Tintri
{{Short description|American computer storage company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Tintrí By DDN, Inc.
| logo = Tintri logo.png
| industry = Data storage devices
Information Technology
Virtualization
| products = Enterprise Cloud, VM-aware storage
| foundation = 2008
| location_city = Santa Clara, California
| location_country = United States
| homepage = {{URL |www.Tintri.com}}
}}
Tintri, Inc. is a division of DataDirect Networks based in Santa Clara, California. Tintri provides products designed for businesses cloud computing, virtual machines (VMs), and containers. The core product line is the VMstore, a storage system and software designed to simplify management in data center and cloud environments.{{cite web |author= Derek Schauland |title= Review: Tintri datastore in a box |url= http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/data-center/review-tintri-datastore-in-a-box/ |date= August 28, 2013 |work= TechRepublic |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}{{cite web |author= Chris Mellor |title= You can feed 800 VMs off 1 of our boxes, startup brags |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/17/tintri_800_vms/ |date= May 17, 2012 |work=The Register |access-date= January 29, 2017 }}{{cite web |author= Peter Cohan |title= Tintri's 110% growth grabs share from NetApp, EMC in $10 billion market |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/07/31/tintris-110-growth-grabs-share-from-netapp-emc-in-10-billion-market/ |date= July 31, 2013 |work= Forbes |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
After becoming a public company in 2017, within a year it ran out of cash and was acquired in bankruptcy.
History
Tintri was founded in 2007 by Kieran Harty, who had led development at VMware as their executive vice president of engineering from 1999 to 2006.
A native of Ireland, Harty had graduate degrees from Trinity College, Dublin and Stanford University.{{Cite news |title= J-1 visa leads Trinity graduate to Silicon Valley success |newspaper= The Irish Times |date= August 12, 2016 |url= http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/j-1-visa-leads-trinity-graduate-to-silicon-valley-success-1.2750587 |access-date= October 17, 2016 }}
Its initial objective was solving the mismatch between conventional storage and the demands of applications in virtual machine (VM) environments, which causes complex configuration and management as well as over-provisioning.{{cite web |author= Lee Pender |title= Storage for the modern data center |date= July 1, 2013 |url= http://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2013/08/09/road-to-vmworld-2013-storage-for-the-modern-data-center.aspx |work= Virtualization Review |access-date= January 29, 2017 }}
Over time, Tintri addressed cloud needs of enterprise customers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/01/hey_tintri_whats_happening_with_my_stack/|title=Hey Tintri. Mac? Rack? No, I said what's happening with my stack?|date=1 November 2016|first=Chris|last=Mellor|access-date=2017-06-01|work=The Register}} Tintri is derived from "tintreach", the word for "lightning" in the Irish language.{{Cite news |title= Tintri's Flash of Storage Lightning Puts EMC In the Dark |author= Peter Cohan |date= February 23, 2012 |work= Forbes |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/02/23/tintris-flash-of-storage-lightning-puts-emc-in-the-dark/ |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
Early investors included David Cheriton (Harty's Ph.D. adviser){{Cite web |author= Kieran Harty |title= Home is Where the Talent (and VCs) Are: Silicon Valley Still Unparalleled as Tech Hotbed |date= November 29, 2012 |work= Wired Innovation Insights |url= http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/home-is-where-the-talent-and-vcs-are-silicon-valley-still |access-date= October 18, 2016 |archive-date= February 5, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160205120938/http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/home-is-where-the-talent-and-vcs-are-silicon-valley-still |url-status= dead }} and venture capital from New Enterprise Associates and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The first two rounds raised about $17 million before being disclosed in 2011.{{Cite news |title= Storage start-up Tintri launches with $17 million |work= CNet News |author= Dave Rosenberg |date= March 24, 2011 |url= https://www.cnet.com/news/storage-start-up-tintri-launches-with-17-million/ |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
Another round of about $25 million was disclosed in July, 2012, with Menlo Ventures as additional investor.{{Cite web |title= Form D: Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities |publisher= US SEC |date= July 25, 2012 |url= https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1554875/000155487512000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}{{Cite news |title= Tintri trousers $25m to crank out flash storage grease |author= Chris Mellor |date= July 25, 2012 |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/25/tintri_fourth_round/ |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
Pete Sonsini, (son of Silicon Valley attorney Larry Sonsini) was an early board member.{{Cite news |title= Pete Sonsini Brings Tech Heritage To NEA |work= Venture Capital Dispatch |publisher= Wall Street Journal |date= October 17, 2011 |author= Scott Denne |url= https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/10/17/pete-sonsini-brings-tech-heritage-to-nea/s |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
In October 2013, Ken Klein, a Tintri board member and former president of Wind River Systems, became chairman and chief executive.{{cite web |title=Tintri names Ken Klein as Chairman and Chief Executive Office to accelerate company's growth |url= http://www.tintri.com/news/press-releases/tintri-names-ken-klein-chairman-and-chief-executive-officer-accelerate-company-s |work=Tintri Press Release |access-date=October 6, 2016 |date= October 15, 2013 }} Ian Halifax, also from Wind River, was named chief financial officer in January 2014.{{cite web |title=Tintri Appoints Ian Halifax as CFO |url= https://www.tintri.com/news/tintri-appoints-ian-halifax-cfo |work=Tintri Press Release |date= January 29, 2014 |access-date=October 6, 2016 }}
A round of $75 million investment in February 2014 was led by Insight Venture Partners.{{Cite news |title= IPO-Bound Tintri Raises $75 Million in Round Led by Insight Venture Partners |author= Arik Hesseldahl |date= February 13, 2014 |work= recode |url= http://www.recode.net/2014/2/13/11623460/ipo-bound-tintri-raises-75-million-in-round-led-by-insight-venture |access-date=October 6, 2016 }}
In August 2015, a $125 million investment round was led by Silver Lake Kraftwerk joined by previous investors.{{cite web |author= Barb Darrow |title= Tintri snags $125 million to market its new-look storage appliance |url= http://www.fortune.com/2015/08/05/tintri-snags-125-million-for-storage-push/ |work=Fortune |date=August 5, 2015 |access-date= October 17, 2016 }}
In October, 2016, Charles Giancarlo (from Silver Lake) joined the board of directors.{{Cite web |work= Press release |date= October 4, 2016 |title= Charles Giancarlo joins Tintri Board of Directors |url= https://www.tintri.com/news/charles-giancarlo-joins-tintri-board-directors |access-date= October 6, 2016 }}
On June 1, 2017, Tintri filed with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO).{{Cite news|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tintri-files-with-sec-to-list-on-nasdaq-2017-06-01|title=Tintri files with SEC to list on Nasdaq|last=Chang|first=Sue|work=MarketWatch|access-date=2017-06-01}}
The IPO was delayed and then re-priced below the original range.{{Cite news |title= Tintri IPO boots up after it tries turning itself off and on again: And slashing the share price, too. That also worked |work= The Register |date= June 30, 2017 |url= https://www.theregister.com/2017/06/30/tintri_ipo/ |author= Chris Mellor |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}
On June 30, 2017, its shares began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol TNTR.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/30/tintri-ipo-tntr-stock-prices-opens-for-trading-on-first-day.html|title=Tintri IPO: TNTR stock prices, opens for trading on first day |last=Balakrishnan|first=Anita|website=CNBC | date= June 30, 2017 |access-date= November 16, 2021 }}
In December 2017 it was reported that despite the IPO, the company was looking for a buyer.{{Cite news|url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4131953-tintri-nightmare-continues|title=Tintri: The Nightmare Continues|last=Gary|first=Alexander|work=SeekingAlpha|access-date=2017-12-27}}{{Cite news|url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4085759-tintri-ipo-fundamental-problems|title=Tintri IPO: The Fundamental Problems|last=Ashton|first=Richard|work=SeekingAlpha|access-date=2017-12-27}}
In March, 2018, CEO Ken Klein was replaced by Thomas Barton.{{Cite news |title= Beleaguered all-flash flinger Tintri appoints new CEO: Tom Barton takes reins from Ken Klein |work= The Register |date= March 14, 2018 |url= https://www.theregister.com/2018/03/14/tintri_new_ceo_tom_barton/ |author= Chris Mellor |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}
On June 22, 2018, after failing to find a buyer and resignation of Barton as CEO, Tintri's board of directors approved a reduction in force of approximately 200 employees. The company expected to have between 40 and 50 employees left as it ran out of cash.{{Cite news |title= Tintri terminates 200 staff, cash set to run dry in a couple of days |work= The Register |date= June 28, 2018 |url= https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/28/tintri_terminates_200_employees/ |author= Chris Mellor |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}
On July 9, 2018, Tintri was delisted from NASDAQ as a result of failure to satisfy the listing requirements.{{Cite web|url=https://ir.tintri.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tintri-receives-nasdaq-delisting-determination-letter|title=Tintri Receives Nasdaq Delisting Determination Letter {{!}} Tintri|website=Tintri|language=en|access-date=2018-09-27}}
On July 10, 2018, Tintri filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. DataDirect Networks (DDN) agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Tintri.{{Cite news |title= Tintri rescued by DDN just hours after filing for Chapter 11 |author= Chris Mellor |date= July 10, 2018 |work= The Register |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/10/tintri_ddn_acquisition/ |access-date=July 10, 2018 }}
On September 4, 2018, DDN announced it had acquired Tintri for $60 million.{{Cite news |url= https://www.ddn.com/press-releases/ddn-completes-60-million-tintri-acquisition-enters-enterprise-virtualization-market/ |title= DDN Completes $60 Million Tintri Acquisition and Enters Enterprise Virtualization Market |date= September 4, 2018 |access-date= November 15, 2021 }}
Technology
The Tintri VMstore uses VMs and virtual disks — in place of conventional storage abstractions — as core system management constructs. The VMstore offers a set of open interfaces for automation and orchestration in cloud environments.
Tintri's architecture allows a user to set quality of service (QoS) for individual VMs, vDisks and containers, which allocates minimum or maximum performance resources according to need. The file system automatically monitors and controls IO to those VMs, vDisks and containers to eliminate conflict, often referred to as 'noisy neighbor syndrome'. And Tintri provides a global view of all the VMs stored on the VMstore, including real-time view of latency from guest VMs, vSphere hosts, the network and storage.
Tintri VMstores are accessed by clients over standard file service protocols such as the Network File System (NFS) and Server Message Block (SMB). The software runs on a customized Linux operating system.
File:Tintri VMstore T5000 All-Flash Series Array.jpg
Tintri shipped its first products in April 2011.{{cite web |author= Ashlee Vance |author-link=Ashlee Vance |title= Taking the pain out of virtual computing |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-03-24/taking-the-pain-out-of-virtual-computing |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |date= March 24, 2011 |access-date= October 21, 2016 }}{{cite web |title= Former VMware R&D chief launches Tintri with $17M funding |url= http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2011/03/24/former-vmware-rd-chief-launches-tintri.html |work= San Jose Business Journal |access-date= October 6, 2016 |date= March 26, 2011}}
Since then, the company introduced VM-granular replication in 2013,{{cite web |author= Duncan Epping |title= Tintri releases version 2.0 - Replication added |url= http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2013/04/08/tintri-releases-version-2-0/ |work= Yellow-Bricks blog |date= April 8, 2013}} support for VMware Virtual Volumes (VVols), VM-level automation and analytics, and other hypervisors such as Hyper-V in 2014.{{cite web |author= Chris Mellor |title=Tintri adds Hyper-V to its virtualised server support: Oh Hyper-V, oh Hyper-V, now you are but one of three |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/15/tintri_adds_third_virtualisation_tint/ |work= The Register |date= December 15, 2014 |access-date= October 21, 2016 }}
On April 9, 2015, Tintri announced software that enables administrators to set maximum and minimum input/output operations per second (IOPS) to each individual VM, with visual guidance on the values to specify.{{cite web |author= Chris Mellor |title=Tintri gets all touchy-feely with latest OS update |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/13/tintris_qos_touch_and_feel_visuality/|access-date= October 9, 2016 |work= The Register |date= April 13, 2015 }}
On August 20, 2015, Tintri announced the VMstore T5000 series which uses only flash memory.{{cite web|title=Tintri Announces New VM-Aware All-Flash Storage Platform—Providing Customers the Choice of All-Flash and Hybrid-Flash, with Common OS, Real-Time Analytics and the Ability to Optimize Workloads Across Storage Platforms |url= http://www.tintri.com/news/press-releases/tintri-announces-new-vm-aware-all-flash-storage-platform-providing-customers |work= Press Release |date= August 20, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150910230011/https://www.tintri.com/news/press-releases/tintri-announces-new-vm-aware-all-flash-storage-platform-providing-customers |archive-date= September 10, 2015 }}{{cite web |author= Duncan Epping |title= Tintri announces all-flash storage device and Tintri OS 4.0 |url= http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2015/08/20/tintri-announces-all-flash-storage-device-and-tintri-os-4-0/ |date= August 20, 2015 |work= Yellow-Bricks blog |access-date= October 17, 2016 }}
At the same time, the VMstack product was announced using the marketing term converged infrastructure.{{cite web |author= Chris Mellor |title= Tintri adds tincture of all-flash array to its range: Crafts a converged infrastructure offering for channel |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/20/tintri_adds_tincture_of_allflash/ |work=The Register |date= August 20, 2015 |access-date= October 21, 2016 }}
In May, 2016, Tintri announced capacity expansion options for the T5000 cluster computing software.{{cite web |title =Tintri Unveils Scale-out Storage Platform to Enable Enterprises and CSPs to Build Their Own Amazon-like Cloud Infrastructure.Delivers Industry's Largest All-Flash Scale-out with Support for Up to 160,000 VMs |url= http://www.tintri.com/news/tintri-unveils-scale-out-storage-platform-enable-enterprises-and-csps-build-their-own-amazon |work= Tintri Press Release |date= May 17, 2016 |access-date= October 21, 2016 }}{{cite web |author= Chris Mellor |title= Tintri debuts storage precog that knows what you'll need in 6 months |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/17/tintri_gets_flash_boost_and_scaleout/ |work=The Register |date= May 17, 2016 |access-date= October 21, 2016 }}
In November, 2016, Tintri announced software for cloud computing.{{Cite web |url= https://www.tintri.com/news/tintri-raises-bar-enterprise-cloud-built-web-services-architecture-and-restful-apis |title= Tintri Raises the Bar for Enterprise Cloud Built on Web Services Architecture and RESTful APIs |work= Press release |date= November 1, 2016 |publisher= Tintri |access-date= January 29, 2017 }}
On December 13, 2018, DDN a Tintri software update.{{Cite news| url= https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181213005163/en/Tintri-DDN-Opens-100-Worldwide-Field-Service |title=Tintri by DDN Opens More Than 100 Worldwide Field Service Depots and Delivers First Software Update |date= December 13, 2018 |work= Press release |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}
References
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