Gluster, the software-only open source storage solution, has released its first major update for OpenStack since joining the initiative a few months back.  It’s the latest in a string of updates Gluster has had, rounding out the summer with a big bang.  To OpenStack’s benefit, Gluster will be offering its Connector capabilities, providing a highly scalable and available VM storage functionality for OpenStack’s open source cloud platform.

The Gluster Connector for OpenStack involves a few things, all of which improve flexibility for file management and visibility in the cloud.  It connects GlusterFS to the OpenStack hypervisor, enabling users to scale-out the number of virtual machines deployed within their cloud environment.  From there, the Gluster Connector supports the virtual motion of VMs within the OpenStack compute environment, meaning files no longer have to be stored locally in order to be accessed through the OpenStack platform.  It really opens up file-sharing for this cloud environment, and delivers better access to application data for OpenStack users.

“In just a year OpenStack has received great traction and is experiencing great success. By expanding the storage options for OpenStack deployments we are enabling cloud deployments to scale up to new levels and seamlessly deploy object storage and VM virtual motion,” said AB Periasamy, co-founder and CTO of Gluster. “OpenStack users now have access to industry leading scale-out storage which can be deployed in a wide range of environments. We’ve architected the Gluster Connector for OpenStack to simplify storage management and to provide the OpenStack community with a highly-scalable storage alternative.”

It was only last week the beta version of GlusterFS 3.3 was released, and now it’s providing integrated file and object storage for OpenStack deployments.  Integrating objects and file storage simplifies the management and access to data, delivering large scalability, high-availability and replication to the end user.  With this, OpenStack users can now augment their Swift-based object storage to add its capabilities to any deployment.  Designed to handle demanding workloads, Gluster’s latest contribution to OpenStack aims to accelerate the process of prepping application development for cloud environments.

Centralizing all of these functions under a single solution was a priority for Gluster with this release.  This is in an effort to truly simplify the process of accessing data and deploying virtual machines, streamlining OpenStack efforts specific to application development and access.  This is pretty specific to OpenStack for now, and merely enhances the growth pattern this open source platform is taking.

There’s a number of initiatives building around open source cloud development, with large corporations launching their own commercialized versions of Apache Hadoop and OpenStack.  Dell is the latest to roll out services around OpenStack’s most recent version, Cactus, joining the ranks of those looking to implement this innovative cloud environment.  Across the industry, there’s still a lot of exploration going on, as different open source cloud platforms have different components, and claim different partner contributions.  But Gluster is especially excited about OpenStack’s advancement, as well as its own place in the booming cloud industry.

In the past few months Gluster has raised funding, gained Hortonworks’ COO as a new board member, grown its partner base and unveiled a series of new products.  It’s no wonder Gluster’s VP of marketing John Kreisa is so excited about the company’s current position, noting that the “intersection of open source, cloud and storage is a really great place to be because of all the activity.  Companies are collecting data faster than ever, looking to leverage cloud infrastructures and looking for a place to store it.  And that place is in the cloud.”