White Paper

Providing a Unified Data Layer at Memory Speed for Cloud Environments with Huawei and Alluxio

The cloud is rapidly becoming ubiquitous, with continued adoption focused on the flexibility and cost benefits of a utility infrastructure model. Enterprises are increasingly taking a “data first” view of infra- structure, which demands a new way of thinking in a world in which data is stored and accessed from multiple locations and providers. Performance and interoperability challenges, however, can present obstacles to cloud adoption and complicate data management. Techniques such as the use of data silos, ETL processes and multiple data copies, which are commonly employed to accommodate cloud limitations, often tend to offset the expected benefits of cloud infrastructure. Alluxio offers a new way to enhance the benefits of cloud infra- structure without the performance limitations or interoperability challenges resulting from accessing disparate data sources in multiple, often remote, locations.