After the first OpenStack Object Storage code release nicknamed “Austin”, the OpenStack open-source cloud project and community completed its first public Design Summit last week, attracting 250 people to the 4-day event.  The summit centered on the next two code releases of the cloud storage and services provider’s releases, as these were nicknamed “Bexar” and “Cactus”.

“Dozens of developers contributed to the first ‘ Austin ’ code release in October and proposed features for the next ‘Bexar’ release in Q1 2011, which were reviewed and mapped out at the Design Summit.”

OpenStack’s first public Design Summit featured a developer-led track and an interested users partner ecosystem-led, as it also featured “InstallFest”, where the 250 attendees were able to test and document installation on a live on-site environment provided by Dell.

In addition to “Bexar and “Cactus”, OpenStack is progressing in more ways than one. This among others includes a now 3 months old iPad app based on Rackspace’s Cloud Pro app for the device. The new app enables mobile access to clients’ accounts, though a limited one covering only some of the aspects.

Furthermore, as covered here, Microsoft recently partnered up with Cloud.com to make OpenStack open for Windows server. This collaboration is valuable for all the parties involved, as Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper- V is added to the existing list of 35 supporting software and hardware suppliers.