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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / JULY 7, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 27
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Breaking News - Operating Systems
& Middleware:
PolyServe Unveils Symmetric
Cluster File System On Linux
PolyServe Inc., a leading provider of shared data clustering software for
Linux-based data centers, announced availability of the first symmetric
cluster file system on Linux with integrated multi-path I/O capabilities. The
file system, a cornerstone in a major new release of the company's flagship
Matrix Server software product, further paves the way for data center managers
to deploy Linux-based server clusters in mission-critical environments.
Today's information technology (IT) customers require seamless, low-cost
scalability to expand their server and storage infrastructure as data demands
grow. And when considering clusters of Linux servers for mission-critical
applications, data center managers require a data infrastructure that is both
recoverable and highly available. PolyServe Matrix Server is the first product
to fully deliver on these challenging requirements. The product's true
symmetric design, where all servers in a cluster are peers, coupled with its
multi-path I/O functionality guarantees there will be no server bottlenecks or
single points of failure clusterwide.
"Organizations are increasingly looking for ways to improve the performance
and scalability of their application systems, lower their hardware and
software acquisition costs and still keep their administrative and operational
costs in line," said Dan Kusnetzky, vice president of System Software Research
for IDC. "One of the approaches IT executives select is to deploy multi-system
configurations based upon virtual storage software and virtual processing
software. When combined, the worldwide revenue in these two software markets
approached $1.3 billion. IDC recognizes PolyServe as an important proponent of
this virtual environment software."
PolyServe Matrix Server Satisfies Grueling Demands
Matrix Server enables multiple low-cost, Linux-based servers to function as
a
single, easy-to-use, highly available system. The product comprises a true
symmetric cluster file system (CFS) that enables scalable data sharing, high
availability services that increase system uptime, and cluster and storage
management capabilities for managing servers and storage as one. Matrix Server
customers gain an unparalleled level of scalability, availability and
manageability in support of database, file serving, e-mail, and Web and media
serving applications.
"PolyServe Matrix Server is unmatched in its ability to support the most
demanding mission-critical workloads with the type of recoverability and high
availability that our customers demand," said Steve Norall, general manager of
Linux Solutions for PolyServe. "We have seen broad adoption of Matrix Server
in some of the most grueling circumstances imaginable."
Available with the new release of Matrix Server, PolyServe's symmetric CFS,
unlike master server-based CFS approaches, treats all servers in a cluster as
peers. The tasks that a cluster must perform are distributed uniformly across
all servers in the cluster, eliminating the limitations on performance,
scalability and availability inherent in a master server architecture.
Matrix Server's new multi-path I/O functionality means a switch, storage
cable, or a host bus adapter (HBA) in a storage area network (SAN) can fail
and the cluster will continue to function. Customers can now build a
completely redundant SAN fabric that survives multiple server, storage and
switch failures without disruption.
Raising the Performance Bar
PolyServe Matrix Server raises the bar in terms of performance and
scalability
for mixed workloads composed of read and write, and metadata operations. The
latest release of Matrix Server supports clusters of up to 16 server nodes and
has been demonstrated to scale aggregate cluster performance at a near linear
rate for demanding workloads encountered in commercial enterprises.
"We're serious when we talk about performance and scalability," said
Michael
Callahan, chief technology officer of PolyServe. "Other clustering vendors may
claim they support higher node counts, but the true test is whether they can
support those deployments running the most data-intensive, mission-critical
workloads. We can."
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