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Linux Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Appliances Hit the Market
05/08/2000 |
A wide assortment of NAS devices that are using Linux have made their appearance lately. A brief list:
The concept is simple: buy a box with as much disk space as your workgroup needs (anything from the 50 Gb range to about 10 Tb), give it an IP, plug in the 10/100 RJ45 cable and go. To be reliable and usable, said box would probably implement: RAID, a journaling file system, filesharing daemons for various OS's (Samba/CIFS, Netatalk, NFS, etc.), and an easy and cross-platform remote (read: WWW) interface. Backup had better be considered in the product scope of any kind of file server!
Also, what I'll call "Virtual Appliances" are available where the product that one buys is all software that is a slick and easy install of and interface to a Linux or *BSD OS and necessary server applications. See FileServer from NetMAX.
Competition comes from proprietary systems running various likenesses of Unix as an OS -- there's surprisingly few M$ kernels used for this task. Some of these companies have hinted at offering Linux products in the future. Check out Connex, Network Appliance, Maxtor MaxAttach and Quantum's Snap Server.
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A fairly decent review of Arkeia
05/05/2000 available atLinuxFocus.org |
Georges Tarbouriech at LinuxFocus.org tackles the job of backup of a strange heterogenous network with Knox Software's Arkeia. A spirited piece for sure-- my favorite quote, after his explaining that device automation is requisite in any kind of complex backup scheme:
...Unless you teach your dog to change the tapes at night between backups...
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Quadratec and Exabyte announce partnership
05/05/2000 press release available atLinuxPR.com |
| Chances are that if you haven't heard of Quadratec, you will soon. Their Time Navigator software is used for enterprise-strength heterogenous network backup. They have clients and servers for a bazillion different OSs, but are emphasizing their Linux products. The moral of the story: they're teaming up with Exabyte to offer package deals, comarketed products, etc. aimed at the Linux sub-enterprise market. Hopefully that will mean price breaks in both, as a 60 Gb M2 drive goes for about $4,000-- and Time Navigator starts at about that.
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Read the press release( here... )
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A quick review of PerfectBackup+ and BRU
04/24/2000 over atFederal Computer Week |
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A pretty straightforward comparison of two popular Linux backup packages: BRU from Enhanced Software Technologies (Atipa) and PerfectBackup+ from Merlin Software Technologies.
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CA ARCServeIT review
04/25/2000 available atLINUXSECURITY.COM |
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One of the largest software corporations in the world has taken time to port their enterprise data backup and recovery software to Linux. Don't you want to see it?
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( Please show me )
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Of general filesystem interest: the Network Block Device
03/20/2000 available atLJ |
An excellent article dealing with the uses, intricacies and internals of the Network Block Device drivers in Linux. Filesystem sharing and distributed mirroring or backup is possibly much faster and easier with NBD that with traditional models. This Linux Journal article by devlelopers P.T. Breuer, A. Martin Lopez and Arturo Garcia Ares shows us a little too much about the guts of NBD.
The best advice to anyone contemplating writing kernel code is--don't. If you must, write as little as possible...
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Arne Flores of LinuxCare discusses backup with a CD-R
03/28/2000 available atLinuxCare |
Arne explores the land of ISO9660
"I wanted a writable CD drive for backing up my systems. Until now I had been using a ZIP drive on my big box to do everything. Unfortunately, ZIP media are pricey and only hold 100 MB each. A recordable CD costs less than a dollar and has over six times the capacity. Because of this, I was not backing up my Linux installations, only my work. With a writable CD drive, I could back up everything inexpensively...."
"Writing CDs is not a trivial process. It's definitely not anything like writing to your hard drive. The problem is that the CD writer actually burns the blank CD with a high-powered laser. Unfortunately, this is such an exacting process that, once started, even a trivial interruption will cause the whole thing to get all messed up...."
He speaks with mixed emotions... somebody get this guy a SCSI something? |
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Linux Journal Publishes Fourth in Series The Skinny on Backups and Data Recover
03/24/2000 available at Linux Journal |
The fourth installment of The Skinny on Backups and Data Recover, by Marcel Gagne, appeared today on the Linux Journal website as part of the Sysadmin's Corner section. For your pleasure, a brief tour of The Skinny thus far:
- Part I: March 3, 2000. Covers a bit of the philosophy of backup and explains a simple script to backup essential files.
- Part II: March 13, 2000. How to use a CD-R/RW for data backup
- Part III: March 17, 2000. A tour of tools like cpio, GNU tar, taper....
- Part IIII: March 24, 2000. Graphical backup software like Kdat, BRU, Arkeia....
All very well-written and easy to follow. A good first read on the topic, IMHO.
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Merlin Announces Distribution, Partnering Agreements
03/17/2000 |
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Probably the most active issuer of press releases in the sector, Merlin Software (OTCBB:MLSW) today made public an agreement with Italian software reseller Italsel that ensures Merlin's PerfectBACKUP+ will appear on store shelves there. This follows an agreement announced earlier this month that provided Merlin a path to Indian markets through G.T. Enterprises, the leading Linux distributor on the subcontinent. Another important recent release disclosed Merlin's new status as a certified IBM Netfinity Partner. Search for "merlin" on LinuxToday-- it's fun. Or visit Merlin's own site at http://www.MerlinSofTech.com.
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Quadratec Software Now Supports Ecrix VXA-1 Tape Drives
03/03/2000 from Quadratec Software |
| "Continuing its commitment to support Linux users, Quadratec Software today announced that its award-winning backup and restore application, Time Navigator has added support for VXA-1 tape drives from Ecrix Corporation. Ecrix recently announced that its VXA tape drive technology had been officially certified for use on the low-cost and popular Linux operating system.... |
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Knox Sees A Fort Knox in Web Server Back-Up
02/28/2000 from VARBusiness |
"Finding value-add opportunities in the lean and mean Internet data center market can be tough. So, Knox Software is leading its VARs to better margins in the rack-mounted server business with advanced back-up solutions.
The emergence of slim-line rack-mountable "server appliances" offers VARs a chance to win e-business customers, says Sam Siegel, president of Knox Software, based here, a back-up solutions provider for Linux and and other operating systems. They're "suitably configured to provide specialized services such as e-mail servicing, Web-hosting, or acting as a backup server platform," he says. Best of all, "these units are inexpensive, fast and operate well with the emerging Linux operating system."...
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Benchmark Tape Systems Teams with NovaStor to Offer Complete DLT Storage Solution
02/23/2000 from Benchmark Tape Systems |
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"Benchmark Tape Systems Benchmark Tape Systems Corp., developer of the value line of DLT storage solutions, and NovaStor Corp. today announced compatibility of the Benchmark DLT1 tape drive and DLT7 autoloader with NovaStor's NovaNET 8 network backup software. NovaStor's unique feature set brings new power and freedom to Benchmark customers. The NovaNET 8 solution from NovaStor enables Benchmark users to quickly back up multiple servers and workstations in a mixed NT/2000, NetWare, and Linux network environment. System administrators using Benchmark tape drives with NovaNET 8 can control their entire network backup configuration without leaving their own desktop...
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EST's Linux Tape Device Certification Program Endorsed by Major Tape Drive Manufacturers
02/08/2000 from LinuxTapeCert.com |
| "Enhanced Software Technologies, Inc., the leader in Linux-based backup and restore software, presented leading computer industry tape drive manufacturers (listing follows) with their Linux Tape Device Certification award certificate last week at LinuxWorld Expo in New York. The certification program, developed and maintained by EST, is supported by Linux inventor Linus Torvalds and Linux International....
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| 3/17/2000 update |
We've been alive for a while and are gradually gaining momentum. There seems to be more and more backup packages testing the Linux waters-- our database shows 18 commercial products as of Saint Patty 2K. OpenTape is anxious to hear about others! (submit)
A neat feature added recently is the ability for users (that's you) to search for software resources directly on Freshmeat, SourceForge and LinuxNow. Go to the bottom of the Software section to explore for yourself.
There's two pretty important links that we want to bring to our audience that were previously underemphasized:
- Everybody knows O'Reilly has some pretty great books out there, and by all reports Unix Backup and Recovery is no exception. Check out sample chapters and related resources at Backup Central.
- Technology standards compliance is one of the reasons behind the explosion of the Linux world. From the POSIX standard for the operating system itself to the recent efforts of the Linux Professional Institute towards a professional certification, standards are key. Tape backup is no exception and for most [SCSI] tape drives it isn't a huge problem. Enhanced Software Technologies- makers of the popular Backup Recover Utility (BRU) package- are providing assurance for customers that tape drives will work with the GNU/Linux operating system. Check out their Linux Tape Drive Certification site.
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| An Open Letter |
A message from the people behind OpenTape.org
This is a web site for anyone interested in using Open Source Software with data storage and backup hardware. Opentape.org exists to bring together the information available on this subject and more importantly the people who need it. Opentape.org was created by the LinuxFund.org and its friends under the sponsorship of the Ecrix Corporation, an emerging tape drive manufacturer located in Boulder, Colorado. Ecrix is the creator of VXA, an award-winning tape drive technology...
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