Synology rack server with data tiering announced

Synology unveiled its PAS7700 flagship rackmount server at Computex in Taipei on Wednesday as part of its push to further establish itself in the enterprise segment.

The PAS7700 is a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) all-flash storage system that uses an active-active dual controller architecture designed to allow for non-disruptive operations across all layers.

Employing AMD’s EPYC 7443P processor, it can produce up to 2 million input/output operations per second (IOPS) and an impressive 30GBps of sequential throughput, according to internal testing.

The unit’s build integrates two controllers and 48 NVMe SSD bays contained within a four-rack chassis, which is scalable with up to seven expansion ports per controller. 

The memory is further upgradable to 1,024GB per node or 2,048GB for the entire PAS system.

Synology’s flagship rackmount server also supports 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) networking and a range of file and block protocols, including iSCSI, NVMe-oF, and SMB (1,2,3).

Regarding data security, the PAS7700 has a built-in 3-2-1-1 backup strategy that ensures data integrity at all levels through immutable snapshots, replication, and backup options.

To maximise storage efficiency, Synology product manager Cody Hall highlighted the controller’s capability of inline and post-process deduplication as well as tiering between Synology rack servers.

Deduplication refers to the process of removing redundant files while still maintaining the integrity of the data.

With inline deduplication, calculations are performed before the data is copied across to the storage array.

“Essentially, the storage array will tell the client what it needs to finish its data library,” said Hall.

“What that means is you’re not sending as much needless duplicate data over your network, which means you’re using your network bandwidth more effectively.”

Hall said this will allow users to conserve the lifespan of their SSDs by not sending redundant data to the array.

In contrast, the post-process deduplication found in other Synology flash arrays, such as the FS6400, happens once the data has already been written to the device.

Data tiering

Hall emphasised the PAS7700’s data tiering, which he said he “had been waiting for for half a decade.”

This data tiering will allow users to set up a tiered environment between devices like the PAS7700 and other scalable Synology systems like the HD6500.

Data tiering refers to a strategy for categorising data, which does so according to how frequently it is accessed.

This allows more frequently accessed data to be on a higher tier or one with more computing power, such as the PAS7700, thus optimising storage efficiency.

Concerning redundancy, Hall said that the PAS7700 supports a more advanced redundant array of independent disks (RAID) topology than its previous products, such as the RAID 0,1,5,6,10, and TP.

“This system is also going to support an even more advanced RAID topology, including RAID triple parity,” he said.

“And that means it has a higher fault tolerance than a standard RAID 6 array with the two-drive tolerance.”

“PAS7700 is the culmination of Synology’s 25 years of engineering experience in data management and storage,” said Kenneth Hsu, Director of the System Group at Synology.

“We’ve engineered PAS7700 to deliver ultra-high performance at a price point previously unseen in the enterprise storage market.”

As with other Synology storage solutions, the PAS7700 supports Synology applications such as Synology Drive, Synology Office, and Mail Plus.

Synology said the PAS7700 will become available in the second half of 2025. Regarding pricing, the company said it could achieve primary storage-grade performance at the cost of mainstream storage.