Compellent’s SAN appliance, called Storage Center, works from a GUI console that manages servers in any location using a “wizard-based” interface. Storage Center automates most of the tasks that network managers typically have perform manually, most notably the task of “tiering,” or deciding where in the SAN to store certain classes of information to create the most efficient system of data storage possible. Most of the time, data is classified according to the frequency of access, with data that is expected to be accessed less frequently stored on lower performance, less expensive drives, and more frequently accessed information stored on high performance disks. The Storage Center automates this task by placing metadata identifiers on each block of information that tell the software things like when the data was last accessed.

Guider says there was no point in starting from scratch when it came to choosing what architecture should undergird Compellent’s automated tiering capabilities. “Any smart developer knows that you want to use something already available. The operating system was the first thing we had to deal with in implementing the software.” Guider knew he wanted to use an OS with real-time capabilities to power the SAN appliance, so it could write, access, retrieve, and deliver data quickly across the network.

Guider was drawn to eCos, an open source real-time operating system, because of its highly configurable nature. He calls it an “application-specific” OS, and believes that because developers can tweak it to their apps, it delivers faster run-time performance. The fact that it is open source made it a great choice for budgetary reasons and what Guider calls “schedule savings,” because his development team didn’t have to call on a vendor to perform needed customizations.

Instead they pulled the source code, made the necessary changes to the kernel, added some driver support, “and had it up and running in a couple of weeks,” says John Veit, Compellent software engineer. Veit didn’t hit any snags with the software or with the development community surrounding eCos. Compellent had lined up distribution channels before it even began shipping its products, creating a built-in audience for the development process. “Some customers were not believing that we could have done this in the time we have done it,” Veit says. “A good part of it is due to the fact that we used the open source OS.”

Guider and Veit looked at other OS options, including VxWorks and QNX, but their colleagues recommended eCos for its stability and flexibility. “It’s not just cost,” Guider says. “I always think of engineers as a limited resource. With eCos, we used the engineers in a more productive way. This is code that has been out in the field for a long time in a variety of applications, and it is very solid. It’s a very valuable thing to have. The engineers are much more focused and we are able to have a much more robust product.”

Guider says his customer never question the fact that there’s an open source operating system underlying the SAN appliance. “We really don’t advertise what the operating system is. Sometimes people ask, but there’s never been a negative response.”

The EM7 bundles a collection of network monitoring tools. It provides reports on suspicious activity, bandwidth usage, device status, CPU usage, and network event trends. It plugs into the network as an automated appliance, and users can configure it through a browser-based interface. The EM7 is built on a custom Fedora Core kernel, fine-tuned to work with each of the tools needed to monitor a company IT infrastructure. Link says ScienceLogic’s version of Linux has passed government accreditation for stability and reliable performance. The United States Navy uses EM7 to monitor its online training program Web sites, and US Department of State vendor CTC uses the appliance to detect Web site failures “before our customer has identified the problem,” says CTC’s data center manager John Edgar.

Link says the challenge associated with basing a network appliance on Linux is that “there are certain people who aren’t familiar with Unix and Linux, and really know the Microsoft operating system well. They’re reluctant to buy products that they don’t know. The way we overcome that is by building a self-contained graphical interface on top of the applications, so that the user is navigating through the tool without having to spend a lot of time on the command prompt. The challenge was to leverage the tools in a way that is convenient for the customer. We’ve been able to overcome that by building a great GUI.”

To help build the product, Link says ScienceLogic uses almost 100 servers in its testing and development lab, and 95% of them are Linux. Because the product is “manufacturer agnostic,” Link says the company also maintains servers with other operating systems so it can model the conditions seen in the field.

Link has used open source software for more than a decade, while working for IBM, Compuserve, and Web hosting company Interliant, which used Linux in its shared hosting services. Because of what he learned about open source’s security, value, and flexibility, it seemed a natural choice for him when he decided to launch his own company. “We wanted to build this product to help IT professionals manage and monitor information,” he says. “The security was top priority. When you provide a nerve center product you’ve got to have stunning reliability, because it is telling you how all your other systems are behaving.” Open source also made sense because of the rapid code advancement capabilities. “We’re developing our software at an open source pace. Open source is good because of the nimbleness it affords you within a global community.” It is this nimbleness that allows ScienceLogic to constantly upgrade its product with the latest fixes and advances, much faster than it would be able to if it had to rely on commercial software vendors, Link says. “There’s always a new device type that’s coming on the network, and you have to adjust very quickly.”

One open source project that ScienceLogic has made good use of is Net-SNMP, a protocol for monitoring network routers, computers, and other devices. “It’s a tool set of libraries used on Unix and Linux servers,” Link says. “It really enables a product like ours to granularly manage applications and servers.” Since ScienceLogic relies heavily on Python code, “We released back some source code to make an enhancement to Net-SNMP to include the Python language.” That project is similar to PySNMP, which is used by Zenoss and TwistedSNMP. “Giving back is really important to us,” Link says. “It’s really what the open source community is all about.”

One of the biggest benefits of using open source software is its value, Link says. “We did not pursue venture capital. We’re self-funded. Open source is very attractive to people who have a great idea and see a void and want to fill it with an interesting solution. They want to do it quickly and not think about raising money. They have that burning desire as an entrepreneur.”

Vision is the most important aspect of starting a business based on open source software, Link says. “It’s a significant strategic advantage to take the vision you have and execute it very rapidly. That’s what open source can do for you.”

Within ten years, 98 percent of household appliances will be networked and controlled from remote locations. In other words, I’ll never have to worry about forgetting to turn off the coffee maker again. Can you imagine the money I’ll save by not having to buy replacement coffee pots once a month?

Not only that, but major changes are coming in the way we prepare and store food. I used to think it was a big deal that my microwave could “sense” how long it takes to cook a potato. That’s nothing! Now, even little kids will be able to cook up a primo filet, because now the oven is even smarter. All Junior has to do is put the meat into one of GE’s new voice-activated Advantium Ovens and tell it to “cook the filet.” And it doesn’t matter what part of the country Junior hails from–the special “VoiceSignal” technology included in the Advantium Oven understands no fewer than 250 regional accents and can even learn languages other than English. I wonder if the Advantium understands toddler-speak? I could get my three-year-old to make dinner while I finish up a few projects.

Big Brother Is a Refrigerator
Now, when you have leftovers, you can store them in a GE Web-enabled refrigerator that will allow you to access the Web and monitor all the other appliances and electronics in your home. On the down side, my husband will have even more reason to stand in front of the open refrigerator with a blank look on his face. If GE could just come up with a refrigerator that tells me when the cold cuts get that little fuzzy film on top so I wouldn’t have to open the drawer and find out for myself, life would be just about perfect.

The best thing about all this intelligence, says GE Appliances CEO Larry Johnston, is that your appliances will be able to track you down and remind you to take care of them. “Imagine getting to work, turning on your desktop computer, and getting a message from your home appliance network that you left an oven burner on. With these networked smart appliances, you can send a direct command from your office PC via the Web and turn it off.” Hey, that’s pretty cool. Can the washing machine call me at the grocery store and remind me to pick up fabric softener?

Almost Like Life
The other day I was reading about something called the IPAD. It’s a new OS from Be that will power an inexpensive PC for your kitchen, allowing you to do and see all kinds of things, right there next to the sink. No longer do I have to feel like a prisoner, chained to the dirty dishes. An IPAD device (currently, it’s installed in the iToaster from Microworkz) might just fool me into thinking I actually have a life. I’ll be able to watch a movie, monitor the video camera in the baby nursery (or the one I secretly installed in the dashboard of my husband’s car), check my email, have a videophone conversation, and listen to stereo music, all at once from my kitchen counter.

Just thinking about all that activity is making me tired. I think I’m going to go lie down now. But before I go to sleep, I’m going to call up the coffee maker and tell it to please fill itself up with water and coffee beans sometime between now and 7:00 a.m.