Wasabi Systems

About Wasabi Systems

Wasabi Systems was a software company that specialized in providing commercial products and services based on the NetBSD operating system. The firm established itself as a key provider of embedded BSD solutions, focusing on server appliances, embedded systems, and storage markets. Wasabi Systems developed the "Wasabi Certified BSD" product, which was a tested, certified, and commercially supported version of NetBSD, offering enterprise features and extensions. This product was aimed at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who required the robust networking and technical features of a BSD-based OS without the restrictive licensing of alternatives like the GPL.

The company was deeply involved in the NetBSD community, contributing significantly to the open-source project. One of its notable achievements was porting NetBSD to new processor architectures, including a preliminary port to AMD's 64-bit x86-64 architecture in 2001 and a port to the 64-bit SH-5 processor from SuperH. The CEO of Wasabi Systems in 2001 was Perry E. Metzger. Its business model revolved around selling Board Support Packages for its certified OS, which included the operating system, hardware-specific support, development tools, source code, and professional support.

In the storage sector, Wasabi Systems offered the "Wasabi Storage Builder" software suite. This product line allowed system builders to convert commodity server hardware into network-attached storage (NAS) appliances or iSCSI IP-SAN arrays using its NetBSD-based operating system. By 2006, the software included an iSCSI initiator, enabling the creation of NAS gateways that could connect to other storage arrays over an IP network. The software was designed to be loaded from a disk-on-module device, simplifying the configuration process for turning a standard server into a dedicated storage appliance.