Open-sourcer Nexenta fires up V4 storage OS

Open source storage software supplier Nexenta has revved its NexentaStor OS to version 4.0, making it more enterprise-worthy by delivering more scalability, performance and reliability. But this is not the Edge unified file, block and object storage product discussed in January.

The software-defined storage supplier clearly wants to attract more NexentaStor enterprise users. It has added:

• Scaling to petabyte system capacities
• Seamless handling of intermittently faulty devices
• Guided wizards for system setup and configuration
• Over 50 per cent reduction in HA failover times
• 4X faster performance
• 512GB dynamic read cache per head
• Native SMB 2.1 support in addition to NFS, FC and iSCSI
• Redesigned periodic asynchronous replication
• Illumos kernel integration
• Deeper VMware, Windows, and OpenStack integrations

This is not the radically extended software that incoming CEO Tarkan Maner discussed with us in January. That involves a new product, Nexenta Edge, and "tier 2 storage of unstructured data using a software stack that includes object storage and a means of unifying block, file and object access behind one automated access system and management layer."

NexentaStor and Edge will be combined in a Fusion product.

NexentaStor will be available in two editions:

• Community Edition - free, full-featured, community supported software for configurations up to 18TB
• Enterprise Edition - licensed by the size of the storage pool

We're told NexentaStor 4.0 is Citrix- and VMware-ready and certified to run on a variety of reference hardware configurations from strategic technology and channel partners.

What El Reg storage desk sees above is a strengthening of NexentaStor so that it can provide a central complement to the coming Edge product. That's the way we view it. ®