Hewlett Packard Enterprise is following up the biggest update to its 3PAR portfolio since becoming an independent company with the introduction of Docker support in its flagship StoreServ arrays and the StoreVirtual management software for server-attached drives. The integration will enable customers to relegate important data from their deployments to its equipment for permanent storage using volume management software courtesy of ClusterHQ Inc., which is making the most out of the growing vendor interest in containers.

The startup announced partnerships with three other major array suppliers at DockerCon this week including Dell Inc. and EMC Corp., which are set to merge next year to form the largest privately-held maker of data center hardware in existence. ClusterHQ now boasts the support of no fewer than 13 storage vendors, a sizable crowd from which HPE hopes to stand out by extending Docker integration to the other parts of its extensive portfolio. That includes first and foremost its management software.

Administrators can now spin up new containers through the same console they use to provision their servers and 3PAR arrays, hook up those instances to its Sitescope monitoring service in order to track the deployment and deploy new workloads using HPE Codar. The continuous integration tool provides a visual interface for rolling out applications that promises to reduce the amount of time from the moment a piece of code is ready to go live and its release to production.

One of the main draws of Codar is the fact that its workflow builder is compatible with a variety of different platforms including a number of public clouds like AWS. The selection recently became somewhat smaller after HPE announced plans to shut down its homegrown infrastructure-as-a-service platform, but the company is still very much committed to the on-premise component of its hybrid platform, which is also receiving Docker support as part of today’s update. The integration exploits the native support for the container engine in OpenStack and Cloud Foundry, the two main components of the offering.

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