NexentaStor
Encyclopedia
NexentaStor is a proprietary derivative operating system built by the developers of the open-source Nexenta OpenSolaris
-distribution that has been optimized for use virtualized server environments NAS
and iSCSI
and Fibre Channel
applications built around the ZFS
file system. It features iSCSI
support, unlimited incremental backups or 'snapshots', snapshot mirroring (replication), block level mirroring (CDP
), integrated search within ZFS snapshots and a custom API. Through its focus on ZFS, it carries with it potential benefits for virtualized server farms in terms of performance and thin provisioning
. The operating system is currently distributed as ISO
and VMware
disk image
s with pricing determined on a per-terabyte and per-server licensing basis. A "Community Edition" is available free of charge for users with less than 18 terabytes of used disk space.
following features are not available in Community Edition:
OpenSolaris
OpenSolaris was an open source computer operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. It was also the name of the project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around the software...
-distribution that has been optimized for use virtualized server environments NAS
Network-attached storage
Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
and iSCSI
ISCSI
In computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
and Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
applications built around the ZFS
ZFS
In computing, ZFS is a combined file system and logical volume manager designed by Sun Microsystems. The features of ZFS include data integrity verification against data corruption modes , support for high storage capacities, integration of the concepts of filesystem and volume management,...
file system. It features iSCSI
ISCSI
In computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
support, unlimited incremental backups or 'snapshots', snapshot mirroring (replication), block level mirroring (CDP
Continuous data protection
Continuous data protection , also called continuous backup or real-time backup, refers to backup of computer data by automatically saving a copy of every change made to that data, essentially capturing every version of the data that the user saves...
), integrated search within ZFS snapshots and a custom API. Through its focus on ZFS, it carries with it potential benefits for virtualized server farms in terms of performance and thin provisioning
Thin Provisioning
Thin provisioning is the act of using virtualization technology to give the appearance of more physical resource than is actually available. If you always have enough resource to simultaneously support all of the virtualized resources then you are not thin provisioned...
. The operating system is currently distributed as ISO
ISO 9660
ISO 9660, also referred to as CDFS by some hardware and software providers, is a file system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization for optical disc media....
and VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
s with pricing determined on a per-terabyte and per-server licensing basis. A "Community Edition" is available free of charge for users with less than 18 terabytes of used disk space.
Features
- File system: ZFSZFSIn computing, ZFS is a combined file system and logical volume manager designed by Sun Microsystems. The features of ZFS include data integrity verification against data corruption modes , support for high storage capacities, integration of the concepts of filesystem and volume management,...
- Block-level replication
- File-level replication
- ZFS snapshot level replication
- VMware ESX integration
- WORM (Write Once Read ManyWrite Once Read ManyA Write Once Read Many or WORM drive is a data storage device where information, once written, cannot be modified. On ordinary data storage devices, the number of times data can be modified is not limited, except by the rated lifespan of the device, as modification involves physical changes that...
) support - Many plugin extensions
- Protocols: CIFSServer Message BlockIn computer networking, Server Message Block , also known as Common Internet File System operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an...
(via high-performance kernel-level CIFS implementation), FTP, NFS, SSHSecure ShellSecure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
, rsyncRsyncrsync is a software application and network protocol for Unix-like and Windows systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing data transfer using delta encoding when appropriate. An important feature of rsync not found in most similar...
, WebDAVWebDAVWeb-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning is a set of methods based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web servers...
. - rsyncRsyncrsync is a software application and network protocol for Unix-like and Windows systems which synchronizes files and directories from one location to another while minimizing data transfer using delta encoding when appropriate. An important feature of rsync not found in most similar...
server, client and local synchronisation. - iSCSI targets feature to create virtual disks.
- iSCSI initiator.
- Hard drive: P-ATA/S-ATASerial ATASerial ATA is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives...
, SCSISCSISmall Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
, iSCSIISCSIIn computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
, USBUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
and Firewire. - Networks cards: All wired and wireless cards supported by OpenSolarisOpenSolarisOpenSolaris was an open source computer operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. It was also the name of the project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around the software...
. - Boot from HDD or USB flash drive.
- Hardware RAIDRAIDRAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
cards: All those supported by OpenSolarisOpenSolarisOpenSolaris was an open source computer operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. It was also the name of the project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around the software...
. - Software RAID levels: 0, 1, 5, JBOD, 5+0, 5+1, 0+1, 1+0, etc. (using ZFSZFSIn computing, ZFS is a combined file system and logical volume manager designed by Sun Microsystems. The features of ZFS include data integrity verification against data corruption modes , support for high storage capacities, integration of the concepts of filesystem and volume management,...
). - Management of groups and users (Local User authentication or Microsoft DomainsWindows Server domainA Windows domain is a collection of security principals that share a central directory database. This central database contains the user accounts and security information for...
). - S.M.A.R.T.Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting TechnologyS.M.A.R.T. is a monitoring system for computer hard disk drives to detect and report on various indicators of reliability, in the hope of anticipating failures....
support. - SNMPSimple Network Management ProtocolSimple Network Management Protocol is an "Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks, and more." It is used mostly in network management systems to monitor...
monitoring (Netgraph and MibII). - Email log and reporting notification.
- ATA over Ethernet (AoE)ATA over EthernetATA over Ethernet is a network protocol developed by the Brantley Coile Company, designed for simple, high-performance access of SATA storage devices over Ethernet networks. It is used to build storage area networks with low-cost, standard technologies.- Protocol description :AoE runs on layer 2...
Community Edition
The "Community Edition" of NexentaStor is a no-charge version of the storage appliance. The Community Edition includes all the common SAN features of the paid version (snapshots, replication, deduplication, etc.) and can be used on storage setups up to 18 TB of used storage (that is, it will run on a system with any amount of available storage but freezes most administration functions once 18 TB of data is present). The Community Edition also lacks commercial end-user support or the inclusion of paid plugins though it can install many of the free and open source plugins that are developed and hosted on the Community Edition website.following features are not available in Community Edition:
- Cluster 1.0 for Active / Active HA
- VMDC for Virtualization
- Auto Sync and CDP for Data Replication
- WORM for Data retention
- Target for virtual LUN mapping