NexentaStor Community Edition For Linux

NexentaStor is both a free and commercial software project that provides users with enterprise-class storage solutions for everyone who needs superior features like block level mirroring, unlimited incremental backups or snapshots.

This is the community derived version of NexentaStor which also supports snapshot mirroring (replication), easy management of extremely large storage pools, graphical and command-line interfaces, as well as integrated search functionality.

Being based on the OpenSolaris operating system and using the highly acclaimed ZFS filesystem, NexentaStor provides iSCSI- and NAS-based storage solutions with several capabilities required by modern organizations.

Besides the Community Edition reviewed here, NexentaStor is also distributed as an Enterprise Edition, which can be downloaded from Softpedia at http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Archiving/NexentaStor-39625.shtml

The project is distributed as a single CD-size ISO image that lets users to boot the operating system directly from a USB flash drive or CD disc. Citrix XenServer and VMware images of NexentaStor are available for download from the project's home page.

Users can directly install the distribution from the GRUB-powered boot prompt. It allow you to run a memory subsystem test, drop to a recovery shell, as well as to boot an existing operating system installed on the local hard disk drive.

It provides users with a text-mode installer designed to deploy the operating system onto a portable device, such as a USB memory stick or hard drive. To install it, you only have to choose a location and timezone, as well as to select the target hard disk drive.

In conclusion, NexentaStor Community Edition is a decent unified storage solution based on the Solaris operating system. It features the groundbreaking ZFS filesystem, and many other state-of-the-art features. A "Developer's Edition" of NexentaStor is a also available for free on the project’s homepage.