For a more detailed explanation of how NexentaStor differs from legacy close proprietary storage solutions or from open and less scalable solutions please see Enterprise Features.
As you can see here, NexentaStor is a fully featured NAS/SAN solution that has evolved from its roots as a leading disk to disk and second tier storage solution increasingly into primary tier use cases. The addition of NexentaStor 2.0, including phone support, has accelerated this transition as has the feedback and input of well over 10,000 NexentaStor users and the ongoing progress of the underlying OpenSolaris and Nexenta.org communities, each of which have hundreds of thousands of members.
Feature
NexentaStor
Legacy
Explanation
Unified storage via 'any' protocol
CIFS
NFS
iSCSI
FC
AoE and more
YES
NO
NexentaStor is able to take virtually any data source (including legacy storage) and share it completely flexibly.
Also, you can use NexentaStor replication capabilities like Auto-Sync and Auto-Tier on your pools irrespective of what technology is used on the underlying storage.
Advanced data management
Unlimited snapshots and clones
Synchronous & asynchronous replication
Native thin provisioning
Standards based compression
Storage pooling & virtualization
YES
NO
NexentaStor is built upon the ZFS file system which means there are no practical limits to the number of snapshots or to file size when using NexentaStor.
Also, Nexenta has added synchronous replication to ZFS based asynchronous replication.
Thin provisioning and compression improve capacity utilization. Also, no need to 'short stroke' your drives to achieve performance as explained below.
Finds and corrects silent data corruption
YES
NO
Today's processors can easily handle end to end checksums on every transaction. The processors that existed when legacy file systems were designed could not. Checksuming every transaction end to end means any source of data corruption can be detected. Plus, if you are using NexentaStor software RAID it can automatically correct data corruption.
Hybrid storage pools
YES
NO
The underlying ZFS file system was built to exploit cache to improve read and write performance. By adding SSDs you can achieve a dramatic improvement in performance without increasing the number of expensive spinning disks, thereby saving money, footprint, and power and cooling.
Other solutions require you to decide which data should be on the flash or SSDs. This can be quite challenging and will never be as efficient in a dynamic environment as the real time algorithms built into the ZFS file system.
Enhanced support for virtualized environments
YES
Almost
Nexenta also offers the VM Data Center optional module that allows you to point and click to establish storage policies for your virtualized enviornments. While some legacy storage vendors have jumped on the virtualization bandwagon with a similar value proposition, their aged underpinnings make their solutions harder to use. Specifically, with NexentaStor you NEVER run out of snapshots whereas with legacy solutions you run out fairly quickly, requiring work arounds that take time and increase the risk of service disruption.
An end to vendor lock-in
YES
Never
Legacy storage vendors entire business models are based upon locking their clients into long term relationships via the use of proprietary technologies. They want to use ongoing exponential improvements in hardware price/performance to increase their margins instead of passing these savings onto you.
Savings
In addition to Enterprise Features, NexentaStor offers considerable savings. Here is an EXAMPLE of the savings customers can receive by using NexentaStor instead of legacy hardware based solutions:
Legacy solution
NexentaStor
Software
Proprietary NAS/iSCSI
limited snapshots
limited file sizes
risks of silent data corruption
ZFS based open NAS/iSCSI
unlimited snapshots
unlimited file sizes
unmatched data integrity
Headnode
2 sockets + 2 cores
4GB DRAM
2 sockets + 4 cores
32GB DRAM
Disk capacity
4TB
12TB
Service
Remote and on-site support
24 hour replacement
Remote and on-site support
24 hour replacement
Total
~$45,000
$10,748
In summary, over 3x the capacity, equivalent support thanks to Nexenta's partners, superior hardware, and superior software for over 75% less than legacy solutions. The $10,748 solution quoted above was from PogoLinux, similar solutions are available from many partners around the world.
The savings are similar or even greater for larger users of storage. For example it is possible to purchase a rack full of NexentaStor managed storage, including NexentaStor, for as little as $.20 per Gb, roughly 1/10th the cost of the lowest prices from legacy storage vendors.
These savings are simply the initial savings. They do not include savings over time from lower total cost of ownership thanks to being able to simply add capacity (just add disks) and performance (just add CPU and RAM) and, even, to simply add new capabilities via the state of the art software packaging and upgrade capabilities discussed below. By freeing yourself from vendor lock-in you not only regain control of your storage -- you also regain control of your storage spending by accessing the gigantic and extremely competitive market for enterprise servers and disk arrays.
License versions
Nexenta offers two free versions of NexentaStor and one commercial version. If you are considering putting NexentaStor into production at your organization and would like to trial a version of NexentaStor you should select the Free Trial Edition.
Feature
Developer Edition
Free Trial Edition
Enterprise Edition
Time limitations
None
30 days
None
Storage capacity
2 TB
Unlimited
Unlimited
Commercial Plugins
HA functionality
-
Yes
Yes
Virtualization
-
Yes
Yes
Data Replication
-
Yes
Yes
Data Security
-
Yes
Yes
Support and Upgrades
Technical Support
-
Yes
Yes
Maintenance Agreement
-
-
Yes
Storage Upgrades
-
Yes
Yes
Download
'-' indicates not available/applicable
For a detailed product feature list, please see:
NexentaStor User Guide document, Section "Data Sheet"
