Linux Networx Launches Clustered Storage

Linux cluster vendor Linux Networx has released the Xilo scalable clustered storage system.

Combining management software, scalable file systems and storage devices, Xilo pools capacity from multiple storage devices into a single resource to distribute large files.

“It’s most like a NAS , or call it a RAID if you like, except that the file system is able to scale across multiple devices to present a single global name space,” Jason Lowry, product manager for cluster management tools at Linux Networx, told internetnews.com.

Lowry added that Xilo is both hot swappable and mirrored, features that provide a high degree of redundancy and fault tolerance.

“Each Xilo storage device is fault resistant using triple redundant power supplies, multiple RAID controllers, hot swappable disks and high performance RAID for data protection,” he said. “Plus there is data striping across multiple devices for additional data protection.”

The clustering system makes use of Cluster File Systems’ Lustre, which provides a high degree of performance and some kernel additions, according to Lowry.

Lowry explained that Xilo’s clustering capability does not work like a distributed single system image cluster.

“It’s like clustering from the perspective that it’s not a large monolithic storage piece; it’s several smaller units that are able to provide scalable throughput and capacity,” Lowry said.

Don’t expect to see Xilo appear in a public Linux project anytime soon, though, as it’s not an open source project.

“Xilo’s management software is proprietary,” Lowry said. “Lustre has an open model where older releases are made publicly available. Current releases and patches are closed.”

Linux clusters have been gaining significant ground of late. In August, Linux Networx announced a U.S. Department of Defense contract for a pair of its 256 processor clusters that will be used for battlefield simulations. The company’s fastest cluster, located at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, actually ranked 11th on the last Top500 supercomputer listing coming in at 11.26 teraflops. Overall cluster of all breeds represented 56 percent of all entrants on the last Top500 supercomputer list.

Supercomputer vendor Cray recently unveiled XD1, its Linux cluster product, which includes up to 144 Opteron processors hitting a peak capacity of 691 gigaflops. XD1 pricing ranges from $100,000 to $2 million.

In separate Linux Networx news today, the company announced it received $40 million in Series B venture funding to further its international reach and product development efforts.

Article courtesy of InternetNews.com