NetApp is constantly working to create reliable algorithms that help applications process data. MAX Data (Memory Accelerated Data) is one of such solutions, which was announced back in 2019.

MAX Data is based on MAX FS technology, a file system whose main difference is the automation of data movement across various storage levels:

• The 1st storage level (memory tier) is located directly on the server itself and represents Persistent Memory.
• The 2nd level can be located, for example, in the NetApp array (storage tier).

MAX FS is able to move data that is not currently in use from the memory tier (Persistent Memory) to another storage level and move it back.

Due to the fact that MAX FS (Memory Accelerated File System) is designed according to POSIX standards, the target application will not have to be rewritten. It can simply be used as usual, and the MAX Data algorithms will allow you to almost completely eliminate delays in the process of working with data.

The first release and its improvement

The very first releases of MAX Data worked on a combination of DRAM and NVDIMM technologies, which implemented a Persistent Memory layer. But DRAM memory did not allow storing data after power was turned off or rebooted, and in turn NVDIMM could not boast of good capacity parameters, and for normal operation it was necessary to install special expansion cards on the machine’s servers.

NetApp has nevertheless found an elegant solution to this problem by using Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory based on XPOINT 3D technology. The official release of this solution took place in 2018 at the Intel Data Center Tech Summit, and even then NetApp representatives saw the potential for MAX Data in this product.

It is important to understand that MAX Data is not just another data caching solution that can banally copy the currently processed information into the area of maximum productive memory. MAX Data is a solution that uses storage and memory tier to move data to access it as quickly as possible if necessary in the future. When the memory tier overflows, the colder data is sent to the slow storage layer.

Absolute security

NetApp has done a thorough job of protecting against data loss and corruption by introducing a unique solution of its kind, MAX Recovery (Memory Accelerated Recovery). It allows you to mirror on Intel Optane DC (memory-to-memory replication) server hardware and work with maximum comfort, which is provided by snapshot technology in the form of simple and fast backups and data recovery on and from storage based on ONTAP of the All-Flash FAS family from NetApp.

ONTAP allows users to access absolutely all functions that are responsible for deduplication, system failure resistance, and makes it easy to return data to a consistent state at the required point in time in the past before a failure or loss of data access.