ACADEMIA

Nirvana’s 5th generation data grid software brings enhancements in authentication, access control, metadata management and internationalization. Nirvana Storage, a division of General Atomics, has announced the availability of Storage Resource Broker (SRB) 2007. Enhanced features and functionality for SRB 2007 include: - Authentication compatibility with Microsoft AD and LDAP - More efficient authorizations for Access Control Lists (ACLs) - All-new Metadata Scheme handling with integration of any external database table or view - All-new Metadata Daemon, automating metadata extraction - Support all multilingual metadata attributes and object names in UNICODE SRB provides users with transparent access to data within diverse and distributed resources, including NAS, SAN, CAS, supercomputers, tape archives and databases, at multiple locations within an enterprise, or even cross-enterprise in the case of collaborating agencies or HPC centers. A variety of simple interfaces support data discovery, presentation, and management while providing a “collection”-oriented view of data. At the core of SRB is a global namespace that keeps track of all data objects within a federation of data resources, commonly known as a data grid. SRB’s Metadata Catalog (MCAT) stores metadata in customizable and powerful schemes, which makes SRB a great fit for unstructured data management. With automation tools such as ILM Daemon and Metadata Daemon, SRB is a packaged solution for data integration and management in complex and demanding environments. According to Constantin Scheder, Director and Chief Architect of Nirvana Storage, “SRB users are addressing today’s most complex and demanding data grid challenges. Our customers are implementing the most advanced grid architectures, and our goal is to not only meet today’s needs, but also tomorrow’s.” Nirvana Storage continues to develop SRB in response to growing customer concerns for heightened access control, more intuitive search and query capabilities, and further integration with other storage solutions. Please visit its Web site for more details on these major enhancements.