Wasabi Certified® BSD : Markets
Networked Storage Devices
Wasabi Systems' primary market is advanced data storage. Because of Wasabi's industry-leading expertise in operating systems design on the one hand, and the iSCSI protocol
on the other, our products and services are an ideal selection for OEMs seeking to develop high-end SAN devices, server appliances, and HBAs, particularly using the iSCSI protocol.
Wasabi's primary product offering in the storage device market is Storage Builder for iSCSI, a software development kit that contains all the necessary components for building an iSCSI target compliance in "Flashware®" - software running entirely in flash memory. Storage Builder is the only solution that enables OEMs to use off-the-shelf hardware rather than custom-design and engineer specific hardware for creating iSCSI target appliances and other SAN devices. This "SoftwareSAN™" approach may reduce development costs by up to an order of magnitude for some OEMs. Storage Builder for NAS offers similar features for creating NAS devices.
The networked storage market is poised for exceptional growth. First, advances in technology will enable SAN arrays to be deployed remotely, at low cost, connected via the Internet to "thin clients" and other initiator devices. Whereas FibreChannel and similar technologies put the cost of SAN arrays beyond the capabilities of small and medium size enterprise users, the iSCSI protocol enables much lower-cost deployment of such arrays, and secure, remote access functionality that was previously unavailable. Second, new federal regulations and increased data storage loads are driving increasing numbers of enterprise users to self-hosted SAN and NAS solutions. Finally, with increased corporate modularity and geographical range, secure SAN arrays with redundant backup, security protection, and other safety features are becoming an essential part of businesses which previously would not have required such products. For these reasons, the market for SAN devices which are able to leverage new advances in networking technology, at a low price point, is expected to grow dramatically in coming years.
Communications Infrastructure and Embedded Systems
Wasabi Systems' products and services have helped dozens of communications infrastructure OEMs to produce routers, switches, and other communications devices since
the company's inception. Wasabi Certified BSD, building on the twenty five year code heritage of the BSD operating system, is an ideal choice for such applications because
of its wide platform support and industry-leading TCP functionality. Wasabi Certified BSD runs on more hardware platforms than any other Unix-like OS, with full functionality
across platforms thanks to its modular portability level (MPL). This enables the OS to function on a wide range of PowerPC, MIPS, and IA32 based hardware, and to port to
new hardware in a fraction of the time of other operating systems. In addition, BSD's TCP stack - often the reference implementation for Unix - provides unparalleled networking
support even in use-intensive situations. In fact, the first IP packets across the forerunner of today's Internet were transmitted using BSD, and today, many traditional RTOS's
"borrow" the BSD stack because of its functionality (though they often borrow old versions with stripped-down code).
Finally, Wasabi's suite of GNU Tools and Workbench IDE enable Wasabi Certified BSD users to enjoy the highest level of developer tool availability, and Wasabi Professional Services provide support, optimization, and platform re-targeting where appropriate.
Embedded Systems
Wasabi Certified BSD is also used in other verticals of the embedded systems market, often as an alternative to embedded Linux. Linux and BSD offer roughly the same
level of functionality and performance, but Linux's adoption is hampered in the embedded space by its GPL License, which requires that all changes to the Linux kernel
(which are common in embedded uses) be made open source. While this requirement is not important for desktop or server users of Linux, it may cost embedded
OEMs hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of intellectual property. Moreover, with the scope of the GPL uncertain and with continued litigation on the part of
some, the licensing risk factor has driven many embedded OEMs to consider BSD instead.
Wasabi Certified BSD's license makes no requirements regarding changes to the kernel. Wasabi's customers have, in the past, opted to keep such changes proprietary; make them open source; or wait for a period of time before making the code available, so that they may obtain the long-term benefits of open source development without the short-term costs to their competitive position. In a wide range of embedded applications, Wasabi Certified BSD and WasabiGNU Tools are the OS solution of choice for OEMs.
