Storage 2.0 -- Web-based storage is coming

Computerworld - Combine open-source software, distributed storage running on low-cost hardware and the World Wide Web, and what do you get? Storage for as little as 15 cents per gigabyte per month, and another 10 to 20 cents for each gigabyte users upload or download.

That's a pretty good deal, especially when Andrew Reichman, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., estimates it costs $15 to $25 per gigabyte just to buy the hardware and software needed for secondary (backup or archival) storage, and $50 and up per gigabyte for the primary storage needed for business-critical applications such as stock trading or airline reservations. Neither of these prices take into account ongoing management costs.

But don't throw away your Fibre Channel storage-area network (SAN) yet. These Web-based services lack the performance required for online transactional applications or giant database queries. Then there's the question of security, and how much of their data companies will trust to a node somewhere in the Internet "cloud."

Still, if promising new technologies deliver, they could reduce corporate reliance on the proprietary, higher-priced, storage hardware and software sold by industry giants such as EMC Corp., IBM and Hitachi Data Systems Inc., not to mention a host of smaller players.

The technologies

The first technology enabling this new storage platform is open-source storage software. (See "Open source software takes the storage stage"). This can be in the form of tools for specific storage functions, such as the Amanda open-source backup and the Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) disk-wiping utility. It also includes network file systems such as Lustre, OpenAFS and SAMBA, which can form the foundations of entire storage infrastructures.

The second technology is distributed grid- or cluster-based storage architectures from start-ups such as Cleversafe Inc. and established services such as MozyPro from Berkeley Data Systems Inc.

The third enabling technology is the use of industry-standard servers and disk drives in lieu high-end storage arrays in these architectures.

Berkeley Data Systems, for example, bases its MozyPro online backup services on its storage clustering and file serving software running on "white box" (unbranded) servers running in the Berkeley Data Systems data center that store data on their internal drives. The price: $4 per month charge for each desktop or server using the service and 50 cents per month for each gigabyte of data stored. Unlike other online storage providers that safeguard customers' data by storing multiple copies, Berkeley's software saves 33% of the original data, from which it can restore the complete original if needed. This means it must store only 33% more data than a customer sends it, compared to other storage providers who must store 300% of the original data, says Vance Checketts, vice president for products.