CentralStor™ is a software system for controlling on-line managed storage. CentralStor allows an enterprise to effectively centralize, organize, share and secure valuable electronic documents and data files in a permanent archive. It provides users a way to conveniently "give" important digital assets to the organization for storage.

The data files, organized like a file system, are all saved on duplicate off-line media such as Digital Linear Tape, but copies of files remain on-line or near-line for fast browsing or retrieval. (Near-line is a term used to describe files which are on tapes in a robotic mechanism; the robot is automatically controlled by the CentralStor software.)

Users transfer files to and from the archive directly from their computer workstations. Unlike traditional backup systems, CentralStor allows the end user (rather than the system administrator) to decide which files to archive. The enterprise establishes a storage framework by determining how the files are organized and who can store files where. Individual authorized users then make the actual decisions about which files to store.

Once in CentralStor, every file is tracked via a unique ID as well as an accompanying checksum value. This allows for complete QA confidence when retrieving files.

Because it is so easy to retrieve files from CentralStor, and because of the inherent reliability of the file storage (media replication and multiple versions of files), individual users are more likely to keep their workstation disks cleaned of old files. This results in lower hardware costs for disk drives and reduces the time required to perform normal backups of the entire file system.

To summarize, the primary benefits of CentralStor include:

• Organization - the enterprise decides how to organize the files.
• User driven - end users decide which files to put in the archive.
• Convenient access - end users access the system directly from their workstations.
• Security - unique file ID, checksum verification, access control for individual user or groups.
• Automatic media duplication with verification - ensure the reliability of data and media and provides for off-site storage.
• Multi-level caches - provide fast, convenient access anywhere on the network.

Other features of the system include:

• Support for multiple media types - provides a migration path to new storage technologies.
• Logging - archive activity is tracked for use in quality assurance.
• Full text searching - search full text indexes.
• Search capability - find files stored in the archive by keyword, file type, date/time stored, user, or other attributes.
• Universal access - cross-platform access to the archive using GUI or command line programs and/or web browsers.

A 25 user CentralStor software license sells for $20,000. Much larger configurations are available.

For more information please contact Tim Guidotti by e-mail at Tim.Guidotti@numerical.com or by phone at (509)943-0861 x304.