Startup Deepfile Rolls Out Storage Resource Management Software

Deepfile has been in stealth mode, but next week it plans to introduce its first two products: Deepfile Auditor and Deepfile Enforcer, said CEO Jeff Erramouspe.

The company, based here, aims to resolve a pressing issue in network storage, in which companies try to tackle IT infrastructure problems by throwing in more storage capacity to help manage their devices but end up losing control of their files, Erramouspe said. Deepfile's SRM software is designed to provide details of an infrastructure's file system and automate any operations related to those files via user-defined rules, all across heterogeneous storage networks, he said.

Deepfile Auditor collects metadata in the form of more than 22 parameters for each file on all servers in a network, including information on when a file was last accessed, when it was last modified and who has access to it. The metadata, along with the each file's content, is then used to create a unique integer for that file, which can be used to compare it with other files in a network to check for duplications or old versions that can be archived or deleted.

Erramouspe said Deepfile Auditor is similar to the Centera fixed-content storage device that EMC introduced last year. "The EMC approach is software suitable only for EMC hardware," he said. "But the approach is similar."

Deepfile Auditor, which comes on a plug-and-play server appliance, is already available to the channel, said Erramouspe. "This product has great channel potential," he said. "Since it comes on a rack-mount server, it can be moved through the two-tier distribution model. And some solution providers will want to build services such as storage assessments and audits around it."

In April, Deepfile plans to release Deepfile Enforcer, a module that sits on Deepfile Auditor to find files of a specific type and automatically take some user-required action, such as to delete, copy, move, compress or encrypt files or to send notifications about them, Erramouspe said.

"For example, a company might not allow MP3 files on its network," he said. "Deepfile Enforcer could find the files and then give users three days to delete them. If they are not deleted by the users, they can then be automatically deleted and the users' supervisors notified."

Deepfile's SRM software doesn't require the use of agents, simplifying the installation and update process, Erramouspe said.

The software is initially available direct from Deepfile. However, the company is seeking OEM relationships and pursuing indirect channel relationships, Erramouspe said.

Deepfile Auditor is priced at about $10,000 per year for 2 Tbytes of capacity, Deepfile Enforcer is priced at around $25,000 per year for 2 Tbytes.