NEWS: Linux solution for low-cost storage devices...

[Frederick Noronha <fred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

INDIA-INNOVATION-DISCSPACE
by Frederick Noronha

BANGALORE, March 6: In times when your computer can turn into a TV, a
movie screen or a fax machine, the need for vast quantities of hard-disc
storage space becomes a pressing problem. That's where Abhas Abhinav
comes in.

At the age of just 22, he's already the CEO of a Bangalore-based company
that is offering unique solutions in the field of low-cost network
storage devices, which hold promise for SMEs (small and medium
enterprises) across India and abroad.

Whether its huge video-files, or tonnes of records, this former student
of Durgapur's REC (regional engineering college) says Indian-adapted
technology holds out promising solutions. His company, DeepRoot Linux, is
currently doing that, and earning wows already for what it has achieved.

"Companies are increasing facing demands for large amount of
(computer) storage space," Abhinav told IANS in an exclusive interview
here. "Simply plugging in more and more hard-discs will not be
sustainable."

He explains that increasing hard-discs would multiply chances of
something going wrong. Likewise the 'total cost of ownership' would shoot
up.

"We have an appliance, or device, that lets you do storage (of computer
data) on a network. It's optimised to do just one thing, and do it well
-- storage," he said.

Growing sizes of computer files meant that storage sizes now needed
touched gigabytes and terrabytes. "We are currently working on devices
that store 600 gigabytes, based on IDE hard-discs with RAID
controllers," he added.

Basically, there are two types of hard-discs -- IDE and SCSI types. The
latter are faster, but also costlier, because of the way they're
made. "This increases the cost of storage devices to prices that start at
$29,000 (rpt twentynine thousand dollars)," he told IANS.

For prices as low as Rs 100,000, the DeepRoot Linux solution will offer
large storage spaces which would be more than sufficient for most small
and medium enterprises.

"It's believed that IDE-type storage solutions can't offer scalability
(potential for increasing size) and sustainability, while SCSI can. This
is not true," he explained.

To offer a solution, his firm is offering RAID (Redundant Arrays of
Inexpensive Disks) controllers. These mirror data, and ensure reliability
and high-performance.

In addition, their solution also offers hot-swap facilities, meaning a
faulty hard-disc could be removed or replaced without even needing to shut
down a mission-critical system. 

ReiserFS, a computer file-system known for its hardiness, would also
ensure that even if the computer gets put off without properly being
shut-down, it would get back into action without much ado.

To give an idea of the size of storage devices they're working on,
Abhinav says some sixty hours of high-quality, un-compressed video would
fit on it.

"The market is really big. (Computer) storage space is something people
are going to need, what with convergence technologies and broadband
entering the home," he argues.

At 22, Abhinav set up this firm with friends, because he wanted to do
something that would be challenging both in terms of product design and
the use of innovative technology.  "I decided to set it up to create the
type of job I wanted for myself. Few firms offer such facilities in
creating innovative products," says he.

He firmly believes that both individual developers and software firms can
"eat" open source, and earn decently out of it. 'Open Source' is an
unusual type of computer software development model, not based on
restrictive copyrights, but instead where techies across the globe freely
share their knowledge and skills.

Proprietorial software is something he found "frustrating" to work with,
he says, since it tends to block people from experimenting with their
products.

"My way of selling Linux (a prominent Open Source and 'free' operating
system) is to sell something that is based on it, and is recognised as
being a good product," he adds.

Still in his early 'twenties, Abhinav feels Indian software companies are
more into services, because they prefer the "safe way of doing
business" to coming out with products and taking the "big gamble".

One of the initiatives he's currently backing is kernel.org.in, a site
which aims to build a site that gives software developers here the chance
to download the latest 'open source' software from a 'repository' set up
on a web-site in India itself. This, says he, would give a fillip to
Indian 'open source' software development.

In addition, he is also involved in supporting opensource.org.in, another
site that is trying to build up a marketplace for 'open source' software
products. "It's much like the concept of skilled labourers who put out
their work for sale. It will also help companies to find out tested
software developers who can undertake projects for them," says he. (ENDS)