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Violin WFA Delivers Compelling Scale-Out NAS File System Performance
[December 11, 2014]

Violin WFA Delivers Compelling Scale-Out NAS File System Performance


Violin Memory®, Inc., (NYSE:VMEM) a leading provider of award-winning all-flash storage arrays, today announced its scale-out Tier-1 NAS solution. Based on Violin's Windows Flash Array (WFA), this solution has delivered linear scalability to more than 2 million random read IOPS and 1.6 million random write IOPS on only a 2-node NAS cluster.

Microsoft's (News - Alert) white paper - Building High Performance Storage for Hyper-V Cluster on Scale-Out File Servers using Violin Windows Flash Arrays, published in October 2014 - details several user deployments that benefit from the performance, scalability, data services capabilities and availability of Violin's WFA scale-out Tier-1 NAS solution.

In particular, the Microsoft white paper focuses on how the WFA's scale-out NAS capability delivers high value to customers using Hyper-V on scale-out file servers with strong resiliency, availability, scalability and performance. With Violin enterprise-class all-flash arrays, Microsoft's SMB Direct interconnect, and Windows® Server 2012 R2, Violin's scale-out NAS is extremely well-positioned for delivering a scale-out file server solution.

In addition, the WFA supports NFS 3.0 and NFS 4.1 for connectivity with application servers running operating systems such as Linux and UNIX. NAS scale-out file shares on the WFA are simultaneously available as Windows file shares over SMB 3 and as NFS exports to simplify data sharing across the data center. There are no artificial data silos separating SMB- and NFS-based applications with the WFA - just seamless integration of high performance, easily accessible all-flash storage.

Jointly developed with Microsoft Corp., the WFA is the first all-flash high-performance array solution powered by Windows Server 2012 R2 to deliver a rich set of storage features and data services for scale-out Tier-1 NAS deployments. The unmatched performance of the WFA transforms data center economics by reducing CAPEX, OPEX (News - Alert), and TCO for enterprise NAS environments.

"Windows Flash Array provides a tier-zero and tier-1 scale-out NAS all-flash array for enterprise Microsoft deployments," said Jose Barreto, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft. "Windows Server 2012 R2 combined with Violin's all -flash array delivers an enterprise grade solution for our joint customers."

"Service providers and other consumers of cloud-based infrastructure typically require both extremely high performance and continuous availability to meet demanding server level agreements," said Eric Burgener, Storage Research Director, IDC (News - Alert). "Violin Memory's Windows Flash Array is well integrated with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 for ease-of-use, and in a Scale Out File System Cluster, delivers the performance, availability and scalability that allow these types of customers to meet extremely demanding requirements."

The Windows Flash Array enables Tier-1 NAS workloads, as well as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint, and Windows Server with Hyper-V for both server and desktop virtualization. The WFA's enterprise-wide scale-out file sevices meets the needs of global enterprises, while refocusing IT expenditure towards business innovation.



The scale-out NAS WFA offers a full set of capacity points, as well as Violin's Pay-As-You-Grow capacity licensing model for optimum solution delivery. Customers also have a choice in how they interconnect the all-flash scale-out NAS array with their existing infrastructures. The WFA supports either 56 Gb FDR InfiniBand or 10 Gb Ethernet. In both cases, customers benefit from the efficiency and high performance afforded by SMB Direct and the rest of the SMB 3.0 feature set.

ANALYST QUOTES


"When Violin Memory and Microsoft teamed up to create the Violin Windows Flash Array, we knew they had a powerful solution. Microsoft's white paper demonstrates the high performance, availability and scalability achieved in a scale-out file server cluster in a virtualized environment and further underscores the performance benefits associated with implementation in a virtualized data center."

Brian Garrett, Vice President, ESG Lab
Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc.

"Wikibon was excited when Violin launched its Windows Flash Array because many practitioners in our community are looking for storage solutions that provide predictable performance and the higher availability that integration delivers. Microsoft's research shows that customers can achieve high throughput and low latency while minimizing complexity at scale. This is particularly important in virtualized environments where IT pros demand efficiency and don't want to pay a performance tax."

David Vellante, Chief Research Officer, Wikibon
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About Violin Memory, Inc.

Business in a Flash. Violin Memory transforms the speed of business with high performance, always available, low cost management of critical business information and applications. Violin's All Flash optimized solutions accelerate breakthrough CAPEX and OPEX savings for building the next generation data center. Violin's Flash Fabric Architecture™ (FFA) speeds data delivery with chip-to-chassis performance optimization that achieves lower consistent latency and cost per transaction for Cloud, Enterprise and Virtualized mission-critical applications. Violin's All Flash Arrays and Appliances, and enterprise data management software solutions enhance agility and mobility while revolutionizing data center economics. Founded in 2005, Violin Memory is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. For more information, visit www.violin-memory.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at twitter.com/violinmemory

Forward Looking Statement

This public announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements with respect to: (1) the possible results and economic benefits that customers and others may realize by using Violin Memory's products, including possible improvements in resiliency, data services capabilities, scalability and performance, and possible reductions in capital expense, operating expense, and total cost of ownership; and (2) Violin Memory's business plans and strategy. There are a significant number of risks and uncertainties that could affect Violin Memory's business performance and financial results, including those set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in Violin Memory's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of fiscal year 2015, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and which is available on the Violin Memory's investor relations website at investor.violin-memory.com and on the SEC's (News - Alert) website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements in this public announcement are based on information available to Violin Memory as of the date hereof, and Violin Memory does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

All Violin Memory news releases (financial, acquisitions, manufacturing, products, technology, etc.) are issued exclusively by Business Wire and are immediately thereafter posted on the company's external website, www.violin-memory.com. Violin, Violin Memory, the Violin Memory logo, and Flash Fabric Architecture (FFA) are trademarks of Violin Memory, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.


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