Quantum announces support for NVIDIA GPUDirect Storage with Myriad all-flash file system

Quantum Corporation today announced the development of a new, highly parallel file system client for the Quantum Myriad all-flash file system, designed to fully enable NVIDIA GPUDirect Storage capability while offering on-the-fly client node deployments with cross-platform compatibility, including NVIDIA Grace Hopper with Grace ARM-based architectures.

This new capability offers an innovative approach to building artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) infrastructure intended to let customers add powerful new graphics processing unit (GPU) nodes to Myriad clusters as needed to respond quickly to evolving workflow and pipeline needs. Designed to maximize GPU utilization and performance, the client is optimized for GPU-intensive workloads such as AI/ML model training and inferencing, high-performance computing (HPC) visualization and modeling, and video rendering.

The Myriad parallel client design takes a new approach to building out AI/ML infrastructure by installing directly on customer servers or workstations equipped with high-performance GPU cards, transforming their host workstation into operational Myriad GPU Nodes. By leveraging NVIDIA’s Magnum I/O GPUDirect Storage technology, the client establishes a direct RDMA data path between storage and GPU memory, bypassing CPU bottlenecks to enable exceptional performance.

Multiple client nodes can be added to a Myriad cluster at any time and are a powerful new connection option alongside server message block (SMB), network file system (NFS), and planned S3 access that can be added to any Myriad share point on demand, giving customers the widest range of connection choice and flexibility available for all-flash file systems. 

"Myriad’s parallel client development is guided by our vision to make Myriad the most capable, most flexible, and easiest-to-use all-flash storage solution,” said Jeff Mulder, chief development officer, Quantum. “The new client brings unique capabilities by running as a fully integrated GPUDirect Node on client systems. Unlike traditional parallel file system clients, which rely on other appliances to perform these operations on their behalf, Myriad’s client performs its own metadata operations, data reduction, and data protection operations. This approach minimizes common bottlenecks, lets customers maximize their GPU investment across architectures, and allows performance to scale with the number of parallel clients accessing the Myriad system.”

The new Myriad parallel file system client will be made available for evaluation through Quantum’s Early Access Program. This program is an integral part of Quantum’s product development process, enabling influential customers to test and validate new features and provide real-world workflow feedback that will benefit all users.

“The growing demands of massive data analysis and AI/ML pipelines are driving the need for more agile, on-demand infrastructure solutions that are simple to implement and also ready for advanced technologies like NVIDIA GPUDirect Storage,” said Guy Currier, CTO, Futurum Research. “Organizations are increasingly looking for scalable, high-performance systems that can adapt to evolving workflows without requiring extensive new deployments. Simplicity, ease of use, and future-proof adaptability are critical factors in addressing these needs effectively.”

Quantum’s wide network of system integrators is ready to help integrate Myriad’s capabilities for mission-critical content production needs such as animation/visual effects (VFX) rendering and AI/ML actions for rich media and video at scale.

"We are extremely impressed with the performance and capabilities of Myriad after testing it in our labs,” said Lance Hukill, chief commercial officer for CHESA, a leading integrator for media and entertainment customers. “The innovative approach to a parallel file system client will help our customers tackle the most demanding workloads that cannot be addressed with traditional legacy NAS storage systems and gives us tremendous flexibility in building customer solutions. We especially look forward to testing the new capabilities for large-scale, high-resolution video rendering and the development of new AI/ML tools to extract insights from large content lakes.”

Existing Myriad customers are eligible to participate in the Early Access Program for the new parallel file system client with NVIDIA GPUDirect Storage support upon its release in Q1 2025, with general availability in the second half of 2025. New prospects interested in Myriad and participating in the Early Access Program can contact Quantum at [email protected]. For more information about Myriad, visit www.quantum.com/myriad.