Fullstor

Fullstor is a storage paradigm that unifies all storage tiers—RAM, NVMe, HDD, and cloud—under a single namespace, with automated data placement and movement guided by policies. The goal is to deliver predictable performance and optimized cost without requiring applications to manage tiering manually.

An implementation of fullstor typically comprises a metadata service, a policy engine, and a data path that can transparently move data between tiers. It supports features such as inline deduplication, compression, and erasure coding, as well as snapshotting, replication, and disaster recovery. The architecture may be deployed on-premises, in public clouds, or as a hybrid solution, often via software-defined storage or hyperconverged platforms.

Key capabilities include a unified namespace that hides tier boundaries, policy-driven data placement that considers performance, durability, and cost, Quality of Service controls, and global data protection. It aims to simplify administration and improve utilization by automatically migrating data based on access patterns and workload requirements.

Relation to other concepts: Fullstor overlaps with software-defined storage, data fabric, and unified or multi-tier storage. It is not a single standardized product; rather, multiple vendors implement similar ideas under different names. Adoption is most common in enterprise environments dealing with large, heterogeneous workloads that require scalable, cost-conscious storage management.

Etymology and usage: The term 'fullstor' has appeared in various industry discussions and marketing materials as a shorthand for full-stack or full-depth storage strategies, but there is no universal definition or standard. The concept continues to evolve with advances in memory, flash, and cloud storage technologies.