DataDirect Networks Announces Open Source HPC Funding Initiative

DataDirect Networks (DDN), an information storage company, announced a series of HPC funding initiatives around the Lustre open source file system. The funding initiatives are aimed at offering scientists and researchers better and more cost-effective tools to speed up the scientific innovation, according to company officials.

“We have always been firm believers in the critical importance of open source as an accelerator of research and innovation for the HPC community, and have invested tens of millions of dollars in support of that thesis,” said Alex Bouzari, CEO of DDN, in a statement.

“In response to requests from the HPC community, we are now stepping up our support and investment in the Lustre open source file system, thereby ensuring that Lustre remains the file system of choice for research facilities and corporations for the next decade,” Bouzari added.

The announcement comes after an uncertainty period for HPC customers following Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems (News - Alert). Oracle was not clear about whether they want to extend the future of the Lustre file system. Oracle also has put an end to Sun's X45x0 storage platform, which was sold in conjunction with the Lustre file system.

With DDN's investments, the Lustre file system is poised to remain a stable and leading open file storage product for the HPC community. DDN's investment will be important to universities, corporations, research centers and government labs, according to company officials.

DDN has also launched a promotional offer to Lustre users with existing Sun and Oracle (News - Alert) storage systems and support contracts. From now until June 30, 2011, Sun and Oracle customers will be provided one additional free year of Lustre support as part of any purchase of a 2-year DDN Lustre file system support contract.