I’ve got a 1999 Subaru Forester. I love that car, probably a little too much. Last year one of my friends bought a 2019 Forester. My first experience with that thing was eye-opening, let me tell you. It was like getting a ride in an alien spaceship. The 2019 is bigger, heavier, packed to the gills with technology (and airbags), and yet gets better gas mileage than mine ever did. The words “Subaru Forester” now conjure a different picture in my head.
Like these two cars, people think of different things when they think of StorNext , depending on how recent their experience is. StorNext’s beginnings go back to the late 1990s, an eternity in the software world. There are good things and bad things about a software product with such a long history.
The good things include stability and safety (much like an AWD car), name recognition and respect in the marketplace, and a raft of patents. Most importantly, it means we’ve had the privilege and honor of helping thousands of organizations do what they do, better. You can read about some of them here .
The bad thing about a product with a long history is that many people have a picture in their heads of what it is – or more accurately ‘was’ at some time in the past. But StorNext never stands still. Every new release brings new features, new architectural elements, and an embrace of new technology. I’ve been working with the product since the dawn of this century, and it’s astounding how much it has changed over the years.
Because the change is constant, a key part of our job is to continually educate about what StorNext is today. We don’t want anyone to think it’s still equipped with a cassette deck and stick shift, after all. We’ve made a lot of improvements since then!
One element in our educational efforts is a brand-new StorNext whitepaper, which you can download here . It’s designed for anyone who wants a reasonably technical overview of StorNext’s architecture, features, and capabilities. The paper is organized into three main sections – the StorNext File System, Clients and Connectivity, and Data Services. Everything about StorNext falls into one of those categories. Simple, right?
A key goal with the paper was to keep it simple, without over-simplifying, and I think we’ve achieved that. For those who wish to dive deeper, they are plenty of pointers to additional information. If reading patents is your thing, there are even links to a pile of the important patents the StorNext engineering team has earned. I can assure you there’s no alien technology involved, though if your last experience with StorNext was a few decades ago it will probably seem that there is.
So even if you think you know StorNext – or maybe especially if you think you know StorNext, check out the whitepaper . It’s bound to change your perspective.