What is unified storage for Pure?

Defining Unified Storage: In the storage industry, " Unified Storage " refers to a single storage platform that can simultaneously serve data over both block-level and file-level protocols.

The Pure Storage Approach: Historically, FlashArray was a high-performance block-only array. However, with the introduction of FlashArray File Services , Pure transitioned to a unified architecture. This means the same hardware (FlashArray//X, //C, or //XL) and the same management interface (Purity) handle both types of workloads.

Protocol Support:

Block Protocols: Fibre Channel (FC), iSCSI, and NVMe-over-Fabrics (NVMe-oF).

File Protocols: NFS (Network File System) and SMB (Server Message Block).

Why this is " Unified " : * Shared Pool of Resources: Unlike older legacy systems that used " file gateways " or separate hardware heads for NAS, Pure’s unified storage shares a single global pool of flash memory and deduplication metadata.

Ease of Management: Administrators don ' t need to manage two different systems. You can create a Volume (Block) or a File System (File) from the same " Add " menu in the GUI.

Why Options A and B are incorrect: * Option A only describes the File side of the equation.

Option B only describes the Block side of the equation.

Only Option C accurately captures the combination of both paradigms, which is the definition of " Unified. "