NetApp enhancements simplify and accelerate deployment of OpenStack cloud services

HONG KONG, CHINA : "As an active contributor to the OpenStack Community, NetApp leads in its commitment to open source solutions and customer choice in the cloud:" said Jeff O'Neal, senior director, Cloud Solutions Group, NetApp. "Our latest integrations and contributions help speed and simplify the deployment of differentiated cloud services providing cloud customers the resources they need. We will continue to provide tools to expand the capabilities of public, private, and hybrid clouds built with OpenStack."

Reaffirming its commitment to help accelerate the deployment of cloud services, NetApp today announced new contributions to OpenStack, and deeper integration with its storage and data management systems. NetApp's latest contributions include new solutions for OpenStack Havana, incubation of a new core service for OpenStack Icehouse, and an expansion of support for partners and customers, including options that provide lower cost, faster innovation, no vendor lock-in and flexibility.

NetApp continues to work closely with key partners to test and document solutions including four solutions certified with Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform and newly certified solutions with Rackspace Private Cloud Software. In addition, NetApp and Cisco have completed initial testing with FlexPod Datacenter and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform to provide FlexPod customers with implementation and deployment guidance in the form of a reference architecture.

OpenStack solutions are powerful and reach their full potential when implemented on robust, intelligent storage solutions. Cloud services with strongly differentiated storage SLAs are necessary to address the full gamut of modern application deployment requirements. NetApp provides an intelligent storage infrastructure that speeds service deployment, scales easily and reacts with agility to business changes. NetApp's direct contributions to OpenStack provide closely integrated access to storage efficiency, data protection, availability, scalability, and quality of services features designed to accelerate and simplify delivery of differentiated cloud services.

New OpenStack solutions help enterprise customers deploy robust, reliable and rapidly scalable cloud environments.

OpenStack Havana enhancements

NetApp's OpenStack Block Storage (aka Cinder) integrations in Havana enable feature-rich block storage services that support both cloud-native and traditional enterprise applications. NetApp's Havana integrations with OpenStack Image and Compute enable dramatically accelerated instance creation and storage capacity efficiencies when creating multiple like instances. NetApp's Cinder drivers provide OpenStack access to advanced storage features such as QoS, efficiency, and data protection capabilities, enabling the creation of robust SLAs for mission critical workloads.

Certifications / Partnering

NetApp is committed to the OpenStack community and is actively testing and certifying solutions with our partners and the OpenStack Foundation to accelerate robust production deployments of OpenStack. Initial proof-of-concept testing of a FlexPod Datacenter with Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform is now complete and available as a reference architecture preview. NetApp has also certified four solutions with Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform including direct driver solutions for industry-leading clustered Data ONTAP. NetApp and Rackspace have certified NetApp solutions for Rackspace Private Cloud Software.

NetApp solutions for OpenStack Object Storage deployment

The deployment of OpenStack Object Storage (aka Swift) can be substantially enhanced when deployed on NetApp's E-series unique DDP technology. NetApp has provided a reference architecture in the latest version of its OpenStack Deployment & Operations Guide that significantly improves efficiency and expands upon achievable scale by reducing the number of copies of data needed.

File Share Service proposed for OpenStack Icehouse

NetApp continues to demonstrate leadership within the OpenStack community through the introduction of a new project code-named "Manila." This newly incubated project delivers a file share service intended for inclusion in OpenStack core at the time of Icehouse release. The proposed core service, developed under the project name Manila, adds file storage services to the existing block and object services, addressing a critical exception to OpenStack's storage services coverage and enabling a new category of on-demand file storage based IaaS.

NetApp's ongoing commitment to OpenStack

As organizations continue to gravitate toward the benefit of a cloud delivery model, NetApp remains committed to providing extensive choice among an ecosystem of cloud-based technologies, platforms, and service providers. NetApp's commitment to open source cloud initiatives such as OpenStack arms organizations and service providers with the power of the world's number one branded storage operating system*, Data ONTAP, enabling enterprise-class storage and data management while offering innovative platforms upon which to build efficient and flexible cloud environments.