Friday, August 19, 2005 

Innovative Backup System Uses Unused Disk Space

A small software developer in Chennai, India has come up with a unique twist on backup that just might give more expensive, established solutions a run for their money.

Vembu Technologies, a nascent backup and storage developer whose flagship product was formally introduced just a few months ago, may have hit a nerve with StoreGrid, a backup solution that uses extra space on small networks of computers to back up data from all computers on the network. The process, called peer-to-peer backup, allows small networks of desktop and notebook computers to take advantage of unused hard disk space.

Everyone has a lot of space on their hard disks and typically use only about a quarter of that," said Lakshmanan Natayan, Vembu's vice president of marketing. "So if you have five computers, each with a 40GB hard disk, there is 200GB of space on the network but 150GB of it is unutilized. That can be used as a grid for storing people's data."

The idea is a good one, especially in the era of networked computers, said Robert Gray, research vice president for worldwide storage systems research at Framingham, Mass.-based IDC.

"The drives that come with most computers are massively overserving what most people need. Wouldn't it be cool if all of this empty space on Computer A could back up its content automatically to Computer B and vice versa, and have that set the policies and have it be automatic?" he said. "One of the last things anyone wants to do is install yet another backup server and set up some sort of client/server software and become an administrator."

StoreGrid works with Windows, Linux, Macintosh and FreeBSD operating systems. Other features include encryption, configurable compression, server management and detailed reporting from an embedded SQL database.

The product is aimed at the small-to-medium-sized business market as well as home office users. In a client/server setup, SMBs and enterprise workgroups can use the technology to back up desktop data. Natayan said a number of systems integrators and VARs (value-added resellers), mainly online backup providers, also have begun asking about using the product to back up to their remote servers.

Vembu's idea is particularly innovative because it acknowledges that most computer systems are no longer used in isolation, but part of a network, Gray said.

"The real opportunities over the next decade are about the glue that goes between intelligent boxes, and Vembu is one of the first that gets it," he said. "This is a fairly early example of something that's pretty smart."

As StoreGrid's feature set grows, Natayan said the product may become too complex for the smallest end of the market —the home user. "We've got things now like server-side administration that might intimidate the home user," he said. To address the needs of that market segment, Vembu plans to unveil a stripped-down version of the product, dubbed StoreGrid Diet, in about three months, Natayan said.


http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1849765,00.asp

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Monday, August 08, 2005 

BMW zeroes in on Chennai

BMW Group, Germany’s premium automobile maker, appears to have zeroed in on Chennai to set up its base in India. The Chennai facility is proposed to be an assembly for completely knocked down BMW units. The German car-maker is believed to be in the process of signing up for land in the Mahindra Industrial Park, near Chennai. An announcement to the effect is expected soon.

Informed sources said, BMW was looking at a land area of up to 60 acres in the industrial park. Initially, the car-maker was inclined to go in for about 20 acres of land to set up its facility. It now appears that BMW would be looking at a larger area for its operations.

If BMW homes in on Chennai, which is also called the Detroit of India, it would be a major coup for the state as it already houses an entire automobile ecosystem with players like Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, TVS, Ashok Leyland and a well-developed vendor base. Interestingly, BMW was scouting around other states in India and had held prolonged deliberations with Kerala.

“The work culture of the people, port infrastructure and an established auto industry in Tamil Nadu has perhaps swung the decision in favour of Chennai,” sources said. Investment details and the scale of operations of BMW in India are, however, not available. The BMW Group is present in the premium segments in the international automobile market with brands like BMW and Rolls-Royce. The company also offers premium motorcycles in its product portfolio.

Significantly, there has been ample interest from German car-makers to set up their facilities in India. Volkswagen, whose India project has now run into rough weather, had plans to set up a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Although the company is still keen on entering the country, it has put the project temporarily on hold.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1193586.cms

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India's first Net route-server in Chennai

The country's first Internet route-server became a reality at 7.57 p.m. on Friday in Chennai, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran said here on Saturday.

While inaugurating an information technology park promoted by Software Technology Parks of India at Kumaraguru College of Technology, Mr. Maran received a call on his mobile phone confirming the development.

The route-server for India came as recognition of its "efficiency, ability and maturity" in handing Internet-related services and business, Mr. Maran said.

Hitherto, it took 500 milli-seconds to transmit Internet content. Now, it would take only five milli-seconds. Two more route-servers would come through at Mumbai and Noida by August 25, he said.

While other countries had only two route servers, India would have three, Mr. Maran said. In the event of any breakdown in Internet traffic, other countries could route their international traffic through India since it had the required bandwidth, he said.



http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/07/stories/2005080703670900.htm

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Nokia has big plans for Chennai

Nokia, the Finnish mobile handset major, is planning to locate its Network Operations Centre, for Asia operations, in Chennai, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, said on Monday.

This is in addition to its plan to set up a mobile handset manufacturing unit near Chennai with an investment up to $150 million, Maran said after launching HCL's low cost personal computer in Chennai.

"Besides this manufacturing unit, the NOC is also expected to be located in Chennai. We are expecting the statement from the company soon," he added.

The Chennai manufacturing unit will be Nokia's tenth mobile device production facility globally and will roll out India specific GSM and CDMA handsets.

The company had said skilled labour, friendly business environment, support from government, logistics connections and overall cost efficiency criteria were the key factors to choose Chennai.

The production from this unit is expected to begin in the first half of 2006 and the company is likely to employ about 2,000 people.

Maran said more companies were expected to set up telecom manufacturing facilities in India in the future.

According to a report, the government was expecting $800-900 million FDI in telecom manufacturing segment during this fiscal.


http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/aug/01nokia.htm

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