Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP now supports write-back mode for ONTAP FlexCache volumes

Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, a service that provides fully managed shared storage built on NetApp’s popular ONTAP file system, now supports write-back mode for ONTAP FlexCache volumes. Write-back mode is a new ONTAP capability that helps you achieve faster performance for your write-intensive workloads that are distributed across multiple AWS Regions and on-premises file systems.

FlexCache is an ONTAP caching technology that enables distributed access to data. Previously, FlexCache only supported write-around mode, where every write operation to a FlexCache volume had to go back to the origin volume before it was acknowledged, increasing write latency. Starting today, FSx for ONTAP now supports the new write-back mode for FlexCache. Write-back mode improves the performance of write-heavy workloads by caching writes locally on FlexCache volumes and asynchronously updating the origin volume, reducing write latency. You can now use write-back mode to improve write performance for write-intensive distributed applications such as collaborative content creation, distributed databases, and engineering workflows that need to operate across multiple AWS Regions or between cloud and on-premises environments.

Starting today, you can enable FlexCache write-back mode at no additional cost on all FSx for ONTAP file systems in all AWS Regions where the service is available. For more information, refer to the FSx for ONTAP User Guide.