FAQs
FAQ Questions
General FAQs
- 1 What is the difference between Cleversafe.org and Cleversafe.com?
- 2 Why open standards?
- 3 How can I use my current software application with Cleversafe?
Architecture FAQs
- 2 What is the threshold associated to the dsNet width?
- 3 Why is the data encrypted?
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4 Can anyone read my data except person having the specific credentials to do so?
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5 Is the reconstruction process limited by storage server speed?
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6 Do the data pieces travel through a central Cleversafe server before going to storage?
- 7 How can I figure out the availability of my dsNet?
General FAQs
What is the difference between Cleversafe.org and Cleversafe.com?
Cleversafe.org is the website for the community of people who are advancing Dispersed Storage through initiatives, specifications, and standards. By working with external entities such as SNIA to conform to standards, Dispersed Storage can gain wider acceptance as a storage mechanism.
Cleversafe.com is the website for Cleversafe, Inc., the company providing commercial Dispersed Storage™ software and services. More information on the company can be found at cleversafe.com.
Why open standards?
Cleversafe is focused on building a dispersed storage standard that the industry can leverage. From time to time, Cleversafe will publish code at this site to share information on the protocols and architecture in order to realize making the standard complete. An open standard enables organizations to utilize dispersed storage without fear of vendor lock in because it has been established as a standard for industry use, and enables portability across vendors.
How can I use my current software application with Cleversafe?
The Cleversafe Dispersed Storage™ Network system (dsNet) can be accessed through several standard interfaces including iSCSI, CIFS, NFS, WebDav/http. Cleversafe also provides a RESTful API for a SimpleObject integration in which the dsNet system is utilized as a large object store for applications that are already managing the metadata.
Architecture FAQs
What is the maximum Dispersed Storage™ Network system (dsNet) width?
The maximum dsNet width is 256 based on the current implementation of our IDA. The maximum width Cleversafe has tested extensively is 16. To learn more about a dsNet width please consult the Glossary.
What is the threshold associated to the dsNet width?
The threshold for a 16 wide desNet can be either 10 or 12. To learn more about thresholds please consult the Glossary.
Why is data encrypted?
The IDA splits data into multiple pieces, each of which is smaller than the original file, this process is not “cryptographically” secure, meaning some information is contained in each slice and leaks details about the original file content. Therefore, to prevent this information leak one’s data will be encrypted AND dispersed, additionally the data can be “transposed” before going though the IDA which ensures that no contiguous encrypted data appears in any of the slices.
Can anyone read my data except person having the specific credentials to do so?
Even if one had your encryption key, i.e. could decrypt the data, the fact that each slice by itself contains no contiguous encrypted blocks makes it impossible to decrypt without having both the encryption key and a threshold number of slices. The encryption keys or digital signature keys used by an account are stored for each vault. By specific credentials, we mean access to login to the account and access to the encryption keys (if encryption is used).
Is the reconstruction process limited by storage server speed?
The benefit of dispersal is that even if one or multiple servers are under-performing then the client can stop pulling data from that server and instead get slices from a different server. So the dsNet doesn’t perform at the speed of the slowest server but rather the fastest 12 of 16 servers (in a 16 wide, threshold 12 configuration).
Do the data pieces travel through a central Cleversafe server before going to storage?
NO. All dispersal is done at the client side.
How can I figure out the availability of my dsNet?
We will soon be placing a calculator on our website which calculates the expected availability of a dsNet given the width, threshold, and individual node reliability.
