Intel releases source code for NAS test app

Intel has discontinued development of, and support for, its NAS Performance Toolkit, an application that measures the performance of small network-attached storage systems. But the software will live on, as Chipzilla has released the source code for the tool.

The NASPT, as Intel liked to call it, was not the kind of tool one would use to do serious testing of an enterprise-scale NAS, as it lacked the ability to test storage devices under application loads.

The software was, however, handy for tests of NAS boxen intended for use in smaller-scale environments, thanks to its inclusion of tests for performance when used to open and close files from personal productivity applications. Simulating backup was another of the application’s capabilities, as was testing a NAS’ abilities to cope with video playback and recording.

Those features made the free software a useful item in system administrators’ tool bags when planning and implementing small business rigs in which a NAS device substituted for and/or supplemented a server. That’s a role for which small NAS systems, now often equipped with four or more drives and gigabit Ethernet, are very well-suited.

System builders using open source tools like FreeNAS or Openfiler also often used the tool to test their newly-built storage appliances, while hardware reviewers were among its other devotees.

It’s hard to know just when Intel decided to discontinue the software, as a document.lastModified query on many Intel.com pages often returns the day of the query as the answer. It’s also hard to understand why: the company last year renewed its push for Atom-powered NAS appliances aimed at small business.

Whatever the reason for NASPT‘s demise as a supported product, Intel has been good enough to release the source code for the tool as a Visual Studio 2008 project. The code can be found here.

Link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/30/intel_naspt_source_code_released/