Mountain View, California-based start-up company Traaken Software Inc is about to come out with a new version of its threaded microkernel-based Network File System server software. The existing version, NetServer 93, comes shrink-wrapped and runs on Intel Corp 80386 and 80486-based personal computers. It uses log and journalling-based file organisation techniques, provides automated self-maintaining disk back-up, and unattended file back-up. The product will hook up to any machine using Unix LPR and LPD protocols on top of TCP/IP or to any personal computer with PC-NFS. It can deal with up to 40Gb of data stored on up to 22 separate hard disks, has a menu-oriented interface for systems management, and is exportable through a Telnet interface, which means users can manage files and printing remotely from an X Window terminal. NetServer 94, which is due soon, supports RAID disks up to a maximum of 64Gb, and 1.28Tb of files. It can also back up remote files and update host and user files via Sun Microsystems Inc’s NIS+. It also includes a new application programming interface, written to try and foster an OEM market – the firm is looking for personal computer manufacturers, disk vendors and other resellers. Also in the works is support for 32-bit SCSI and an SNMP agent for remote management. NetServer was developed by Gordon Waidhofer, an independent software vendor who has been doing contract work for companies such as IBM Corp and SunSoft for years.
