The following terms are useful in understanding Nasuni products and technologies.
A
Accessible Data
Accessible Data includes current data already protected in the cloud, as well as current data in the cache that is not yet protected. For this reason, the volume data in the cache that is not yet protected is generally less than the total accessible data, unless this volume has not completed any snapshots. Accessible Data is current data only. Accessible Data does not include previous versions or snapshots. Accessible Data does not include metadata. Accessible Data does not reflect the effects of compression.
Access Control List (ACL)
An access control list (ACL) is a list of permissions attached to an object. An ACL specifies which users or system processes are granted access to objects, as well as what operations are allowed on given objects.
ACL (Access Control List)
See “Access Control List (ACL)” on page 95.
Active Directory (AD)
Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is a directory service for Windows domain networks. It is part of most Windows Server operating systems. Microsoft Active Directory enables administrators to assign policies, deploy software, and apply critical updates to an organization. Active Directory stores its information and settings in a central database.
AD (Active Directory)
See “Active Directory (AD)” on page 95.
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is used worldwide. AES is approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) for top secret information.
Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP)
The Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is an open standard for passing business messages between applications or organizations. It connects systems, feeds business processes with the information they need, and reliably transmits onward the instructions that achieve their goals.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
See “Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)” on page 95.
AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol)
See “Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP)” on page 96.
Analytics Connector
The Nasuni Analytics Connector enables you to export a temporary second copy of your file data, in native object format, in a separate cloud object storage account. You can then use this data with analytics software, AI, machine learning, and other data recognition tools.
Antivirus (AV)
Antivirus Protection provides protection against viruses and other malware in files on a volume. Antivirus Protection scans every new or modified file for the presence of viruses and other malware. If a scanned file is found to be infected, the authorized administrator has the option to ignore the infection. Only files with no detected malware, or infected files that the authorized administrator deliberately ignores, are allowed into cloud object storage. Nasuni Edge Appliance Antivirus Protection uses the Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV®) open-source antivirus engine.
API key (API access key)
Certain programs external to the Nasuni Edge Appliance require a Nasuni API access key for configuration purposes.
Authorization Code (Auth Code)
A 6-character code used in conjunction with a Serial Number to validate an installation. Authorization Codes are good for one use; one successful use causes an authorization code to be changed automatically. Generating a new authorization code for a serial number does not cause a Nasuni Edge Appliance or NMC that uses that serial number to stop working. The authorization code is only used once, during initial setup of a new or recovered Nasuni Edge Appliance or NMC. Because an Authorization Code is only used once, an administrator can safely issue it to a user in order to install a single Nasuni Edge Appliance or NMC without revealing Nasuni account credentials. To obtain an Authorization code for a Serial Number, visit https://account.nasuni.com/account/serial_numbers/, or the Account Status page of the Nasuni Management Console.
Auto Cache or autocache or autofault
A feature that brings new data into the local cache from other Nasuni Edge Appliances that are attached to a volume. Otherwise, new data is brought into the local cache from other Nasuni Edge Appliances when that data is accessed next.
AV (Antivirus)
See “Antivirus (AV)” on page 96.
B
bucket
A bucket is a logical unit of storage in object storage services, such as Amazon Simple Storage Solution (Amazon S3), and Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS). Buckets can be thought of as containers that are used to store objects, which consist of data and metadata.
BYOC storage
There are three ways that customers can obtain the storage used with Nasuni:
Integrated storage: Customers obtain their storage from Nasuni. (This option is no longer available.)
Public cloud object storage (aka BYOC storage): Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni, but do obtain it from a public cloud object storage provider, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3.
Private cloud object storage: Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni or from public cloud object storage providers, but arrange their own private cloud object storage, such as Dell EMC ECS or IBM COS.
C
cache
A cache is a computer component that stores data locally so that future requests for that data can be served faster. While all data and metadata are stored in cloud object storage, data that requires regular access is kept locally in the cache. This includes files that are re-written and data that is read often. If any requested data does not already reside locally, it is staged into the cache and provided for the request.
cache miss
If requested data does not reside in the local cache, and must be staged into the cache for the request, this is called a “cache miss”.
cache reserve
A user-specified value that specifies how much of the cache is Reserved for new, incoming data.
The space not Reserved for new, incoming data is available to retain data locally.
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)
A protocol that authenticates a user or network host to an authenticating entity.
CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol)
See “Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)” on page 97.
chunks
Before sending data to the cloud, Nasuni breaks files into optimally-sized pieces for transport between the on-premises cache and cloud object storage. This not only disguises the actual sizes of files, but also improves performance. These chunks are then compressed and encrypted.
CIFS (Common Internet File Service)
A standard protocol that allows Windows users to share files across a network. CIFS is one version of SMB. See “Server Message Block (SMB)” on page 109.
ClamAV (Clam antivirus)
See “Antivirus (AV)” on page 96.
cloud storage or cloud object storage
Where all your file data is stored. Nasuni supports almost all on-premises (private) cloud object storage solutions, including Dell EMC ECS, Hitachi Content Platform (HCP), and IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS), as well as leading public cloud (aka BYOC) storage solutions, including Microsoft Azure Storage, Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), and Google Cloud Storage.
Cloud Usage data
Cloud Usage data includes the size in the cloud of all data and metadata protected in the cloud, for all versions, after encryption and compression. Cloud Usage data does not include unprotected data in the cache.
Content Size
Content Size includes data already protected in the cloud, but does not include data in the cache that is not yet protected. Content Size data is current data only. Content Size data does include metadata. Content Size does not reflect the effects of compression.
copy-on-write (COW) disk
The copy-on-write (COW) disk is used during the snapshot process. If any writes to the Nasuni Edge Appliance occur during a snapshot, the previous data from the cache disk is copied to the COW disk, and the new data is written to the cache disk. Hence, the term “copy-on-write”. This allows new writes to take place at any time, even during the snapshot process.
D
DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
See “Direct Attached Storage (DAS)” on page 99.
data
Data is transmittable and storable computer information. Nasuni handles data in the form of files, including text, images, audio, and video.
decommissioning
Decommissioning an NEA or NMC removes the appliance from service. If this is a hardware Edge Appliance, you can re-use the hardware as an Edge Appliance. For details, see Decommissioning a Nasuni Edge Appliance (Filer) or NMC.
Direct Attached Storage (DAS)
Direct-attached storage (DAS) is computer storage that is directly attached to one computer or server and is not, without special support, directly accessible to other ones. The main alternatives to direct-attached storage are network-attached storage (NAS) and a storage area network (SAN).
directory quota
A limit on the amount of data in a directory. You can configure that quota reports are sent to administrators or users when directories near or exceed their quota.
Directory Services
Services, including authentication, provided by Active Directory or LDAP.
durable handle
A durable handle is an open file handle that is preserved during a short network outage, which allows a client to reconnect when connectivity is restored.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network configuration protocol that provides a network IP address for a host on an IP network automatically.
E
Edge Appliance
A Nasuni Edge Appliance can be a virtual machine that runs on hypervisors. Or a Nasuni Edge Appliance can be a Nasuni hardware appliance.
Each Nasuni Edge Appliance performs two main tasks:
Securely transmits files to cloud object storage where the authoritative copies of all files are stored.
Caches actively used files locally to provide high-performance file access, and to minimize cloud egress charges in deployments where Nasuni is backed by public cloud object storage.
Note: Nasuni Edge Appliances are sometimes referred to by the shorter name “Filers”.
encryption
The Nasuni Edge Appliance encrypts data sent to cloud object storage using the OpenPGP standard, with AES-256 as the default encryption.
eviction
Data that has been copied from the Nasuni Edge Appliance to cloud object storage, and that is rarely used again, is eventually removed (“evicted”) from the Nasuni Edge Appliance’s cache to free up space for new data. If one of these evicted files is later requested for reads or writes, the Nasuni Edge Appliance retrieves the file from cloud object storage and puts it back into the cache automatically.
eviction target
Eviction continues until the cache usage is less than the eviction target. By default, the eviction target is 70 percent, meaning that eviction continues until the cache usage is less than 70 percent.
eviction threshold
Eviction begins when the cache usage is greater than the eviction threshold. By default, the eviction threshold is 85 percent, meaning that eviction begins when the cache usage is greater than 85 percent.
export
A directory on a server volume that a client on your network can access.
F
fast restore
The ability to restore data by reconstructing files without acquiring data from cloud object storage. Only the metadata at the top level of the directory structure needs to be restored.
faulting
If requested data does not reside in the local cache, it is staged into the cache and provided for the request. This is informally called “faulting”.
File IQ
The File IQ feature provides insights and analytics on your file data usage patterns, including file usage analytics, health monitoring, forensic capabilities, and reporting.
file system
A method for storing and organizing computer files and the data that they contain in order to make it easy to find and access them.
file transfer protocol (FTP)
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet.
firewall
You can configure inbound traffic to the Nasuni Edge Appliance user interface and the Nasuni Support SSH port, which provides firewall protection.
FTP (file transfer protocol)
See “file transfer protocol (FTP)” on page 100.
G
GB/GiB
GB is an abbreviation of gigabyte, meaning 1,000,000,000 bytes. Usually used to refer to hard disk capacity.
GiB is an abbreviation of gibibyte, meaning 230 (1,073,741,824) bytes. Usually used to refer to RAM memory.
GFA (Global File Acceleration)
See “Global File Acceleration (GFA)” on page 101.
Global File Acceleration (GFA)
Combined with Nasuni’s Global File System, the Nasuni Global File Acceleration (GFA) service accelerates file synchronization to improve collaboration and optimize productivity across locations.
global file lock
The purpose of the Nasuni Global File Lock™ feature is to prevent conflicts when two or more users attempt to change the same file on different Nasuni Edge Appliances. If you enable the Global File Lock feature for a directory and its descendants, any files in that directory or its descendants can only be changed by one user at a time. Any other users cannot change the same file at the same time.
You can also manually break the locking of a file. This might become necessary if a user leaves a file open and another user needs to open that file.
I
instance
The Nasuni Edge Appliance is either a hardware appliance or a virtual machine. An instance refers to a single virtual machine that provides virtualization of the Nasuni Edge Appliance software.
integrated storage
There are three ways that customers can obtain the storage used with Nasuni:
Integrated storage: Customers obtain their storage from Nasuni. (This option is no longer available.)
Public cloud object storage (aka BYOC storage): Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni, but do obtain it from a public cloud object storage provider, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3.
Private cloud object storage: Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni or from public cloud object storage providers, but arrange their own private cloud object storage, such as Dell EMC ECS or IBM COS.
K
Kerberos
Kerberos is a computer network authentication protocol that works on the basis of 'tickets' to allow nodes communicating over a non-secure network to prove their identity to one another in a secure manner. It provides mutual authentication: both the user and the server verify each other's identity. Kerberos protocol messages are protected against eavesdropping and replay attacks. Kerberos builds on symmetric key cryptography and requires a trusted third party, and optionally may use public-key cryptography during certain phases of authentication. Kerberos uses UDP port 88 by default.
L
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
See “Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)” on page 103.
least recently used (LRU)
When the cache starts getting too full, the Nasuni Edge Appliance releases the least recently used (LRU) data first, using a sophisticated algorithm. This helps to ensure that the most recently used data, and the data most likely to be used, remains in the cache.
Licensed Data
Licensed Data is sometimes also called “Licensed Capacity” or “Storage Volume Limit”. Licensed Data is the amount of data storage that Nasuni is managing for the customer, and that the customer is paying to store using the Nasuni service. Every customer has a Licensed Data limit. No customer has unlimited storage. However, every customer has unlimited versions of their data available. Since the Nasuni service is inherently unlimited, the Licensed Data limit can easily be changed, as business needs change. Licensed Data should be compared to data metrics such as “Now” data, which is current data and metadata in the cloud, without the effects of compression. The default Licensed Data for trial accounts is 5 TB.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
LDAP is an open, vendor-neutral, industry-standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory services allow sharing information about users, systems, networks, services, and applications throughout the network. A common use of LDAP is to provide a central place to store usernames and passwords. This allows applications and services to connect to the LDAP server to validate users.
LDAP is used to identify users. After a user is authenticated with Kerberos and has a valid ticket, the information from the ticket is used to look up additional details on that user from a directory server using the LDAP protocol.
Linux
Linux is a family of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Typically, Linux is packaged in a form known as a Linux distribution (or distro for short) for both desktop and server use.
LRU (least recently used)
See “least recently used (LRU)” on page 102.
M
management information base (MIB)
A database for managing entities in a network, such as with the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
manifest
Description of a file, a container for metadata about a file, and a list of the file chunks of the file.
maximum transmission unit (MTU)
The maximum transmission unit (MTU) is the size (in bytes) of the largest protocol data unit that the layer can pass onwards. A larger MTU brings greater efficiency, because each packet carries more user data while protocol overheads, such as headers, remain fixed; the resulting higher efficiency means a slight improvement in the bulk protocol throughput. A larger MTU also means processing fewer packets for the same amount of data. However, large packets can occupy a slow link for some time, causing greater delays to following packets, and increasing lag and minimum latency. MTU settings should not exceed 1500.
MB/MiB
MB is an abbreviation of megabyte, meaning 1,000,000 bytes. Usually used to refer to hard disk capacity.
MiB is an abbreviation of mebibyte, meaning 220 (1,048,576) bytes. Usually used to refer to RAM memory.
metadata
Data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted.
MIB (management information base)
See “management information base (MIB)” on page 103.
MTU (maximum transmission unit)
See “maximum transmission unit (MTU)” on page 103.
N
NAA (Nasuni Access Anywhere)
See “Nasuni Access Anywhere (NAA)” on page 104.
NAS (Network Attached Storage)
See “Network Attached Storage (NAS)” on page 105.
Nasuni Access Anywhere (NAA)
When combined with Nasuni’s core platform capabilities, Nasuni Access Anywhere delivers high-performance file access for remote and hybrid (distributed) users, along with productivity tools that let them manage files from anywhere on any device. Additionally, integration with collaborative tools provides a seamless workflow across Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and corporate file shares to ensure easy and secure access to critical corporate data.
Nasuni Edge Appliance (Nasuni Filer)
The Nasuni Edge Appliance is a virtual machine or Nasuni-supplied hardware appliance that replaces traditional file servers and NAS devices using only a fraction of their storage capacity. The appliances serve several functions. First, they store all new files created by users and applications in your preferred cloud object storage, encrypting the files to ensure that they are secure in transit and at rest, and compressing them to minimize cloud object storage costs. Second, they cache actively-used files from cloud object storage to provide high-performance file access through SMB (CIFS) and NFS file sharing protocols, and Active Directory and LDAP authentication protocols. Third, they eliminate the need for file backup by continuously sending file changes to cloud object storage, where they are stored as WORM to create an infinite version history. Each Nasuni Edge Appliance has unlimited capacity because it only caches actively used files, and can tap the unlimited capacity of cloud object storage to store all files.
Nasuni Edge Appliance (Nasuni Filer) user interface (UI)
The Web-based user interface to the Nasuni Edge Appliance.
Nasuni File IQ (aka Nasuni IQ)
Nasuni Management Console (NMC)
The Nasuni Management Console enables you to monitor and manage many Nasuni Edge Appliances from one central application. Using the Nasuni Management Console, you can view the status of all of your managed Nasuni Edge Appliances, as well as configure their settings. With the Nasuni Management Console, you can ensure consistent settings on all your Nasuni Edge Appliances.
Using the Nasuni Management Console, you can manage Nasuni Edge Appliances even if they are not presently connected. Any configuration changes made will propagate to the Nasuni Edge Appliance when it becomes connected.
Nasuni Orchestration Center (NOC)
The Nasuni Orchestration Center (NOC) provides a variety of behind-the-scenes services that make the Nasuni Service possible. These services include security patches, component updates, system scaling, performance tuning, response time monitoring and analysis, optimization, staging and deployment of new software, support of new Nasuni Edge Appliance functionality, single sign on management, cloud provisioning, cloud monitoring, account management, and customer support.
Nasuni's cloud object storage
The secure unlimited online storage provided through the Nasuni Edge Appliance.
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
Network-attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network. NAS devices are a convenient method of sharing files among multiple computers. NAS systems typically provide access to files using network file sharing protocols such as NFS, SMB/CIFS, or AFP.
Network File System (NFS)
A protocol and file system for accessing and sharing files across a computer network using UNIX and Linux.
NFS (Network File System)
See “Network File System (NFS)” on page 105.
NIQ
NMC (Nasuni Management Console)
See “Nasuni Management Console (NMC)” on page 105.
NMC API
The NMC API enables customers to perform a variety of actions. For more details, see NMC API.
NMC API key
Users are granted access to the NMC API via the "Enable NMC API Access" group permission. You can view and revoke leased keys/tokens for the NMC API.
NOC (Nasuni Orchestration Center)
See “NOC (Nasuni Orchestration Center)” on page 106.
“Now” data
“Now” data is displayed on the Data Growth chart. “Now” data is current data and metadata in the cloud, without the effects of compression. “Now” data does not include unprotected data in the cache.
O
object store
An object store, or object storage, is a data storage architecture that manages data as objects. File systems manage data as a file hierarchy, and block storage manages data as blocks within sectors and tracks. Each object typically includes the data itself, metadata about the data, and a globally unique identifier.
offsite data protection
Storing copies of critical data away from the original data centers to protect this information from natural disasters and accidental or malicious modification.
on-demand provisioning
The Nasuni Edge Appliance simplifies provisioning by offering instant provisioning in increments as small as 1 TB.
owned volume
There are two types of volumes: local volumes that are “owned” by the local Edge Appliance, and remote volumes that belong to other Edge Appliances. You can create a new "owned" local volume on a local Edge Appliance. You can connect to remote volumes.
owning Edge Appliance
The owning Edge Appliance is the Edge Appliance that owns a particular volume, in contrast to remote Edge Appliances that might connect to that owned volume. The Edge Appliance that created a volume is the owning Edge Appliance for that volume. You can define remote access to each owned volume. You can only configure a snapshot retention policy for an "owned" local volume.
P
pinning
Pinning a folder specifies that the folder and its contents must remain in the local cache at all times. This can improve performance and reduce the time necessary to return accessed data to clients. This reduces the available cache by the size of the folder. Pinning a folder does not bring the folder’s data into the cache.
private cloud storage or private cloud object storage
There are three ways that customers can obtain the storage used with Nasuni:
Integrated storage: Customers obtain their storage from Nasuni. (This option is no longer available.)
Public cloud object storage (aka BYOC storage): Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni, but do obtain it from a public cloud object storage provider, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3.
Private cloud object storage: Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni or from public cloud object storage providers, but arrange their own private cloud object storage, such as Dell EMC ECS or IBM COS.
proxy
A server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers.
pruning
Pruning is the process of removing unneeded data. For example, you can specify removing log files older than a certain number of days.
public cloud (aka BYOC) storage
There are three ways that customers can obtain the storage used with Nasuni:
Integrated storage: Customers obtain their storage from Nasuni. (This option is no longer available.)
Public cloud object storage (aka BYOC storage): Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni, but do obtain it from a public cloud object storage provider, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3.
Private cloud object storage: Customers do not obtain their storage from Nasuni or from public cloud object storage providers, but arrange their own private cloud object storage, such as Dell EMC ECS or IBM COS.
Q
QoS (Quality of Service)
See “Quality of Service (QoS)” on page 107.
Quality of Service (QoS)
Quality of Service (QoS) settings indicate the inbound and outbound bandwidth limits of the Nasuni Edge Appliance for data moving to or from the Nasuni Edge Appliance, such as transmitting snapshots to cloud object storage.
quota
A limit on the amount of usable storage space on a volume.
R
recovery
You can “recover” a Nasuni Edge Appliance or NMC, for a number of reasons, including changing virtual machine platforms, refreshing a Nasuni Hardware Appliance or virtual machine hardware, moving data around the world, dealing with hardware or software failure, or responding to human error.
Specifically, dealing with hardware or software failure, or responding to human error, are called a disaster recovery (DR).
remote access and remote volume
There are two types of volumes: local volumes that are “owned” by the local Edge Appliance, and remote volumes that belong to other Edge Appliances. You can create a new "owned" local volume on a local Edge Appliance. You can connect to remote volumes.
Remote Support Service
The Remote Support Service allows authorized Nasuni Technical Support personnel to remotely and securely access your Nasuni Edge Appliance. This can help Nasuni Technical Support to diagnose and resolve any issues with your Nasuni Edge Appliance quickly and proactively. No changes to your corporate firewalls are necessary. This service is disabled by default and is strictly opt-in.
reserve, cache
See “cache reserve” on page 97.
S
S3 Edge
Nasuni S3 Edge is a feature developed for the Nasuni Edge Appliance to provide support for S3 protocol access to volume data. The S3 protocol is in addition to the SMB, NFS, and FTP protocols already available. See S3 Edge.
SAN (Storage Area Network)
See “Storage Area Network (SAN)” on page 109.
Serial Number
A unique 32-digit hexadecimal number associated with your account for use with Nasuni Edge Appliance and Nasuni Management Console (NMC) installations. Each account has multiple Serial Numbers. Unused Serial Numbers may be used to set up a new Nasuni Edge Appliance or an NMC. Serial Numbers already in use may be used to recover existing Nasuni Edge Appliances or your existing NMC. Serial Numbers are used in conjunction with Authorization Codes. To obtain a Serial Number, visit https://account.nasuni.com/account/serial_numbers/.
Server Message Block (SMB)
A network protocol used for providing shared access to files. It also provides an authenticated inter-process communication mechanism. Most usage of SMB involves computers running Microsoft Windows. One version of SMB was also known as Common Internet File System (CIFS).
share
A folder on a volume that can be shared on your network. Access to a share can be customized on a user or group-level basis.
Side Load
As part of the recovery process, the Side Load feature enables you to transfer cache data directly from the original source decommissioned Nasuni Edge Appliance to the new destination Nasuni Edge Appliance. This saves the time and bandwidth necessary to manually re-populate the new cache with data.
Simple Network Management Protocol) (SNMP)
An Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks.
SMB (Server Message Block)
See “Server Message Block (SMB)” on page 109.
snapshot
An instantaneous, non-changing, read-only image of a volume. Snapshots let you view any past version of your file system, and restore all or part of the version quickly.
A snapshot is a complete picture of the files and folders in your file system at a specific point in time. With snapshots, the Nasuni Edge Appliance can identify new or changed data. Snapshots offer data protection by enabling you to recover a file deleted in error or to restore an entire file system. After a snapshot has been taken and is sent to cloud object storage, it is not possible to modify that snapshot.
snapshot retention
The ability to remove old version history and data when they are no longer wanted or needed.
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
See “Simple Network Management Protocol) (SNMP)” on page 109.
Storage Area Network (SAN)
An architecture to attach remote computer storage devices (such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes) to servers in such a way that the devices appear as locally attached to the operating system.
sync
You can schedule when, and with what frequency, the selected volume updates data (“syncs”) from Nasuni, merging your local data with any new or changed data from other Nasuni Edge Appliances connected to this volume. This helps to ensure that everyone in your organization is using the most current data.
T
U
UaaS
See “UniFS as a Service (UaaS)” on page 110.
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface is replacing BIOS as the low-level software that is responsible for starting a computer’s components before running a bootloader to load the operating system.
UI (Nasuni Edge Appliance (Nasuni Filer) user interface)
See “Nasuni Edge Appliance (Nasuni Filer) user interface (UI)” on page 104.
UNC (Universal Naming Convention)
See “Universal Naming Convention (UNC)” on page 110.
UniFS
UniFS® is Nasuni’s cloud-native global file system, storing all files, file versions, and metadata in your preferred private or public cloud (aka BYOC) object store. UniFS is the first file system designed to have its inode structure reside in the cloud. UniFS enables the Nasuni platform to inherit the virtually unlimited capacity, durability, and georedundancy of the cloud object stores.
UniFS as a Service (UaaS)
UniFS as a Service (UaaS) is a Nasuni platform that can perform operations directly on the UniFS file system hosted in a public cloud. UaaS provides a set of scalable, portable cloud services, deployed within a customer’s cloud tenancy, that interact with UniFS volumes.
Universal Naming Convention (UNC)
A standard for identifying servers, printers, and other resources in a network. A UNC path uses double slashes (or double backslashes) to precede the name of the computer. The path (disk and directories) within the computer are separated with a single slash (or backslash), as in the following examples.
Note that, in the DOS/Windows example, drive letters (such as C: or D:) are not used in UNC names.
Unix:
//servername/pathDOS/Windows:
\\servername\path
Unix
Unix is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix.
update
To transition from an older version of Nasuni software to a newer version.
V
versioning
The Nasuni Edge Appliance provides the versioning necessary to eliminate the need for separate backup and restore procedures.
virtual machine (VM)
A virtual machine is a tightly isolated software container that can run its own operating systems and applications as if it were a physical computer. A virtual machine behaves exactly like a physical computer and contains its own virtual (software-based) CPU, RAM, hard disk, and network interface card (NIC).
virtualization
Virtualization lets you run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, sharing the resources of that single computer across multiple environments. Different virtual machines can run different operating systems and multiple applications on the same physical computer.
VM (virtual machine)
See “virtual machine (VM)” on page 111.
volume
A set of files and directories. A volume can consist of multiple shares. Nasuni stores all volumes in your choice of one or more cloud object storage solutions.