Exanet, Ltd. was an Israeli software company that provided scalable network-attached storage software solutions to partners. Exanet software was hardware independent. Their clustered NAS software storage solution provided single-file system scalability, and was compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems. After the company went into temporary receivership, on February 19, 2010 Exanet's intellectual property was acquired by Dell.

Exanet, Ltd.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryData storage devices / Computer Storage
Founded2000
FounderGiora Yaron
DefunctFebruary 2010 (2010-02)
FateAcquired by Dell
HeadquartersRaanana, Israel
Key people
Mark Weiner, CEO
ProductsExaStore, ExaFS distributed file system, ExaSync. Now: FluidFS
Websitewww.exanet.com

History

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Exanet was founded in 2000 by Giora Yaron and Yossi Ben-Shoshan, and raised $30 million in two rounds of venture capital funding.[1]

In 2003, ExaStore started shipping its first products. In January 2006, Exanet joined the Intel Storage Community.[2] In November 2006, Exanet introduced ExaStore-ICM, providing automated data storage and delivery services.[3] In March 2008, Exanet introduced its "solution" products: ExaStore Clustered NAS system and ExaStore Clustered NAS Server. Exanet was headquartered in Israel with offices in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Ukraine, and Japan. Investors included Eitan Wertheimer's Microdent Ltd., Evergreen Venture Partners, Coral Group, and LTG Development Capital.[4]

On December 12, 2009, Exanet went into temporary receivership, after failing to secure an additional round of financing.[5] The company had an estimated 80 employees.[4]

Acquisition by Dell

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In February 2010 the company IP was acquired by Dell Inc. for $12 million.[6][7]

Dell continued development of the NAS capability, which was marketed as the Dell Fluid File System or FluidFS. This product comes as an appliance, where the controller running the software is a Dell PowerEdge server and the storage can be any of the three Dell storage product-lines: Dell PowerVault, EqualLogic or Compellent using iSCSI or Fibre Channel connections.[8]

Products

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Exanet was an OEM provider of enterprise storage software called ExaStore. ExaStore had the following components:

ExaSearch

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ExaSearch
Developer(s)Exanet
Stable release
4.5 / 2007
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeEnterprise Search
LicenseProprietary
Websitehttp://www.exanet.com/default.asp?contentID=192

ExaSearch is a search engine, which integrates with Exanet’s scalable, ExaStore, network attached storage (NAS) software, allowing customers to turn stored data into accessible information.

ExaSearch includes a search engine capable of searching multiple sources: file servers, email systems, groupware, databases and employee directories. It can process unstructured data and queries, and allows immediate access to newly generated content through real-time indexing. The product is designed to integrate with ExaStore software resulting in a clustered NAS solution combined with enterprise-class search capabilities.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Exanet raises $17 million in second-round financing, Silicon Valley Business Journal, Dec 4, 2001
  2. ^ "Exanet, LeftHand Join Intel Storage Community". Grid Today. January 30, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  3. ^ Chris Preimesberger (November 27, 2006). "Exanet Unveils New Intelligent Clustered NAS Manager". eWeek. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Shmulik Shelah (December 6, 2009). "Storage co Exanet on verge of closure: A potential lifeline deal with Dell hit snags". Globes, Israel's Business Arena. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  5. ^ Chris Mellor (December 7, 2012). "Exanet exit-bound despite Dell's efforts: $70m risks going down the plughole". The Register. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  6. ^ "Dell Completes Purchase Of Exanet Assets". News release. Dell. February 9, 2010. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Shmulik Shelah (June 26, 2012). "Dell on the hunt for Israeli acquisitions: Two Dell executives met ten Israeli companies and VC funds during a visit to Israel last week". Globes, Israel's Business Arena. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  8. ^ An Inside Look: Dell’s R&D center in Israel Archived 2018-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Avishay Bassa | GeekTime, December 16, 2013
  9. ^ "ExaSearch Works Across Multiple Sources, Clustered NAS". esj.com.
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