Cloud gateway provider Nasuni announced the latest addition of the
Filer platform, which allows IT administrators to set and automatically
enforce policies governing how long data stored in the cloud can be
recovered after it is deleted. The snapshot retention feature allows
organizations to employ the benefits of a cloud-backed file server –
including automated data protection, full redundancy and infinite
scalability – while also gaining control over the permanent deletion of
data to help mitigate compliance, legal and security risk.
Through the use of snapshots that capture the entire file system and
caching technology, the Filer takes advantage of this aspect of the
cloud to ensure that deleted file server data can be recovered from any
point in time. These snapshots are small, because Nasuni de-duplicates
and compresses them, so customers can retain an unlimited number of
snapshots without greatly increasing the amount of cloud storage used.
If a file is accidentally deleted, the file can be recovered from the
cloud through the snapshot that captured it.
When files are deleted from the Filer, those files will remain
recoverable from the cloud as long as snapshots that contain those
files remain. However, with the latest version of the Filer, customers
can establish policies that will delete snapshots based on their age or
the number of snapshots stored in the cloud. Once the last snapshot
that contains a deleted file is retired, that file is deleted
irrevocably.
Gesmer Updegrove, a Boston-based law firm that provides legal advice
to support the growth of technology companies through acquisition or
IPO, relies on Nasuni for storage in the cloud. The firm stores a wide
variety of files in the cloud, from case files that sometimes need to
be permanently purged to billing records that need to be kept for at
least seven years. Gesmer Updegrove LLP chose Nasuni in large part
because it was the only storage-as-a-service vendor that offered
end-to-end encryption and could guarantee secure deletion of files in
the cloud.
“The Nasuni Filer brings all of the benefits of the cloud to the
file server: low cost, complete reliability and unlimited capacity for
future growth,” said Stirling Thomas, IT director at Gesmer Updegrove.
“With the new snapshot retention functionality, the Nasuni Filer now
enables us to age files and delete them permanently, a capability that
is critical to law firms like ourselves, who need assurance that
deleted files are truly gone.”
The latest version of Filer also includes enhancements such as new
file heuristics--Nasuni now provides detailed information on file type
and size--, while customers can now set policies and preferences on a
per-volume basis, which allows them to set snapshot schedules and
retention policies according to the needs of different groups within
the organization. In addition, the update includes enhanced charting:
Charts are now even easier to read, with more information available to
the IT’s department.
“We thought long and hard about how to provide safe deletion of
data,” said Andres Rodriguez, CEO of Nasuni. “The Nasuni Filer
needs no additional backup. Unlimited snapshots combined with the
100 percent reliability of the cloud means our customers no longer need
backup. The new Snapshot Retention Policy creates a safety window of
time that protects the IT administrator against unintentionally
deleting data while ensuring that unwanted data can be permanently
removed from the cloud.”
Midmarket News & Reviews 
