. At this time, the CPE program only applies to FlashArray-based exams. Non- FA exams may be renewed by retaking the respective test every three years. You should be able to get the CPE submission form from your account team. Once complete email your recertification Log to peak-education@purestorage.com for formal processing. -CharlieAUE - Key Insights
Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone! This is Rich Barlow, Principal Technologist @ Pure. It was super fun to proctor this AUE session with Antonia and Jon. Hopefully everyone got in all of the questions that they wanted to ask - we had so many that we had to answer many of them out of band. So thank you for your enthusiasm and support. Looking forward to the next one! Here's a rundown of the most interesting and impactful questions we were asked. If you have any more please feel free to reach out. FlashArray File: Your Questions, Our Answers (Ask Us Everything Recap) Our latest "Ask Us Everything" webinar with Pure Storage experts Rich Barlow, Antonia Abu Matar, and Jonathan Carnes was another great session. You came ready with sharp questions, making it clear you're all eager to leverage the simplicity of your FlashArray to ditch the complexity of legacy file storage. Here are some the best shared insights from the session: Unify Everything: Performance By Design You asked about the foundation—and it's a game-changer. No Middleman, Low Latency: Jon Carnes confirmed that FlashArray File isn't a bolt-on solution. Since the file service lands directly on the drives, just like block data, there's effectively "no middle layer." The takeaway? You get the same awesome, low-latency performance for file that you rely on for block workloads. Kill the Data Silos: Antonia Abu Matar emphasized the vision behind FlashArray File: combining block and file on a single, shared storage pool. This isn't just tidy; it means you benefit from global data reduction and unified data services across everything. Scale, Simplicity, and Your Weekends Back The community was focused on escaping the complexities of traditional NAS systems. Always-On File Shares: Worried about redundancy? Jon confirmed that FlashArray File implements an "always-on" version of Continuous Available (CA) shares for SMB3 (in Purity 6.9/6.10). It’s on by default for transparent failover and simple client access. Multi-Server Scale-Up: For customers migrating from legacy vendors and needing lots of "multi-servers," we're on it. Jon let us know that engineering is actively working to significantly raise the current limits (aiming for around 100 in the next Purity release), stressing that Pure increases these limits non-disruptively to ensure stability. NDU—Always and Forever: The best part? No more weekend maintenance marathons. The FlashArray philosophy is a "data in place, non-disruptive upgrade." That applies to both block and file, eliminating the painful data migrations you’re used to. Visibility at Your Fingertips: You can grab real-time IOPS and throughput from the GUI or via APIs. For auditing, file access events are pushed via syslog in native JSON format, which makes integrating with tools like Splunk super easy. Conquering Distance and Bandwidth A tough question came in about supporting 800 ESRI users across remote Canadian sites (Yellowknife, Iqaluit, etc.) with real-time file access despite low bandwidth. Smart Access over Replication: Jon suggested looking at Rapid Replicas (available on FlashBlade File). This isn't full replication; it’s a smart solution that synchronizes metadata across sites and only pulls the full data on demand (pull-on-access). This is key for remote locations because it dramatically cuts down on the constant bandwidth consumption of typical data replication. Ready to Simplify? FlashArray File Services lets you consolidate your infrastructure and get back to solving bigger problems—not babysitting your storage. Start leveraging the power of a truly unified and non-disruptive platform today! Join the conversation and share your own experiences in the Pure Community.Why Your Writes Are Always Safe on FlashArray
The promise of modern storage is simple: when the system says “yes,” your data better be safe. No matter what happens next; power failure, controller hiccup, or the universe throwing what else it has at you writes need to stay acknowledged. FlashArray is engineered around this non‑negotiable principle. Let me walk you through how we deliver on it. Durable First, Fast Always When your application issues a write to FlashArray, here’s the path it takes: Land in DRAM for inline data reduction (dedupe, compression, you know the lightweight stuff). Persist redundantly in NVRAM (mirrored or RAID‑6/DNVR, depending on platform), in a log accessible by either controller. Acknowledge to the host ← This is the critical moment. Flush to flash media in the background, efficiently and asynchronously. Notice what happens between steps 2 and 3? We don’t acknowledge until data is durably persisted in non‑volatile memory. Not “mostly safe,” not “probably fine” but safe and durable. This isn’t a write‑back cache we’ll get around to flushing later. The acknowledgement means your data survived the critical path and is now protected, period. Power Loss? No Problem. FlashArray NVRAM modules include integrated supercapacitors that provide power hold‑up during unexpected power events. When the power drops, these capacitors ensure the buffered write log is safely preserved without batteries to maintain, no external UPS required just to have write safety. Though it is recommended, no external UPS is necessary for write safety; many sites still deploy UPS for broader data center and facility reasons. Because durability is achieved at the NVRAM layer, we eliminate the most common failure mode in legacy systems: the volatile write cache that promises safety but can’t deliver when it matters most. Simpler Path with Integrated DNVR In our latest architectures, we integrate Distributed NVRAM (DNVR) directly into the DirectFlash Module (DFMD). This simplifies the write path fewer hops, tighter integration, better efficiency. And scales NVRAM bandwidth and capacity with the number of modules. By bringing persistence closer to the media, we’re not just maintaining our durability guarantees we’re increasing capacity and streamlining the data path at the same time. Graceful Under Pressure What happens if write ingress temporarily exceeds what the system can flush to flash? FlashArray applies deterministic backpressure you may see latency increase but I/O is not being dropped. Thus data is not at risk. Background processes yield and lower‑priority internal tasks are throttled to prioritize destage operations, keeping the system stable and predictable. Translation: we slow down gracefully and don't fail unpredictably. High Availability by Design Controllers are stateless, with writes durably persisted in NVRAM accessible by either controller. If one controller faults, the peer automatically takes over, replays any in‑flight operations from the durable log, and resumes service. A brief I/O pause may occur during takeover; platforms are sized so a single controller can handle the full workload afterward to minimize disruption to your applications. No acknowledged data is lost. No manual intervention required. Just continuous operation. Beyond the ACK: Protection on Flash After the destage, data on flash is protected with wide‑striped erasure coding for fast, predictable rebuilds and multi‑device fault tolerance. And NO hot‑spare overhead. The Bottom Line Modern flash gives you incredible performance, but performance means nothing if your data isn't safe. FlashArray's architecture makes durability the first principle—not an optimization, not an add-on, but the foundation everything else is built on. When FlashArray says your write is safe, it's safe. That's not marketing. That's engineering. This approach to write safety is part of Pure's commitment to Better Science, doing things the right way, not the easy way. We didn't just swap drives in an existing architecture; we reimagined the entire system from the ground up, from how we co-design hardware and software with DirectFlash to how we map and manage petabytes of metadata at scale. Want to dive deeper? Better Science, Volume 1 — Hardware and Software Co‑design with DirectFlash https://blog.purestorage.com/products/better-science-volume-1-hardware-and-software-co-design-with-directflash/ Better Science, Volume 2 — Maps, Metadata, and the Pyramid https://blog.purestorage.com/perspectives/better-science-volume-2-maps-metadata-and-the-pyramid/ The Pure Report — Better Science Vol. 1 (DirectFlash) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/better-science-volume-1-directflash/id1392639991?i=1000569574821Purity//FA 6.9 is (Finally) Enterprise Ready!
A few months ago I wrote about the top 10 reasons to upgrade to Purity 6.9, and here are 10 more reasons; because…..6.9 has just gone Enterprise Ready! https://support.purestorage.com/bundle/m_flasharray_release/page/FlashArray/FlashArray_Release/01_Purity_FA_Release_Notes/topics/concept/c_purityfa_69x_release_notes.html 10 💍 It's "Long-Life"! Stability until June 2028. That's a longer, more successful relationship than 90% of reality TV couples achieve. 9⚰️ Your Pure SE Won’t Keep Bugging You About Running an EOL Release. You know who you are…. 8💯 It's Been to College. It met the criteria for "customer fleet adoption, cumulative runtime, and observed uptime." Basically, it passed the field test with flying colors. 7🤝 You Get a Side of Fusion. Upgrade to 6.9 and get the powerful, simple-to-use multi-array storage platform management system included. You know you want it! 6😴 The Engineers Can Finally Go Home. A big thank you to the engineering, support, technical program management, and product management teams for all the hard work. Go take a nap! 5🛡️ We Have a Stable Alternative to Chasing New Features. For customers who want rock-solid reliability, you can skip the Feature Release (FR) line drama and stick with the LLR. 4✅ It's The Complete 6.8 Feature Set. You don't lose any capabilities; you just gain the confidence of a battle-tested release. Full meal deal, no compromises. 3🖱️ It's So Easy to Get There, Even The Intern Could Do It. Compatible hardware customers are encouraged to use Self-Service Upgrades (SSU). Less work, more coffee breaks. 2🔒 Guaranteed Bug Fixes and Security Updates. This release is officially maintained, meaning your security team can finally relax... slightly. 1🚨 When You Call Support, We Won’t Start With "Did You Upgrade Yet?"IT'S PURITY UPGRADE TUESDAY AGAIN!
Yes, I am going to die on the hill of making Tuesdays a new special day for Pure Storage 😀. For those of you out there who have upgraded Purity within the last two years or so - what was the feature that was added or upgraded that made you say, "WOW"? I'll start - FA Files was my first launch project here so I got a solid peek behind the curtains about all that went into it and was blown away by where the PM team was planning on taking it. What about your experience? Sound off below!Choosing Between Snapshots and Backups? Use Both
Let's settle the old debate: snapshots or backups for data protection? The answer is you need both, working together. The Problem VMware snapshots are great for quick rollbacks, but they create redo logs that strain storage IO and need eventual consolidation. During active snapshots, your storage reads multiple files simultaneously, potentially impacting production. Storage snapshots like Pure's are instantaneous and lightweight, but they capture entire volumes at once, are only crash-consistent, and require full restores or manual workarounds to extract specific data. Neither alone covers every recovery scenario you'll face. The Solution Integrate VMware, Pure Storage, and Veeam into a cohesive platform: Leverage Pure snapshots for fast, efficient data capture without production impact Use Veeam to orchestrate application-consistent backups and enable granular restores Keep snapshots close to the source for quick recovery Maintain backup files for long-term retention Replicate everything to DR sites with the same capabilities The Payoff One integrated solution gives you flexibility for any situation: ransomware recovery from immutable snapshots, granular file restores, site failovers, or long-term archive retrieval. All without impacting production. Modern data protection isn't about picking sides. It's about making your storage, hypervisor, and backup solution work together intelligently. Hear more here on Pure360 Pure Storage and Veeam- Why Architecture Matters🧠 Deep Dive: Configuring File Services Policies & File Systems on FlashArray
Continuing our technical walkthrough series on Pure Storage FlashArray File Services, this new video dives into the nuts and bolts of setting up policies and file systems to create your first SMB file share. If you’ve already followed along with the previous video on setting up networking, DNS, and Active Directory integration, this next step completes the foundation — showing exactly how to configure: Export Policies for SMB access and permissions Quota Policies to manage capacity limits Audit and AutoDir Policies for visibility and governance And finally, how to create and assign a file system for your department or team shares The demo walks through the FlashArray UI and even steps into Windows file share management to validate access-based enumeration and permissions in action — proving just how simple and powerful FlashArray file services can be. 👉 Watch the video on Pure360 to see how easy it is to go from blank configuration to a fully functional SMB file share environment in minutes. -JasonAnnouncing the General Availability of Purity//FA 6.9.2
We are happy to announce the general availability of 6.9.2, the third release of the 6.9 Long-Life Release (LLR) line and the thirteenth release based on the code line from 6.8! This LLR line provides long-term maintenance of the complete feature set introduced in the 6.8 Feature Release Line, including Fusion, with consistency in capabilities, user experience, and interoperability. This release includes support for R5 Controllers for FlashArray //X and //C, bringing performance, density, and data protection improvements to the 6.9 LLR line. For more detailed information about bug fixes and security updates included in each release, see the release notes. UPGRADE RECOMMENDATIONS AND EOL SCHEDULE Customers who are looking for long-term maintenance of the complete 6.8 feature set are encouraged to upgrade to the 6.9 LLR. Customers who are looking for continued delivery of all the newest capabilities as soon as they are available should upgrade to the 6.10 Feature Release line. When possible, customers should make use of Self-Service Upgrades (SSU) to ease the process of planning and executing non-disruptive Purity upgrades for their fleet. The 6.9 LLR line is planned for development through June 2028. HARDWARE SUPPORT This release is supported on the following FlashArray Platforms: FA//X (R3, R4, R5), FA//C (R3, R4, R5), FA//XL (R1, R5), FA//E, FA//RC20, and Pure Storage Cloud Dedicated (PSCD) for Azure and AWS. The PSCD release may take up to a week to be available on the AWS Marketplace and Azure Marketplace. Note, DFS software version 2.2.5 is recommended with this release. LINKS AND REFERENCES Purity//FA 6.9 Release Notes Self-Service Upgrades Purity//FA Release and End-of-Life Schedule FlashArray Hardware and End-of-Support DirectFlash Shelf Software Compatibility Matrix FlashArray Capacity and Feature Limits FlashArray Feature Interoperability MatrixPure Report Podcast: Databases!!!
Catch up with Anthony Nocentino on the latest episode of the Pure Report podcast where we dive into trends in database operations and the impact of AI on DBA roles - plus how new Pure platform announcements and Fusion drive better efficiency and performance for SQL Server and Oracle. Anthony tackles the pressing challenges faced by database environments today, including fragmented storage infrastructure, manual provisioning, and the complexities of compliance, disaster recovery, and hybrid cloud strategies. He sheds light on how these issues contribute to real-world burnout among DBAs and infra team members. The discussion will also cover the evolving roles of these professionals as they increasingly become platform performance engineers, cloud strategists, and data ops troubleshooters in a world of multiple database engines and unpredictable resource needs driven by AI workloads.
