UPDATED 13:58 EDT / JUNE 02 2016

EMC’s newest open-source project attempts to unify storage access for containers

The growing vendor support for containers is a double-edged sword. On one hand, users have access to an ever-broadening selection of complementary technologies, but on the other, the trend is making it difficult to keep up with the pace of change. The issue is particularly noticeable on the storage side, where EMC Corp. now hopes to simplify matters somewhat with a new open-source project.

Announced at this week’s MesosCon event in Denver, libStorage aims to serve as a unified data access layer for container clusters. The framework provides a programming interface that lets Dockerized services centrally interact with any supported storage system, including potentially arrays from both EMC and its rivals as well as cloud-based alternatives like Amazon S3. According to the company, the only requisite is a lightweight client that needs to be embedded in the container runtime.

The functionality spares developers the hassle of manually integrating their containers and storage infrastructure, which can noticeably speed up application projects. Moreover, EMC says that libStorage makes maintenance easier as well from there onwards,  since services don’t have to be updated when the infrastructure on the other end of the API changes. As a result, the framework can be implemented with far fewer dependencies than the hard-coding approach requires, simplicity that stands to benefit vendors as well.

Making a storage system compatible with libStorage automatically provides interoperability with all most popular application platforms in the container ecosystem, including Cloud Foundry, Mesos and Kubernetes. Since it’s open-source, EMC’s tool will likely be extended to support even more management solutions and storage products in the future by vendors seeking to court container adopters. With enough support, it may very well become the de facto storage access layer for Docker.

Image via Wikimedia

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Support our open free content by sharing and engaging with our content and community.

Join theCUBE Alumni Trust Network

Where Technology Leaders Connect, Share Intelligence & Create Opportunities

11.4k+  
CUBE Alumni Network
C-level and Technical
Domain Experts
15M+ 
theCUBE
Viewers
Connect with 11,413+ industry leaders from our network of tech and business leaders forming a unique trusted network effect.

SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation serving innovative audiences and brands, bringing together cutting-edge technology, influential content, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — such as those established in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology, and AI. .

Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a powerful ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands, with a reach of 15+ million elite tech professionals. The company’s new, proprietary theCUBE AI Video cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.