Gluster, a provider of scale-out, open source storage solutions, has introduced the Gluster Connector for OpenStack, which provides scalable and highly-available VM storage functionality for OpenStack.
GlusterFS 3.3, the latest version of Gluster's file system, now available in beta, provides a system for data storage that enables users to access the same data as an object and as a file, simplifying management and controlling storage costs. Available on-premise, for virtual machines, and in public and private cloud environments, Gluster's software-only storage technology delivers unified file and object data storage.
"The Gluster Connector for OpenStack enhances the storage options that are available for OpenStack," John Kreisa, vice president of marketing at Gluster, tells 5 Minute Briefing. "OpenStack is an open source cloud management framework. It allows you to provision and run virtual machines in a private cloud and it has some existing storage options in it which are primarily focused on object storage."
By enabling users of the OpenStack framework to now use GlusterFS underneath that as the primary storage model, instead of using just an object storage model, OpenStack users can have both file and object in one common storage model, explains Kreisa. With GlusterFS 3.3, OpenStack users will be able to add scale-out integrated file and object storage to any deployment. The two capabilities together enable OpenStack users to centralize on one storage solution for VMs, object and file data, simplifying their storage environment. "GlusterFS is also a proven petabyte-scale storage system," notes Kreisa, "so it is a highly scalable storage system."
The Gluster Connector for OpenStack connects GlusterFS to the OpenStack Compute block storage controller, enabling users to scale-out the number of VMs deployed within their cloud environment and supports the virtual motion of the VMs within the OpenStack compute environment. The connector enables users to use GlusterFS as their file system within OpenStack and will be available under the Apache 2 open source license.
For more information, visit the Gluster Storage Connector for OpenStack resource page.
Download the GlusterFS 3.3 beta at http://bit.ly/33beta.