The story of Next3® and Thin-Provisioned Snapshots

Guest post by Amir Goldstein, Next3 Team Leader

Today we're announcing Next3, a file system developed here at CTERA to provide efficient snapshot capabilities on our Cloud Attached Storage appliances. I wanted to elaborate a little on how and why this came to be, and what our considerations were in developing this.

It was almost 2 years ago that I was asked to recommend a file system that will best fulfill the requirements for the CTERA Cloud Attached Storage appliances. The basic requirements were high stability, scalability to 4TB volumes and above, good performance and Linux implementation. There were a few other "nice to have" requirements, among them, file-system-level snapshots. We also had to have the file system ready in time for the planned release of our products, and with the limited resources we had as a start-up company.

CTERA named “Coolest Cloud Storage Vendor” by CRN

I'm glad to announce that Everything Channel’s CRN has named CTERA one of the “20 Coolest Cloud Storage Vendors.” 

Winners were announced online at www.channelweb.com and are featured in the January 25 issue of CRN.

Read more here.

CTERA at the 2010 International CES

Last year at CES, CTERA unveiled Cloud Attached Storage™, our hybrid cloud storage technology, and previewed the CTERA CloudPlug, which was dubbed "the world's smallest file server" and was received with great enthusiasm by our customers and press community. This week, we will attend CES again to preview Cloud Attached Storage 2.0 - a significant software upgrade to the CTERA CloudPlug and C200 appliances.

CTERA's Cloud Attached Storage solutions are intended for small businesses, but that doesn't mean that we skimp on performance or features. On the contrary, the upcoming new version we're introducing has many enterprise-grade storage capabilities that, until now, were only available in much more expensive systems.

We will also be demonstrating the CTERA Portal™ management platform, that enables our channel partners to offer their own private cloud services.

Meet us at CES to learn more about the upcoming Cloud Attached Storage 2.0 release, and how to offer cloud storage services with CTERA.

See you there!

How to meet us?

Our booth is at the Marvell PlugComputer Partner Pavilion (LVCC - South Hall Upper Level), booth# 30344

We will also be hosting demonstrations at Showstoppers @ CES, Wynn Hotel – Lafite Ballroom, Thursday 6pm 

To schedule a meeting email us at: ces@ctera.com

Travelling in time with the CloudPlug

People tend to think of data restoration as involving all the files and folders on a drive when a major disaster strikes, for example if your hard drive fails or a virus wipes out all your files. However, far more often, you just need to restore a single file or folder. Take the following scenario, for example:

You're sitting at your computer editing an important file stored on your CloudPlug. You work for hours on the file, chage this word, that sentence, and finally you hit Save. Just as you're leaning back, pleased with a job well done, you get an email from your boss requesting the older, unedited version of the file – which of course no longer exists. You're left desperately wishing you could travel back in time and save a copy of the file before editing.

Well, the CloudPlug allows you to do just that. If you've performed online backup of your important files and folders, then the previous version of this file is safe and sound. Better yet, you can restore just this one with only a few clicks, right from your familiar Microsoft Windows interface.

Here's how it works.

CTERA Launches Cloud Attached Storage; CloudPlug and C200

(In the SF Bay Area tonight? Please join us for a launch TweetUp at the Horizon Lounge in San Francisco from 6-8 p.m. Register at: www.cteracloudplug.eventbrite.com)

Official Press Release

Today, CTERA transforms from a start-up team of dedicated professionals with a unique idea, to a company.

As of a few minutes ago, professionals and small businesses can purchase our first two new storage and data protection products designed to dramatically improve and simplify data storage for ‘prosumers’ and small businesses – the CTERA CloudPlug and the CTERA C200.

CTERA Wins at Under the Radar

After two long red-eye flights, I’m back home from a week in California and the Under the Radar event. It was a great conference. Plus: CTERA won a Judges Choice award, in the category of Data Management! 

CTERA on the 'Radar'

Everything you’ve heard about start-up life is true. It’s crazy-busy, with pieces moving, morphing and falling into place almost daily. No one wears a single hat, everyone has a common goal, and the camaraderie is high - even while the nights are long. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As CEO, one of my challenges is appropriately splitting my time between building the product and getting the word out. At the office, the team is constantly building and innovating products, services and solutions for tomorrow and beyond. But to turn those innovations into a profitable business, I need to be on the road meeting with customers, partners and press a healthy amount of the time.