Twisted Storage: Open Source Cloud Storage

It’s not often that we get to talk to one-man reseller operations here at The VAR Guy, let alone one-man software vendors. Regardless, when Chuck Wegrzyn, CTO of the solely-owned-and-operated Twisted Storage, told us that his open-source cloud storage product does everything ParaScale can, but for free, The VAR Guy had to follow up. Here’s the scoop.

Wegrzyn released the first version of Twisted Storage in 2005 after selling his first cloud storage platform two years earlier.  He says that just by charging $500/TB for enterprise support — not even the Twisted Storage software itself — he can make a decent living for himself. One company in Beijing, he says, was so comfortable with the software that they didn’t even bother with the support plan when they installed the enterprise version.

Like the competition, Wegrzyn says, Twisted Storage installs on existing servers to create a private storage cloud. What it does better, he claims, is support legacy hardware like older EMC Centera systems to help bring existing storage into the cloud. It also supports integrated workflows, so that you can, for example, set it to automatically convert any .doc file stored on the system into a .pdf and stash it in the appropriately timestamped folder.

It also supports plug-ins, and, if further modifications are necessary, it was all written in run-of-the-mill Python so anyone with the appropriate expertise can download the source and modify it to their needs.

So what do you think? Can VARs leap from open source operating system to open source clouds like Twisted Storage?

Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, check out more channel voices at www.vartweet.com.