Get a free cloud storage cluster

No kidding. Free commercial-grade storage clustering software for up to 4 terabytes. If you're thinking about building a private cloud, this might be a place to start.

Caringo Inc. in Austin has made available this week a download of its CAStor 3.0 storage cluster tool. The free, full-fledged version includes every bell and whistle you'd get with the paid version.

For example, CAStor 3.0 has an intelligent content router that reads metadata so you can apply, say, retention policies to the files stored in the cluster, or use the content router to move files to and from end users' systems at the end of business each day.

In addition to the free support of up to 4TB, Caringo is also offering a free tool for Windows called the Cloud Folder. It lets PC users treat the folder as a standard Windows file folder. According to CEO Mark Goros, anything you can do with a Windows folder you can do with a cloud folder. The difference is that everything in your Cloud Folder gets pushed into the CAStor cluster automatically.

Naturally, end users still see their files in the Cloud Folder and can click on them, open the application and the data gets pulled down from the cluster. As such, your corporate data gets protected and, adds Goros, "It doesn't change the behavior of the user at all."

Caringo would love for you to get beyond that 4TB limit and upgrade to become a paying customer. (Prices list at $1,500 per TB for CAStor 3.0.) However, small businesses seeking data protection or application developers looking for clustered storage may never need to move beyond that limit.