Dell Innovation to Drive Customer Success in Open Source Cloud and Big Data Environments

Dell Innovation to Drive Customer Success in Open Source Cloud and Big Data Environments

• Dell extends OpenStack commitment with Grizzly solution support, Cloud Services and more
• Dell adds Real Time Query support to Cloudera-Hadoop Solution
• Key contributions and partners extend Dell-led open source projects Crowbar and Dasein
• Project Sputnik Profile tool, Cloud Launcher are available; free trial use of Joyent Public Cloud

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Building on its portfolio of open, flexible solutions, Dell today announced the expansion of key open source software and cloud initiatives including packaged commercial offerings around the OpenStack open source cloud project, the Hadoop open source big data project, and the Dell-led Crowbar and Dasein open source projects and communities, and new Cloud Transformation Services.

OpenStack Cloud Solutions

To better enable customers to implement OpenStack in IT environments, the Dell OpenStack-Powered Cloud Solution is now available with new options. Specifically, the latest update of the Dell OpenStack-Powered Cloud Solution offers OpenStack Grizzly support, support for Dell Multi-Cloud Manager (formerly Enstratius), and extended reference architecture support, including the Dell PowerEdge C8000 shared infrastructure server solution, high density drives, and 10Gb Ethernet connectivity.

Additionally, Dell now offers Dell Cloud Transformation Services. The new consulting services provide expert assistance with assessing, building, operating and running cloud environments, and enable and accelerate enterprise OpenStack adoption. Dell's expertise spans the hybrid cloud spectrum, with service options ranging from cloud readiness assessment, infrastructure design and operations, and application design and modernization. As a result, Dell customers can achieve increased efficiency and greater realization of cloud computing's business benefits.

Hadoop Big Data Solutions

To streamline Hadoop deployments, the Dell Cloudera Hadoop Solution now supports the newest version of Cloudera Enterprise. Updates allow customers to perform real-time SQL interactive queries and Hadoop-based batch processing, simplifying the process of querying data in Hadoop environments.

To provide choice in Hadoop solutions for the enterprise, Dell has tested and certified the Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop on Dell PowerEdge servers. Dell Solution Centers validated the reference architecture and developed a technical whitepaper that simplifies the deployment of Intel Distribution on the Dell platform.From DellSolution Centers worldwide, Dell helps customers architect solutions and run proof of concepts at Dell to enhance overall solution value and experience.

These updates come on the heels of two recent software enhancements also designed to expand Dell's support of customers' Hadoop investments. The newest SharePlex release enables customers to replicate Oracle data directly to Hadoop, while Kitenga Analytics provides added functionality to help organizations better understand and analyze data stored in Hadoop.

Dell-Led Open Source Projects

The latest release of the Crowbar operations platform enables users to further streamline configuration, deployment and ongoing management of their cloud and big data environments. Specifically, Dell has released RAID and BIOS configuration capabilities to the Crowbar open source community, completing Dell's open source contribution of Crowbar as a complete operational platform for continued community development.

The Dell-led Crowbar open source project continues to evolve with contributions from individual community members as well as key technology players, such as SUSE. SUSE has integrated Crowbar functionality as part of SUSE Cloud to make OpenStack-based private cloud deployments seamless. SUSE Cloud 2.0 is currently in beta and will be generally available in the fall. These contributions enable customers of Dell and SUSE to benefit from broader adaptability and increase the velocity of development in cloud environments.

Also available now are the Project Sputnik Cloud Launcher and profile tool, and coming soon, a free trial on the Joyent high-performance public cloud for those who purchase the Dell XPS 13 developer edition laptop. Project Sputnik, a client-to-cloud platform for developers, is made up of three components: the cloud launcher, profile tool, and the Ubuntu-based XPS 13 developer edition. The profile tool is designed to provide access to a library of community-created profiles, such as Ruby and JavaScript on GitHub, and to configure and quickly set up development environments and tool chains. The cloud launcher creates a seamless link from the client to the cloud, to facilitate ongoing development of application environments.

Dell also confirmed its commitment to further develop and support the Dasein open source project, as pioneered by recently acquired Enstratius. Dell continues to contribute heavily to Dasein, keeping it relevant to various cloud platforms and offerings within the industry, including the latest OpenStack Grizzly release and the Dell Multi-Cloud Manager, to:

• Simplify sophisticated enterprise management and reporting across more than 20 cloud environments,
• Allow programmers to build applications with a "write once, run against any cloud" philosophy using an open source cloud abstraction library, and
• Enable cloud, commercial software and enterprise IT organizations to use the Dasein library to develop cloud operations and monitoring tools in a cloud-agnostic way that promotes flexibility and limits vendor lock-in.

Supporting Quotes

"Crowbar is just one of the ways of Dell demonstrates our commitment to open source, and the efforts that Intel and SUSE have made with their contributions to the Crowbar project is a testament to the progress the community has made," said Joseph George, director of Cloud and Big Data Solutions, Dell. "This level of collaboration is exactly the model that Dell has sought to foster with the Crowbar project - it is great to help this community grow and thrive."

"Dasein is the backbone of Dell Multi-Cloud Manager, and is invaluable to users ranging from commercial software vendors to individual developers," said George Reese, executive director of Cloud Computing, Dell. "Dell appreciates the unique approach Dasein takes in abstracting infrastructure services, and is making a significant investment in growing both its capabilities and its community to build more flexible, cloud-agnostic solutions."

"Datacenters everywhere are being transformed by the rapid diffusion of innovations through open source, especially in Apache Hadoop and OpenStack," said Girish Juneja, general manager of Big Data Software and CTO of the Datacenter Software Division at Intel. "Our collaboration with Dell on the reference configuration for the Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop on Dell PowerEdge servers streamlines the customer experience. And to simplify the deployment of trusted compute pools solution in OpenStack, we collaborated with Dell to enable Intel TXT in Crowbar."

"Simplification of cloud deployment is critical to our customers, and our collaboration with Dell on the Crowbar installation framework was vital in delivering that simplification," said Gerald Pfeifer, director of product management for SUSE. "Crowbar is a key element of our jointly engineered enterprise offering, the Dell SUSE Cloud Solution, Powered by OpenStack. Working together, Dell and SUSE are accelerating enterprise OpenStack adoption with high-quality, end-to-end private cloud solutions and services."

"As one of the first strategic cloud infrastructure partners selected by Dell, we continue to work closely together to offer our combined customer base high-performance cloud infrastructure solutions," said Henry Wasik, President and CEO, Joyent. "With Project Sputnik, Dell, Canonical and Joyent have joined forces to create a powerful platform for developers who want to drive the maximum value and performance that cloud computing can offer."

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NAS: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit www.dell.com.

Dell and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

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