Not to spam, but hopefully this information is useful for some HN'ers. Our startup, http://velobit.com, provides caching as well.
Alas, it is not open source, but it does have some differentiators over bcache/dm-cache. The primary pro's of those two are that they are FOSS.
Major downsides are they they are kernel patches. DM-Cache is a little more difficult as well, in the sense that it is in the DM layer, so you're creating a new device when you apply caching. Contrast with our startup, where we insert ourselves directly into the existing devices (so no need to modify fstab, etc..). Of course, I like to think we have other major differentiators as well, but I won't go on and on about them here..
That being said, this caching (especially SSD-as-caching) space is huge right now, even though it doesn't get much attention in the hot-tech startup world.
I realize that the post is making an analogy, but it's based on fact. I worked in a car shop for a few months, and we charged a premium for "exotic" cars - something like 2x the cost of normal service. The reason was entirely on the insurance costs for handling those customers' vehicles.
This may be a silly question, but I don't understand why the bandwidth is so low. I understand the latency will be high, since you're limited by the speed of light; but wouldn't you be able to get more bandwidth just by increasing the spectrum of light used, as well as the baud of the transmitter/receiver?
This may actually be much easier in a rural area, as opposed to urban/suburban.
Rural landowners have large tracts of land, and the land is in fewer hands. You need less individuals to buy-in, since a single buy-in on the project can mean miles of line.
You don't need a jackhammer to dig up sidewalks and streets, and you (presumably) don't need as many (if any) permits; you don't need to take as much care not to disrupt existing utilities, and you don't need to worry so much about noise and other regulations.
Alas, it is not open source, but it does have some differentiators over bcache/dm-cache. The primary pro's of those two are that they are FOSS.
Major downsides are they they are kernel patches. DM-Cache is a little more difficult as well, in the sense that it is in the DM layer, so you're creating a new device when you apply caching. Contrast with our startup, where we insert ourselves directly into the existing devices (so no need to modify fstab, etc..). Of course, I like to think we have other major differentiators as well, but I won't go on and on about them here..
That being said, this caching (especially SSD-as-caching) space is huge right now, even though it doesn't get much attention in the hot-tech startup world.