A decade ago, the server market looked very different than it does today. It was a market based on proprietary, closed technology, with limited opportunity for innovation. Then, the landscape changed, and server technology opened up around us.
Today, a similar sweeping change is happening in the storage marketplace, but this time, Sun is leading the way. Open Storage represents an important transition from proprietary, closed storage technology to open-source software, industry-standard hardware and innovative solutions.
Since Sun first introduced the concept of open storage one year ago, the OpenSolaris storage community has grown significantly with Sun- and non-Sun contributions, and OpenSolaris has become the industry’s best storage operating system. Many customers and original equipment manufacturers have already created storage infrastructure from general-purpose Sun servers and OpenSolaris with ZFS at a fraction of the cost of proprietary alternatives — without sacrificing any data integrity.
Because of the exciting hardware and software technology that’s emerged from years of engineering development at Sun, as well as the contributions of the OpenSolaris community, we are now able to offer the world’s first Open Storage platform. This is made possible through the combination of innovative storage features like ZFS in OpenSolaris, our industry-leading storage servers, and a forthcoming set of disk storage products based on breakthrough hardware technology. These advances in Sun’s core technologies create entire new revenue opportunities for Sun, enabling conversations with current and potential customers that were never before possible.
The benefits of Sun’s Open Storage approach to customers, developers, and partners are dramatic.
Because customers can now build storage infrastructure by combining OpenSolaris with general-purpose servers and simple disk enclosures, they are set free from the last bastion of proprietary technology in the data center. Sun’s Open Storage enables customers to freely mix and match data center components to produce storage systems which can be re-purposed by simply adding new software. With this approach, customers can accelerate the pace of their businesses and save up to 90% on their storage costs over closed, proprietary storage.
Developers can now deliver network storage services more quickly, on multiple platforms, with the support of a passionate open source storage community. And, consistent with Sun’s approach to all our products, we’re making our Open Storage technologies widely available, for the advancement of everyone in the industry.
Sun’s extensive expertise across the entire technology stack – microprocessor, server, storage, software, and networking – positions us to lead in this exciting new segment of the storage market. We have now come full circle since releasing NFS two decades ago – expanding the platform to not just network-attached storage, but to various other kinds of storage and countless new kinds of applications.
Once you feel you know what Open Storage is all about, test yourself by taking the Open Storage Challenge. The first 700 people to take the quiz will receive a “Set Your Storage Free” tie-dye t-shirt.
For More Information:
OpenSolaris Storage Community: http://opensolaris.org/os/storage
Open Storage Wiki: http://wikihome.sfbay.sun.com/Systems/Wiki.jsp?page=OpenStorage
Open Storage Expert Community Wiki: http://wikihome.sfbay.sun.com/openstorage/Wiki.jsp?page=Main
Open Storage Selling Resources: http://mysales.central.sun.com/public/storage/openstorage.html
Open Storage Sun.com website: http://www.sun.com/openstorage
Join the Open Storage Facebook community at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12774638036
Sun Shines on KTH 