6.3.23 File Management Software in smaller systems

6.3.23.1  The purpose of file management software in systems where the entire archive is replicated both on hard disc and tape is to keep track of the location, condition, accuracy and age of the tape copies. This basic backup functionality is a lower cost alternative to a classic HSM and may, at least in theory, be more reliable for small systems. However, as the large scale HSM represents a significant market,research and development has been supported by the industry in this area.Small scale file management software is being developed amongst the open source software development community. These include such systems as three most popular open source NAS applications, FreeNAS, Openfiler and NASLite,and the Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver (AMANDA). As with all such open source solutions, the onus is on the user to test the suitability and reliability of such systems, and without further development this publication makes no specific recommendation.