EMC dangles wee NAS code at OEMs

EMC is hoping to woo OEMs with a new piece of centralized file management software aimed at small and medium sized businesses and even home users itching to craft a NAS (network attached storage) setup.

Their new LifeLine OEM software sits on a storage appliance, serving up backup and recovery functions along with data protection, management and media sharing.

EMC has already shaken hands with Intel, which will introduce its Entry Storage System SS4200-E with the software. Intel will then OEM the system. Storage firm Iomega also plans to buy into LifeLine for its multi-dirve network storage gear, according to EMC.

LifeLine is managed through a browser-based interface. EMC says it can be fiddled with via most browsers (Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Konqueror, etc) and even game consoles like the Wii, Playstation 3, Nokia N800 and PSP.

Customers will be able to retrieve any file from any networked device. For the home, it also does media streaming for appliances such as iTunes and has game console features. For businesses, the software is comfortable with network services such as CIFS, FTP and SNMP and includes support for Microsoft Active Directory.

LifeLine includes unlimited licenses for EMC Retrospect to back up network-connected computers to the appliance. That's integrated into the manager, so an admin can initiate a backup of a system from any computer on the network.

It also packs some NAS features EMC usually gives to the larger system suites, like content indexing for file searches using keywords rather than just file names.

So far EMC is just naming Intel and Iomega as takers for the software. Intel is showing their LifeLine-enabled system at CES, and Iomega says it expects to launch products with the software during the first half of this year.

EMC's details on the software can be found at their site over yonder. ®