Cleversafe Launches Desktop App for Dispersed Storage Grids

SANTA CLARA, CA – The Cleversafe project has launched a new open source project, called Cleversafe Desktop, which is an open source application with a graphical user interface (GUI) that improves visual presentation, ease of use and efficiencies for users storing data on open source dispersed storage grids.

The Cleversafe Desktop will provide a way for anyone – technical or not – to take advantage of Dispersed Storage, and complements Cleversafe’s other interfaces, Command Line Interface (CLI), Dispersed Storage Grid File System (DSGFS) and Dispersed Storage API (DSAPI). To participate in and contribute to the Cleversafe Desktop, go to http://www.cleversafe.org/wiki/Cleversafe_Desktop to download the open source code for the project.

The new Cleversafe Desktop project, allows easier and more intuitive access to a dispersed storage grid, such as the Cleversafe Research Storage Grid — a freely available, multi-terabyte globally dispersed storage test grid. An XML interface within Cleversafe Desktop allows users to specify what data to retrieve by assigning policies to data sets, such as backup after 30 days or in relation to a certain set of files if there is a change.

Cleversafe Desktop currently supports Windows XP (pro and home) with plans to support various versions of Linux, including Debian, Fedora, RedHat, FreeBSD, Ubuntu and CentOS, as well as WindowsXP Server, and will easily port to the Mac OS. This makes storage grids more accessible and attractive to a wider group of non-technical users and developers, including fans of Windows, Linux and embedded Linux solutions.

“This new project makes it much easier for a wider range of developers to use dispersed storage and explain the power of it to business managers,” said Manish Motwani, Cleversafe Desktop project lead. “It puts a presentable face on the grid, which is quite complex and technical behind-the-scenes, and adds point-and-click simplicity to better organize files for easier data retrieval. It’s also cross-platform savvy to ensure there are as few barriers as possible to using open source dispersed storage grids.”

The Cleversafe Dispersed Storage technology uses Information Dispersal Algorithms (IDAs™) to separate data into 11 unrecognizable DataSlices™ and distribute them, via secure Internet connections, to 11 storage locations throughout the world. With dispersed storage, transmission and storage of data is inherently private and secure. No single entire copy of the data is in one location, and only 6 out of the 11 nodes need to be available in order to perfectly retrieve the data.

Data on the grid remains private and secure in the face of natural catastrophes, or failures of hardware, connection, facility, or IT management. Moreover, the individual data slices do not carry enough information for an unauthorized viewer to determine the original content.

The Cleversafe Research Storage Grid is freely available and is currently being used in testing and development environments.