GPFS is a shared disk cluster file system for Linux or IBM’s AIX Unix operating system that currently supports IBM’s eServer Cluster 1600 and eServer Cluster 1350 products as well as clusters of its pSeries, OpenPower, xSeries, and BladeCenter servers.
The technology is now being opened up to third parties in the hope that it will also be used to manage data pools in mixed vendor supercomputer environments, with Bluffdale, Utah-based Linux Networx the first to take IBM up on the offer.
The Linux supercomputing specialist has entered into an OEM agreement with IBM and plans to integrate GPFS in its new LS Series line, which was unveiled in November and is scheduled to be generally available in the first quarter of 2006. The company will also make the file system available with its Advanced Technology Clusters offerings.
IBM said it will continue its own GPFS development to try to keep ahead of the competition but is opening up access to the file system technology to encourage its support on all hardware platforms.
As part of that move the company is offering access to the GPFS source code to eligible parties to enable them to port the technology to other platforms and share their work with other licensees.
