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No more local backups
As the architecture uses copy-on write snapshot technology, rollback can be done in case of software compatibility issues or human errors. As a result, the company claims that local backups will no longer be required. “When you have the ability to rollback to different time intervals, why would you need local backups?” asserts Saraf.
The base architecture starts at 4TB of clustered high speed storage, and can run close to 20 virtual desktops and around 16 virtual servers. This architecture can be scaled up as required. For example, 50TB of clustered high speed storage can be accommodated in one rack, and can run 200 virtual servers. This will have a tremendous effect on the data centers of tomorrow, as every device can be hosted as a virtual device in the PROUD architecture.
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A PROUD innovation from India
- PROUD has been created through the efforts of over 250 computer engineers from countries such as Belgium, Germany and India at a total investment of over Rs 175 crore
- Gives enterprises the ability to use a single computing platform for running desktops, servers and networking equipment
- Built-in high availability and backups across all machines as OS and data not tied to physical hardware. No impact or data loss even if 50 percent of the hardware fails
- 200 virtual servers and 50TB of clustered high speed storage can be provisioned in one rack
- Copy-on write snapshot technology gives the capability to rollback to any period in time, in case of software crashes or human errors
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The ability to provision virtual desktops is valuable for IT administrators as they can not only quickly provision new desktops with specific applications, but also have greater control and management capability on end user devices. The company is already talking to a host of customers in India, who are evaluating it for their data centers. The goal is to have at least 20,000 customers globally within the next two years.
Some CIOs with whom Network Computing spoke, were impressed with the architecture. Rajat Sharma, Senior General Manager – IT, Shree Cement, who witnessed a demo of Zenith’s PROUD system at Interop Mumbai 2009, said that there are CIOs who have been keen to see such a product in the marketplace for a long time.
“If they can deliver what the product promises, the impact on the market will be substantial. From a management point of view, this architecture holds tremendous promise as it will reduce complexities in terms of managing multiple components,” said Sharma. That said, Sharma says that he is still not sure how such architectures will handle porting of applications that work only on proprietary platforms.
While research firms such as Gartner refused to comment on specific company initiatives, Diptarup Chakraborti, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner, summed up his analysis of the unified architecture market by saying, “Unified architectures will be used mostly by enterprises that have performance hungry environments, and want the flexibility of scaling the infrastructure quickly.”
If the product achieves success, Saraf believes that it will change the way enterprises buy computing infrastructure. “In the future, the concept of physically provisioning hardware or software will be obsolete. This will also be the case for local backups or facility management services. It will also be common to see cloud computing departments”, exclaims Saraf.
While few Indian companies have been successful in the products space, the huge success of a few companies such as i-flex (now part of Oracle) has inspired other Indian companies to go down the path of developing software products. Can Zenith Infotech do the same for Indian hardware? Watch this space!
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