The DataCore Swarm system is a mature object storage system for private and public cloud usage and as a target archive system. Originally called CAStor, Swarm was developed by Caringo, which was acquired by DataCore in 2021. Swarm is delivered as software for x86 servers, or on Swarm Server hardware appliances. The scale out architecture allows the configuration to dynamically scale very large with commensurate performance. Swarm has implemented a symmetric parallel architecture that operates to manage the nodes as a distributed cluster. Nodes are automatically discovered and rebalancing occurs after booting from a network. All executing software is maintained in RAM on each node to enhance
performance.

The object ID in Swarm is called the UUID (Universally Unique IDentifier) and consists of a unique generated random number. The UUID and a hash of the data is used for integrity verification. The hash algorithm may be replaced at a future time as algorithms evolve without affecting the data. Objects are stored as block data on the storage attached to the individual nodes. System and user metadata is stored with the object.

The Swarm system includes SwarmFS to provide file access to the underlying object storage using NFSv4 and SMB. Direct object access is accomplished with the S3 API, and a superset of S3 called Simple Content Storage Protocol, which conforms to HTTP1.1 and an HDFS connector. Geographic data distribution and protection is standard through sub-clusters on the same latency network. For remote clusters, Feeds automates the routing of objects for data distribution and data protection. Feeds are latency tolerant and take advantage of the full cluster-to-cluster capability of the system.

The Swarm Server appliances consist of 4 models: the SSA, the s3000, the hd5000, and the m1000. The SSA appliance is a single server appliance that contains all software and management features running on VM’s in a 1U appliance. The s3000 and hd5000 are the standard and high density models which may be deployed in clusters of 3 more. The m1000 appliance is a management node to handle Swarm services and search functionality for bare metal deployments.

DataCore Swarm Product Review Includes:

Overview
Highlights
Usage
Architecture Deployment
EvaluScale Product Review Methodology
Evaluator Group’s Opinion

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