XStore

XStore has been in operation for just over 4 years providing design, solutions, service and implementation in the following spaces:

• network security
• enterprise data storage
• linux

Robby Pedrica

I graduated secondary education in 1988 with Matric Exemption, did a four year NHD in Electrical/Electronic engineering at the Cape Technikon and then worked for Li Shen Computers ( importer of computing equipment ) for 3 years. We had many achievements at Li Shen including bringing the first single-speed cartridge CDROM drive into SA, doing the first installation of Windows NT 3.1 on non-intel hardware (PowerPC 604 ) and providing the first centralised VOIP system using prepaid cards ( 2000 ).

I provided contract services in the UK between 1995 and 2000 for companies like Netcom Internet, HSBC, Railtrack and BSG. The main bulk of these services related to customer service/support on Sun systems ( Solaris ), Linux/OSS platforms and applications, and network architecture and design.

Following this period, I worked for the IBM Storage Distributor for SA, Maxtec Peripherals providing support, design and implementation for the following products:

Storage

• Network Appliance Filer
• StoreAge SVM Virtualisation
• FalconStor IPStor Virtualisation
• IBM N-series/FastT/DS/SVC
• HP MSA
• Bakbone Netvault
• Nexsan
• SANRAD v-series

Networking/Security

• Alteon Web Switching
• FortiGate UTM Firewalls
• Network Appliance NetCache for content distribution/caching/proxying
• Brocade FC

It's also during this period that I started investigation and development on OSS as a platform performing some of the functions of systems above, based on OSS experience gained in the previous 7 years. This led to product offerings such as OpenFiler/FreeNAS-based systems for iSCSI/SAN and rsync-based replication for backup opportunities.

After leaving Maxtec in 2004, I set up my company to provide similar and additional services/products in the SME and enterprise space. Additonal development work has been done in the space of automated platform provisioning, load balancing/clustering/reverse proxying/protocol conversion and complete OSS platform solutions.

Based on the quality and feature set of OSS solutions, I tend to prefer these above proprietary solutions but still support and service proprietary solutions where necessary. Further information about XStore offerings can be found in the Solutions section.