At EMC World, the company announced Project CoprHD (copperhead), an open source version of the EMC ViPR Controller storage automation software. Project CoprHD is available as a free download.

Randy Bias, EMC ETD’s VP of Technology, told theCUBE during EMC World 2015 that the company embraced the idea of open source software. “There was no resistance at the leadership level and little resistance at the engineer level,” he said. “Most of the resistance was in the middle tier, but after we went through the educational process, everyone lined up behind it.”

Defining hyperconverged

Project CoprHD and the EMC ViPR Controller operate under a dual license model. The ViPR Controller comes with a standard enterprise license, while Project CoprHD contains an open source license. “The dual license allowed us to have the same sales motion, but keep project CoprHD open,” Bias said.

Bias and theCUBE cohosts Stu Miniman and Dave Vellante engaged in animated discussions on hyperconverged systems. Bias has strong opinions against the way the industry defines hyperconverged.

“The [common] definition is that it’s compute- and storage-combined,” Bias said. “That means my laptop is hyperconverged. It makes the term useless. Defining hyperconverged as a more software-centric architecture versus converged infrastructure, that makes sense. In that case, it tells you clearly how it’s different from converged infrastructure. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the compute and storage need to be together.”

Watch the full interview below to hear more about hyperconverged and find out Bias’s take on the management of silos and other tech issues. Also, be sure to check out more wall-to-wall EMC World coverage from theCUBE and SiliconANGLE.