Nexenta OS
| Industry | Software |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Nexenta OS, NexentaStor, ReadyDATAOS |
Nexenta OS, formally known as the Nexenta Core Platform, was an operating system that merged the OpenSolaris kernel with an Ubuntu user environment, targeting IA-32 and x86-64 architectures. It debuted in late 2005 as a product inspired by Sun Microsystems' OpenSolaris initiative and was developed under the guidance of Nexenta Systems, Inc. The initial stable release, version 1.0, arrived in February 2008.
By the end of 2011, the Nexenta OS name was superseded by Illumian, a distribution derived from community-driven projects like illumos and OpenIndiana, but utilizing Debian package management. Illumian 1.0 was introduced in February 2012 before the project was ultimately discontinued.
Repositories
At launch, Nexenta OS maintained two primary official APT repositories labeled "testing" and "unstable," collectively providing access to more than 9,000 software packages; a "stable" repository was later introduced with the first formal release. Distribution methods included InstallCDs and VMware virtual machine images, while a Live CD was available up through alpha 5 versions. The repository layout mirrored Debian’s structure with sections such as main, contrib, and non-free; however, stable releases utilized only a limited subset of these packages. The official nexenta.org website was decommissioned in early 2012.
Development
Unlike Linux-based distributions, Nexenta OS employed the OpenSolaris kernel rather than the Linux kernel, which resulted in comparatively limited hardware compatibility due to the relatively recent open-sourcing of Solaris components by Sun Microsystems.
The development efforts concentrated on a streamlined OpenSolaris-based core platform known as Nexenta Core Platform (NCP), which also serves as the foundation for the NexentaStor network-attached storage solution. NCP version 1.0 was officially launched on February 10, 2008.
Nexenta Core Platform represented the first operating system to integrate the OpenSolaris kernel with GNU userland utilities, aiming to incorporate advanced technologies such as ZFS and Zones within a GNU/Debian framework. Additionally, it sought to facilitate the use of proprietary hardware drivers within an open source operating environment.
Releases and History
- On February 10, 2008, Nexenta Core Platform 1.0 was released, built upon Ubuntu 6.06 "Dapper Drake" and OpenSolaris b82. Notable capabilities included:
- Nexenta Core Platform 2.0 followed on May 25, 2009, incorporating software packages from Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" LTS.
- Version 3.0.1 was rolled out on September 17, 2010, introducing updated software packages, support for ZFS deduplication, and enhancements to Crossbow network virtualization.
NexentaStor
NexentaStor is a proprietary operating system developed by Nexenta Systems that builds upon the Nexenta Core Platform. It is tailored for virtualized server environments including NAS, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel. Centered around the advanced capabilities of the ZFS file system, NexentaStor provides functionality such as iSCSI target support, unlimited incremental snapshot backups, snapshot replication (mirroring), block-level mirroring through (CDP), integrated search within ZFS snapshots, and a dedicated API. These features collectively improve performance and facilitate efficient thin provisioning in virtualized server infrastructures. Distribution occurs via ISO images and VMware disk images, with licensing fees calculated per terabyte of storage and per server instance.
Initially, a free "community edition" permitted usage up to 18 terabytes of raw disk capacity (prior to redundancy). This threshold was revised in version 5.0 to limit assigned usable disk space after redundancy to 10 terabytes. While this community edition shares most features with the enterprise version, it excludes paid plugins and commercial support but supports numerous free open-source plugins maintained by the user community. The End User License Agreement (EULA) restricts use of this edition exclusively to hobbyist purposes, prohibiting its deployment in production environments; consequently, the designation "community edition" has been subject to debate.
ReadyDATAOS
ReadyDATAOS is a specialized embedded firmware for network-attached storage (NAS) systems, built upon the Nexenta OS platform and incorporating identical ZFS capabilities. It is designed to function on NetGear ReadyDATA devices, focusing on enterprise-level storage applications.