The IT Nerd

 VDURA today announced Version 12 of the VDURA Data Platform, a major software release that redefines scalability and resilience for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. V12 increases performance on every metric and introduces a new elastic Metadata Engine, system-wide Snapshot Support, and optimized integration for hyperscale class HDD’s using Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) technology to deliver unprecedented performance efficiency, durability, and capacity scaling across the data lifecycle.

Building on the performance foundation established in V11, VDURA V12 Key Highlights of Data Platform V12 include:

• Elastic Metadata Engine: A next-generation, scale-out, metadata engine designed for increased performance. It dynamically scales across nodes to sustain performance as file and object counts grow, eliminating traditional bottlenecks and improving metadata operations by up to 20x.
• Snapshot Support: Enables instantaneous, space-efficient point-in-time copies of datasets for AI pipelines, model checkpoints, and operational recovery. Snapshots integrate seamlessly with support for both manual and policy-based retention.
• SMR HDD Optimization: Extends the VDURA data platform to support Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) drives for ultra-dense data storage. A new write-placement engine organizes sequential zones intelligently, unlocking 25–30% more capacity per rack without compromising throughput or data integrity. 

Breakthrough Performance Meets Resilient Scale

The Elastic Metadata Engine enables metadata operations to scale linearly across multiple metadata nodes, supporting billions of files and objects under active use. Combined with snapshot and SMR tier support, V12 further reduces total cost of ownership while extending VDURA’s lead in AI-scale storage economics. With aggregate throughput performance increased by more than 20%, V12 delivers unmatched efficiency for training pipelines, inference workloads, and hyperscale data movement.

Availability

VDURA Data Platform V12 will be generally available in Q2 2026 for all V5000 and V7000-class systems. Existing customers running V11 or later can upgrade in place via an online software update with zero downtime.

The Mountain vs. the Data Transfer Record at SC25

On Nov 18, 2025, at 11:30 AM CT, Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson returns to SC25 Booth #2033 with VDURA to break the AI and HPC data transfer record. Powered by Phison Pascari SSDs and the VDURA Data Platform, Thor will move hundreds of petabytes in seconds, demonstrating the next level of data performance and scalability.

Last year, Thor stunned the crowd with his World Record Data Lift, hoisting over 282 PB of capacity, the most data ever lifted. This year, it’s all about speed.

VDURA has announced the launch of its first scalable AMD Instinct™ GPU reference architecture in collaboration with AMD. The new validated blueprint defines how compute, storage and networking should be configured for efficient, repeatable large-scale GPU implementations. The design combines the VDURA V5000 storage platform with AMD Instinct™ MI300 Series Accelerators to eliminate performance bottlenecks and simplify deployment for the most demanding AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. 

AI and HPC pipelines are increasingly limited by storage that cannot keep pace with growing data volumes. This slows GPU utilization, increases energy costs and reduces overall efficiency. The new reference architecture is engineered to keep AMD Instinct™ GPUs fully utilized, delivering sustained performance with a design that is efficient, expandable and simple to operate. 

Following a technical evaluation, AMD selected VDURA for its AMD Instinct™ GPU-optimized performance, low client overhead and proven ability to scale. The solution has already been chosen for a U.S. federal systems integrator AI supercluster, demonstrating its readiness for mission-critical workloads. 

The reference architecture provides compute, storage and networking at scale. It supports 256 AMD Instinct™ GPUs per scalable unit, achieves throughput of up to 1.4 TB/s and 45 million IOPS in an all-flash layout, and delivers around 5 PB of usable capacity in a 3 Director and 6 V5000 node configuration. Data durability is assured through multi-level erasure coding, while networking options include dual-plane 400 GbE and optional NDR/NDR200 InfiniBand. 

Built to grow with demand, the modular design allows organizations to add Director Nodes for extra performance, expand with all-flash storage for more bandwidth, or combine flash and HDD capacity for cost-effective growth, all within a single namespace.  

For further information, the full 20-page architecture reference guide is available for download at: https://www.vdura.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/VDURA_AMD_AI_Reference-Architecture-2.pdf