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Kubernetes Persistent Storage for I/O intensive workloads

Simplyblock is a scalable Kubernetes storage solution based on NVMe/TCP, tailored for users hosting stateful or I/O-sensitive workloads, such as databases, streaming platforms or analytics.

The technology combines the baseline performance of best-in-class SAN systems or local NVMe disk with the flexibility and scalability of software-defined storage solutions. Simplyblock is the ideal choice for Kubernetes and virtual machine deployments, such as Amazon EKS and Amazon EC2.

Why simplyblock as Kubernetes StorageClass?

Kubernetes-Optimized Storage

  • Persistent Storage for Kubernetes: Simplyblock provides robust and scalable persistent storage for Kubernetes, ensuring your stateful applications have reliable and high-performance storage.
  • Kubernetes Volumes and Storage Classes: Our solution supports dynamic provisioning of Kubernetes volumes and storage classes, simplifying storage management within your Kubernetes clusters.

Intelligent Storage Features

  • CSI Driver for Kubernetes: Our solution includes a Kubernetes CSI (Container Storage Interface) driver, allowing for seamless integration and management of storage resources within your Kubernetes environment.
  • Multi-Tenancy Support: A single Simplyblock storage cluster can serve multiple Kubernetes clusters, making it ideal for multi-tenant setups.
  • Distributed File System: Write concurrently on multiple containers and nodes with distributed file system of your choice, ensuring high availability and data consistency.

Seamless AWS Integration

  • Amazon EKS Compatibility: Simplyblock is fully compatible with managed Kubernetes, such as Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), enabling easy deployment and management of storage within your AWS infrastructure.
  • EC2 Integration: Leverage the power of Amazon EC2 instances and local NVMe disk to run simplyblock’s high-performance storage solution, ensuring your Kubernetes workloads have the storage performance they need.

On-Premise Compatible

  • Kubernetes-native: Simplyblock is fully compatible with all on-premise distributions of Kubernetes, bringing the easy deployment of NVMe over Fabrics storage to private Kubernetes environments.
  • No external drivers required: NVMe over TCP is natively integrated into the Linux kernel NVMe stack and available for Windows via the StarWind NVMe Initiator or natively in Windows Server 2025.

​Flexible Deployment Models

  • Single Container: Deploy Simplyblock easily as a single container, making it simple to integrate with your existing Kubernetes setup.
  • HCI and Disaggregated Deployment: Simplyblock supports both Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) and Disaggregated Deployment models, providing flexibility to meet your specific architecture needs.​

Performance of local NVMe disk at scale

Simplyblock uses NVMe over TCP for minimal access latency, high IOPS/GB, and efficient CPU core utilization, surpassing local NVMe disks and Amazon EBS in cost/performance ratio at scale. Ideal for high-performance Kubernetes environments, simplyblock combines the benefits of local-like latency with the scalability and flexibility necessary for dynamic Kubernetes deployments, ensuring optimal performance for I/O-sensitive workloads like databases.

ebs vs ssd vs simplyblock

Why simplyblock for NVMe-based Kubernetes storage?

At its core, simplyblock implements an NVMe-first architecture that transforms how containerized applications interact with storage. By utilizing NVMe/TCP- the modern successor to iSCSI – simplyblock provides native integration with Linux and Windows kernels, eliminating the need for proprietary drivers while delivering superior performance compared to traditional protocols.

For Kubernetes environments, simplyblock offers comprehensive storage orchestration through its Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver. This deep integration enables automated provisioning, scaling, and management of persistent volumes, making it ideal for stateful workloads like databases and observability platforms. Organizations can define storage characteristics through Kubernetes StorageClasses, allowing for granular control over performance, availability, and cost optimization.

Key Features:

  • Advanced thin provisioning that eliminates storage waste by allocating capacity only when needed
  • Intelligent storage pooling that automatically manages and scales underlying storage resources
  • Transparent tiering to move infrequently accessed data to cost-effective storage tiers
  • Ultra-low latency storage access through local NVMe device integration
  • Built-in encryption, compression, and multi-tenancy support
  • Cross-zone disaster recovery with near-zero RPO using write-ahead logging
  • Instant volume snapshots and clones for rapid database operations

simplyblock particularly excels in environments running multiple database workloads, offering consistent snapshots across various database types and enabling rapid cloning for development and testing. Its architecture is designed to meet the demands of organizations that require high-performance, scalable storage for their Kubernetes-based services.

By combining cutting-edge NVMe/TCP technology with intelligent storage orchestration, simplyblock delivers a modern storage solution that helps organizations maximize their Kubernetes investments while minimizing operational complexity and cost.

Accelerate your Kubernetes Performance while Saving Costs with Simplyblock

Benefit from the first highly secure and scalable K8s storage solution designed from scratch for hybrid clouds

  • Cost-efficient: up to 80% cost savings on your high-performance storage csots
  • Hyper-scalable: Linear scalability through distributed cluster architecture: scales beyond 100,000,000 IOPS
  • Automated: Add, remove or replace SSDs and storage nodes at any time – the cluster will always re-balance storage usage and load across all available resources  
  • Designed for Hybrid-Cloud: Hybrid cloud storage solution with native integrations with AWS, OpenStack, OpenNebula or VMware.
  • Resilient against ransomware attacks: First block storage with zero RPO point-in-time recovery after ransomware attacks