STORAGE
Panasas Extends High-Performance Parallel Storage to Windows HPC Customers
Panasas announced that it is working to provide the benefits of Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage Clusters to the Microsoft Windows Cluster Compute Server (CCS) platform. Panasas will port its DirectFLOW protocol and client software to the Microsoft Windows CCS platform, enabling users in the energy, manufacturing, financial services, life sciences, government and academic markets to increase flexibility and productivity by deploying mixed Linux and Windows clusters with common high performance storage. 
Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage Clusters have been deployed in Microsoft environments using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol for many years. The Panasas DirectFLOW protocol, used by the award-winning Panasas PanFS parallel file system, enables full parallel data transfers for larger scale simulation and modeling applications commonly found in HPC applications and brings new levels of performance, scalability, manageability and productivity to the Windows HPC community. "Our larger customers demand a production-ready, high-end parallel storage solution that can consolidate all their data into a single pool of shared storage," said Shawn Hansen, director of HPC product marketing at Microsoft. "The combination of Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage Clusters and the Microsoft Windows CCS environment will provide HPC users a proven solution with new flexibility to deploy mixed Linux and Windows clusters with common high performance storage." Windows CCS provides customers with a simplified deployment and management experience, offers easy integration with existing Windows infrastructures, and enables customers to leverage their existing development skills using Microsoft Visual Studio®. Microsoft Windows CCS brings together the power of commodity x64 (64-bit x86) computers, the ease of use and security of Active Directory directory, and the Windows operating system to provide a security-enhanced and affordable HPC solution. "Panasas is pleased to provide native support for our Parallel Storage Clusters on Windows CCS," said Len Rosenthal, chief marketing officer at Panasas. "Microsoft has become a significant player in the HPC community and as the number of larger-scale CCS deployments has increased, particularly in financial and CAE applications, so has the demand for a scalable, production-proven, high-performance parallel storage solution that is optimized for Microsoft CCS. Ease of use and reliability advantages of Panasas storage are key requirements that all Microsoft customers typically expect." Panasas ActiveStor parallel storage includes the patented DirectFLOW protocol, a direct access path between cluster nodes and their storage, eliminating delays inherent in traditional SAN and NAS architectures. This approach improves IT productivity and further reduces the overall cost of ownership. Panasas storage is rack mounted, delivering up to 15 terabytes (TB) of RAID-protected storage capacity per 4U shelf. Up to 150 TB is supported in a single-rack system that can be installed in as little as 15 minutes. Panasas currently intends to release a native version of the DirectFLOW software for Microsoft Windows CCS operating systems in late 2008.
Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage Clusters have been deployed in Microsoft environments using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol for many years. The Panasas DirectFLOW protocol, used by the award-winning Panasas PanFS parallel file system, enables full parallel data transfers for larger scale simulation and modeling applications commonly found in HPC applications and brings new levels of performance, scalability, manageability and productivity to the Windows HPC community. "Our larger customers demand a production-ready, high-end parallel storage solution that can consolidate all their data into a single pool of shared storage," said Shawn Hansen, director of HPC product marketing at Microsoft. "The combination of Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage Clusters and the Microsoft Windows CCS environment will provide HPC users a proven solution with new flexibility to deploy mixed Linux and Windows clusters with common high performance storage." Windows CCS provides customers with a simplified deployment and management experience, offers easy integration with existing Windows infrastructures, and enables customers to leverage their existing development skills using Microsoft Visual Studio®. Microsoft Windows CCS brings together the power of commodity x64 (64-bit x86) computers, the ease of use and security of Active Directory directory, and the Windows operating system to provide a security-enhanced and affordable HPC solution. "Panasas is pleased to provide native support for our Parallel Storage Clusters on Windows CCS," said Len Rosenthal, chief marketing officer at Panasas. "Microsoft has become a significant player in the HPC community and as the number of larger-scale CCS deployments has increased, particularly in financial and CAE applications, so has the demand for a scalable, production-proven, high-performance parallel storage solution that is optimized for Microsoft CCS. Ease of use and reliability advantages of Panasas storage are key requirements that all Microsoft customers typically expect." Panasas ActiveStor parallel storage includes the patented DirectFLOW protocol, a direct access path between cluster nodes and their storage, eliminating delays inherent in traditional SAN and NAS architectures. This approach improves IT productivity and further reduces the overall cost of ownership. Panasas storage is rack mounted, delivering up to 15 terabytes (TB) of RAID-protected storage capacity per 4U shelf. Up to 150 TB is supported in a single-rack system that can be installed in as little as 15 minutes. Panasas currently intends to release a native version of the DirectFLOW software for Microsoft Windows CCS operating systems in late 2008.