To encourage the broadest possible support for its forthcoming "Storage Tank" technology, IBM will release an open-source version of the software needed to let servers tap into the next-generation storage system. Big Blue is working with an undisclosed open-source group on the software and will release the code when the product is generally available in 2003, said David Pease, manager of storage software at IBM's Almaden Research Center and leader of the 5-year-old Storage Tank project. In addition, IBM plans to publish the communication method fundamental to the next-generation storage project.
The collaborative approach is the most recent example of IBM trying to capitalize on the momentum of the open-source movement. The company also backs the Linux operating system, the Globus Toolkit for supercomputing networks, and several other projects of the collaborative programming movement. IBM has tapped into the open-source community as a way to speed the development and adoption of technologies it favors and to give itself more cachet with in-the-know programmers. The company devotes many of its own resources to open-source projects, most notably its Linux Technology Center.
Storage Tank--fleetingly code-named Golden Retriever--is a technology designed to get more use out of existing storage systems and make them easier to manage. With Storage Tank, existing systems can be linked, so vaster amounts of data can be stored.
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News source: c|net
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