Evergreen™ Storage: Upgrade Without Data Migration or Downtime

Traditional storage array architectures typically are based on a three-year lifecycle: that is, you pre-pay for a maintenance contract when you acquire your new storage solution, and you have that set storage solution through the life of the contract.

A lot can happen in three years: organizations grow, data volumes explode and storage requirements expand — however, your capabilities cannot. Storage performance is inherent and limited to its internal architecture from the controller's configuration to the way it interacts and integrates with the operating environment and software that runs the data services. And regardless of how much capacity is added over time, the maximum performance potential of the controller infrastructure does not necessarily increase, potentially trapping capacity. In modern flash storage systems, latency, throughput and bandwidth do not increase with a simple capacity addition.

Three years later when the contract is up, most companies generally have faced two choices: renew the contract for another three years — often at a higher cost — and continue using aging and often inadequate technology, or invest in a whole new storage upgrade, possibly from a different manufacturer. The second option is an expensive, time-consuming and potentially risky endeavor that might involve a "forklift upgrade," which is as disruptive as it sounds.

But what if you could easily upgrade to a modern, all-flash storage solution that would simply and seamlessly scale as needed? And do so without the need for data migration and downtime? Pure Storage has achieved exactly that with its foundational offering called Evergreen™ Storage. 

Unique in the industry, Evergreen upends the traditional storage paradigm, enabling IT organizations to rethink their storage upgrade strategy to eliminate expensive upgrade cycles, downtime disruptions and repurchases of terabytes already in their possession.

Simplicity in storage integration, management and upgrades

Evergreen Storage is a comprehensive storage platform lifecycle investment program designed to simplify the task of operating, maintaining and upgrading storage. Pure Storage combines its unique architecture consisting of 100 percent NVMe components  and stateless architecture, along with NVMe-ready controllers and the Purity operating environment in each FlashArray solution. Their chassis is built to offer a useful lifecycle of at least 10 years, and modules can be easily removed or replaced.

Integration is just the beginning: throughout the three-year engagement, Pure services its Evergreen customers with continual improvements to software, maintenance and other support resources to deliver a resilient seven nines of availability, even during upgrades. Crucially, those upgrades can take place without the need for moving data — eliminating the risk of disruptive downtime or, worse, data loss.

Watch a video demonstration on how the process works, showcasing testing that was done in our Advanced Technology Center. 

Gold and Silver storage subscriptions for different service level needs

Pure's two subscription packages are largely identical, with a comprehensive array of service components, including: 

• All-inclusive software with updates and future new array software.
• Non-disruptive hardware and software maintenance, including a lifetime flash media guarantee.
• Concierge support, including predictive analytics, on-site break/fix SLAs and more.
• Guaranteed effective capacity instead of just an efficiency ratio.

In addition, Evergreen Gold customers are eligible to receive complimentary, anytime upgrades to the latest generation of controllers and other hardware under Evergreen's "Free Every Three" program. Gold customers also can take advantage of Upgrade Flex to receive trade-in credit when they turn in their existing controllers for a newer, larger controller due to unexpected changes to performance needs.

See Evergreen Storage advantages in action

For any veteran IT manager who's ever endured the aggravation of a traditional storage upgrade on legacy systems, the benefits of a full lifecycle support solution like Pure's Evergreen Storage are compelling:

• Upgrade simplicity without the risks of moving data.
• Significantly lower total cost of ownership (TCO) over traditional upgrade cycles.
• Easy scalability with services like "Free Every Three." And never pay for terabytes of storage you already own.
• Eliminate downtime from complex forklift data moves.
• Make better use of IT resources — less need to dedicate manpower to storage issues.

With more than a decade of experience in all-flash storage innovation, Pure Storage has fulfilled its promise to make it easier for customers to keep their storage resources current and capable through Evergreen storage services. Pure's stateless architecture enables forklift-free upgrades for 99.99999 percent uptime assurance — a level of reliability so essential to global financial services and applicable to other industries that demand resiliency. 

Whether you're looking to upgrade storage capabilities or explore other storage-related data center advancements, Pure Evergreen Storage can simplify your move to an easier, forklift-free data center solution.

WWT can help you learn more through our Pure Storage workshops, labs, digital platform demos, videos and demonstrations in the ATC. Before your next contract renewal cycle comes around, it's a good time to rethink your storage upgrade strategy.