Nexenta OS

Nexenta OS

Nexenta OS Alpha 5 running GNOME 2.14
Company / developer	Nexenta Systems / HackZone members
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Latest stable release	3.0.1  (September 17, 2010; 13 months ago (2010-09-17)) [+/−]
Latest unstable release	3.0 Release Candidate 3  (July 28, 2010; 14 months ago (2010-07-28)) [+/−]
Kernel type	Monolithic (OpenSolaris)
Default user interface	Command line/GNOME
License	Various
Official website	www.nexenta.org

Nexenta OS, officially known as the Nexenta Core Platform, is a computer operating system based on OpenSolaris and Ubuntu that runs on IA-32- and x86-64-based systems. It emerged in fall 2005, after Sun Microsystems started the OpenSolaris project in June of that year.^[1] Version 1.0 was released in February 2008. Nexenta Core Platform is the first operating system to combine the OpenSolaris kernel with GNU userland tools. It aims to bring technologies such as ZFS and Zones to the Linux/Debian community. An additional purpose of the OS is to provide a kernel allowing proprietary closed source hardware drivers to be produced for inclusion in an open source operating system.^[2] Nexenta Systems, Inc. initiated the project and sponsors its continued development.

Repositories

There were initially two official APT repositories: "testing" and "unstable", totalling over 9000 packages. A third "stable" was added for the first official release. Nexenta OS is available as InstallCD and VMware images. A Live CD is also available, but only for releases up to alpha 5.

Nexenta repositories follow the general Debian structure (main contrib non-free). Stable releases use a subset of this structure. Packages originate from Debian GNU/Linux.

Development

Since Nexenta OS does not use the Linux kernel, and Sun only recently began releasing the code of their Solaris operating system as free and open source software, it supports less diverse hardware than other Debian variants.

The Nexenta OS team has decided to focus on a minimal GNU/OpenSolaris effort called the Nexenta Core Platform (NCP)^[3] which forms the basis of the NexentaStor NAS storage solution. Version 1.0 of Nexenta Core Platform was released on February 10, 2008.

Releases

• Nexenta Core Platform 1.0 was released on February 10, 2008. It was based on Ubuntu 6.06 "Dapper Drake" and OpenSolaris b82.^[4] The release included:
  • ZFS root/boot
  • zones integrated with dpkg/apt-get
  • brandz with preconfigured support for Debian and Ubuntu
  • stable toolchain
  • server/storage software support
  • Xen DomU/Dom0
• Nexenta Core Platform 2.0 was released on May 25, 2009. It included packages based on Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" LTS.^[5]
• Nexenta Core Platform 3.0.1 was released on September 17, 2010. The release included many updated packages, support for ZFS deduplication, and Crossbow support, among other fixes.^[6]

NexentaStor

NexentaStor is a proprietary operating system built by Nexenta Systems on top of the Nexenta Core Platform. It is optimized for use in virtualized server environments including NAS, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel applications, and is built around the ZFS file system. It features iSCSI support, unlimited incremental backups or 'snapshots', snapshot mirroring (replication), block level mirroring (CDP), integrated search within ZFS snapshots and a custom API. Through its focus on ZFS, it carries with it potential benefits for virtualized server farms in terms of performance and thin provisioning. The operating system is currently distributed as ISO and VMware disk images with pricing determined on a per-terabyte and per-server licensing basis.^[7]

A "community edition" is available free of charge for users with less than 18 terabyte of used disk space.^[8] It is the same as the enterprise version, except for the lack of paid plugins and commercial support. It can install many of the free and open source plugins that are developed and hosted on the community edition website.

See also

Free software portal

• GNU variants

References

1. ^ Milek's blog
2. ^ "NexentaOS has a chance to succeed on a Desktop". Linux.com. June 16, 2006. http://www.linux.com/articles/55120. 
3. ^ "Announcing NexentaCP(b65) with ZFS/Boot integrated installer". https://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?threadID=32407&tstart=0. 
4. ^ Ross, Alex (February 10, 2008). "Nexenta Core Platform 1.0 available". gnusol-devel mailing list. http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/gnusol-devel/2008-February/000958.html. Retrieved May 25, 2011. 
5. ^ Gulecha, Anil (May 25, 2009). "Nexenta Core Platform 2 Released". gnusol-devel mailing list. http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/gnusol-devel/2009-May/001429.html. Retrieved May 25, 2011. 
6. ^ "Distribution Release: Nexenta Core Platform 3.0.1". http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=06279. Retrieved 19 September 2010. 
7. ^ http://www.nexenta.com/corp/?option=com_content&task=view&id=177&Itemid=119
8. ^ http://www.nexenta.com/corp/nexentastor-overview/nexentastor-versions

External links

• Official Corporate Site
• Community Edition and Open Source plugins
• Nexenta OS website
• Nexenta Planet and blogs
• Nexenta Developers chat room
• Nexenta OS at DistroWatch
• Announcement on the Ubuntu development list
• Nexenta Issues Tracking
• OpenSolaris for Human Beings (pdf) 02 Mar 2007
• Challenges and Future Plans for Nexenta (pdf) 06 Oct 2007
• Joe Little's blog on the use of Nexenta at Stanford
• (OSnews) Nexenta: Ubuntu Server with ZFS Goodness
• (OSnews) Devzone virtualization on Nexenta explained
• StormOS Nexenta Core distribution
• napp-it Web-UI + Online Installer to setup a free NAS appliance on NexentaCore with AFP, mySQL and other services and tools