A development group for data centres has been founded by IBM, Mellanox, Nvidia, Google and Tyan. Dubbed the OpenPower Consortium, the group states that it is an open development alliance based on IBM's Power microprocessor architecture that intends to build advanced server, networking, storage and GPU-acceleration technology aimed at delivering more choice, control and flexibility to developers of next-generation, hyperscale and cloud data centres.
‘The founding members of the OpenPower Consortium represent the next generation in data centre innovation,’ said Steve Mills, senior vice president, and group executive, IBM Software & Systems. ‘Combining our talents and assets around the Power architecture can greatly increase the rate of innovation throughout the industry. Developers now have access to an expanded and open set of server technologies for the first time. This type of ‘collaborative development’ model will change the way data centre hardware is designed and deployed.’
In addition to making Power hardware and software available to open development for the first time, and making Power IP licensable to others, the consortium will offer open-source Power firmware, the software that controls basic chip functions. By doing this, IBM and the consortium can offer what it says is unprecedented customisation in creating new styles of server hardware for a variety of computing workloads.
As part of their initial collaboration within the consortium, Nvidia and IBM will work together to integrate the Cuda GPU and Power ecosystems.
OpenPower is open to any firm that wants to innovate on the Power platform and participate in an open, collaborative effort. For more information about the consortium and how to join, email info@open-power.org.
