iCAS Technology

What are its benefits?

The iTernity Compliant Archive Solution distinguishes itself thanks to many technical features which provide the main advantages of this solution. These are:

• Patented Content Storage Container with 512 bit hash values
• Uses standard file systems
• Based on industrial standards, no proprietary locks-in
• Integrated encryption (i.e. AES 256 bit)
• Can be run on a virtual machine
• Highly scalable through clustering and load-balancing
• Access through narrow API and file system interfaces
• Legally compliant and certified technology as stated by one of the most influential IT lawyer

What does this mean in detail?

Patented Content Storage Container

Security without a compromise: our patented Content Storage Container (CSC) technology bundles archive data with the according metadata (i.e. creation date and retention period) in special containers and secures them with SHA512 hash values (the safest hash values available in industrial standard) to protect them against tampering or deletion. Statutory retention periods are applied on each container.
Deleting data before its expiry date is impossible. However once the data retention period has expired it can be destroyed according to DoD (Department of Defense) guidelines. Every access to iTernity servers is logged. This makes it possible to download a consistent history for each CSC.

Uses standard file systems

As iCAS utilises standard file systems, it guarantees a complete independence from storage and technology vendors. iCAS writes on NAS and SAN from any manufacturer and can work with storage infrastructures in use before its implementation. Users can work with any back-up solutions so that existing processes do not need to be changed and no additional know-how needs to be acquired. Using HSM solutions (Hierarchical Storage Management) iCAS archives and their containers can be moved into tapes or any other media seamlessly.

Based on industrial standards

iTernity uses industrial standards such as CIFS file system, SHA 512 ID and AES 256 encoding. The use of those standards can assure users that they are not locked in proprietary technologies.
The proven foundation of the hardened Microsoft Windows 2003 server operating system and the .Net 2.0 framework guarantee iTernity performance, stability and scalability in every application scenario.

Besides not having to be specifically trained, the users further advantage is to be able to use iTernity archive storage also in the future in combination with any kind of software and hardware components from third party suppliers, without having to depend on a single proprietary technology.

Integrated encryption (e.g. AES 256 bit)

Encryption could be applied as additional security level for your data as, for example, because data is being replicated to a second location through a public line. Depending on the interface in use, encryption, can be applied for each container (API) or each application (iFSG), individually. AES 256 currently provides the most secure industry standard encryption level.

Can be run on a virtual machine

iCAS server can be run as a virtual appliance (e.g. on VMWare, Citrix, or similar). Running iCAS on a virtual infrastructure allows for higher flexibility, hardware independence and fast disaster recovery. ICAS is fully compatible with popular storage virtualisation solutions such as HP LeftHand, DataCore and Falconstor. This improves server usage and adds services like data mirroring, snapshot backups, etc.

Highly scalable with clustering and load balancing

iCAS scalability has no limits. Both the storage size and the processing power can be configured according to project requirements. It is also possible to set-up redundant and highly available configurations with MS Cluster, mirrored storage and HP Polyserve clusters. Access to the data is possible through web service API and file system.

DMS and ECM systems access the storage infrastructure using the web service narrow API, provided by the iCAS middleware, making this operation completely transparent to the user. With the iCAS in place data can be stored automatically using the cross platform W3C SOAP protocol. As an alternative to the API method, iCAS, allows to store data using the Storage to File System interface called iFSG (iTernity File System Gateway).

The iFSG can emulate in read only mode the functionalities of the NetApp SnapLock® NAS. Any application that requires a NetApp interface to operate will work natively with iCAS servers. IFSG also adds document versioning features on existing archives without modifying the original information.

Legal opinion confirms the technical conformity

Conformity with current legal directives such as GDPdU, GOB, SOX etc. has been confirmed by official legal opinions provided by Dr. Ivo Geis, a renowned lawyer, specialised in IT and Media legal aspects. To ensure comprehensive legal conformity of a long term storage solution is important to design, document and plan all the data archiving procedures, used by the company, following over time precise methodologies.