Capricorn Technologies
Encyclopedia
Capricorn Technologies is a low-cost, high-density, energy efficient data storage
solutions provider based in San Francisco, California
. The founder and CEO is C.R. Saikley.
Capricorn Technologies traces its roots to the Internet Archive
, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle
to build an “Internet Library” to preserve all human knowledge. In December 2003, Kahle contacted his longtime friend, C.R. Saikley, with a proposal: develop the Archive’s next-generation storage system. The system would have to be inexpensive to manufacture and operate, it would have to be reliable and, with an initial target of 1 Petabyte
, it would have to be massively scalable.
Saikley began by evaluating off-the-shelf
solutions, thinking that surely there was already something available that met the cost, density and power consumption requirements specified by Kahle. However, he soon discovered that there was nothing available that achieved what he knew was possible, so he and the PetaBox
team began development of their own solution.
The success of the custom design hinged on staying within a tight power budget. The critical goals of high storage density, reliability, and low operating and cooling costs were all dependent on low power consumption. The team achieved its goals with a 100TB system which was placed in service in June 2004.
At that same time, Kahle and Saikley began discussing ways to make PetaBox
technology available on a wider scale, and Capricorn Technologies was formed. Capricorn began operations shortly thereafter and shipped its first products in September 2004.
Between 2004 and 2007, Capricorn replicated the Internet Archive's successful deployment of the PetaBox for major academic institution
s, digital preservationists, government agencies, high-performance computing
(HPC) and major research sites, medical imaging
providers, digital image repositories
, storage outsourcing
sites, and other enterprises. Their largest product uses 750 gigabyte disks (November 2006).
Data storage
Data storage can refer to:* Computer data storage; memory, components, devices and media that retain digital computer data used for computing for some interval of time....
solutions provider based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The founder and CEO is C.R. Saikley.
Capricorn Technologies traces its roots to the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle
Brewster Kahle
Brewster Kahle is a computer engineer, internet entrepreneur, activist, and digital librarian.- Biography :Kahle graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in computer science and engineering, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. The...
to build an “Internet Library” to preserve all human knowledge. In December 2003, Kahle contacted his longtime friend, C.R. Saikley, with a proposal: develop the Archive’s next-generation storage system. The system would have to be inexpensive to manufacture and operate, it would have to be reliable and, with an initial target of 1 Petabyte
Petabyte
A petabyte is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion bytes, or 1000 terabytes. The unit symbol for the petabyte is PB...
, it would have to be massively scalable.
Saikley began by evaluating off-the-shelf
Off-the-shelf
Off the shelf may refer to:* Off-the-shelf component* Commercial off-the-shelf, a phrase in computing terminology* Ready-to-wear* Shelf corporation, a type of company...
solutions, thinking that surely there was already something available that met the cost, density and power consumption requirements specified by Kahle. However, he soon discovered that there was nothing available that achieved what he knew was possible, so he and the PetaBox
PetaBox
PetaBox is a storage unit from Capricorn Technologies. It was designed by the staff of the Internet Archive and C. R. Saikley to store and process one petabyte of information.-Goals:...
team began development of their own solution.
The success of the custom design hinged on staying within a tight power budget. The critical goals of high storage density, reliability, and low operating and cooling costs were all dependent on low power consumption. The team achieved its goals with a 100TB system which was placed in service in June 2004.
At that same time, Kahle and Saikley began discussing ways to make PetaBox
PetaBox
PetaBox is a storage unit from Capricorn Technologies. It was designed by the staff of the Internet Archive and C. R. Saikley to store and process one petabyte of information.-Goals:...
technology available on a wider scale, and Capricorn Technologies was formed. Capricorn began operations shortly thereafter and shipped its first products in September 2004.
Between 2004 and 2007, Capricorn replicated the Internet Archive's successful deployment of the PetaBox for major academic institution
Academic institution
Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university.- Types of academic institutions include :...
s, digital preservationists, government agencies, high-performance computing
High-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
(HPC) and major research sites, medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
providers, digital image repositories
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
, storage outsourcing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
sites, and other enterprises. Their largest product uses 750 gigabyte disks (November 2006).
External links
- Capricorn Technology official site
- The Software RAID HOWTO