December 6, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Linux distributor Red Hat (redhat.com) and storage solution provider NetApp (netapp.com) announced on Monday that they have strengthened their partnership, committing to support the iSCSI software initiator in the upcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update 4 as well as future Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions based on the new 2.6 Linux kernel.
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Under the expanded partnership between the two companies, the Red Hat Global File System and Cluster Suite will also be supported by NetApp storage systems. Red Hat currently uses NetApp storage systems for several of its internal applications, including Red Hat Network and Oracle.
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“NetApp with Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a proven combination capable of supporting robust and open production application platforms,” said Paul Cormier, executive vice president of engineering at Red Hat. “The Red Hat and NetApp engineering organizations have collaborated to develop enterprise-level Linux grid environments using an iSCSI-based GFS product suite. With current and future support of iSCSI in our upcoming Linux releases, customers will benefit from the most advanced GFS technologies complemented by the performance and cost leadership advantages of a NetApp SAN storage solution – be it iSCSI or Fiber Channel SAN. These solutions create greater choice for customers building open source architectures.”
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The companies said the expanded partnership will enable customers to experience maximum flexibility, enhanced performance, and increased cost savings with open, industry-standard IP-based SAN environments.
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“NetApp IP SAN expertise makes us the natural fit as a reference platform for Red Hat iSCSI development efforts,” says Patrick Rogers, vice president of marketing at Network Appliance. “NetApp has always been a proponent of cost-effective and scalable storage environments based on open file systems and open networking technologies, including GFS and iSCSI.”
