IBM introduces IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack

ATLANTA, USA: IBM is expanding its support of open technologies by providing advanced OpenStack integration and cloud virtualization and management capabilities across IBM's entire server portfolio with IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack.

According to the published company release, IBM cloud manager with OpenStack provides support for the latest operating system release, Icehouse, and full access to the complete core OpenStack API set to help clients ensure application portability and avoid vendor lock-in.

It also extends cloud management support to System z, in addition to Power Systems, PureFlex/Flex Systems, System x, or any other x86 environment. The new solution also provides support for IBM z/VM on System z, and PowerVC for PowerVM on Power Systems designed to add more scalability and security to Linux environments.

IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack offers a modular, flexible design that enables innovation, vendor interoperability, and fast time-to-value. It is an easy-to-deploy, simple-to-use cloud management offering that can deliver  private cloud and Service Provider solutions with features like security, automation, usage tracking metering, and multi-architecture management.

IBM also announced IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack is available as a bundled offering with the new IBM Power Systems servers. Called the IBM Power Systems Solution Edition for Scale Out Cloud, the offering combines a one or two socket system running Linux built on IBM's latest POWER8 processor technology with new PowerKVM hypervisor, and OpenStack cloud management tools and APIs.

The combination allows open infrastructures to scale out intelligently, with less hardware, power and cooling requirements, and better economics leveraging over twice the bandwidth from previous generations.

IBM also announced it is beta testing a dynamic, hybrid cloud solution on the IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack platform. Workloads requiring additional infrastructure resources can expand from an on-premise cloud to remote infrastructure on SoftLayer to meet resource demands. This can allow IBM clients and Business Partners to perform self-service provisioning of IT services across multiple environments with an easy-to-use interface.