Push on software-defined storage through channels based on reference designs seeks to challenge branded converged infastructures Red Hat is stepping up the battle for the storage business with new channels for its software-defined storage solutions. By making Red Hat Ceph Storage and Gluster Storage solutions part of the Connect for Business Partners and Red Hat Embedded programs, and for Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Providers in 2016, it is positioning them for the wider market. Ceph Storage and Red Hat Gluster Storage are open source, scale-out software-defined storage solutions that run on commodity hardware and have programmable architectures
In many ways this is challenging the converged infrastructure model. Ranga Rangachari (below), vice president and general manager, Storage and Big Data, tells IT Europa: “The only way we can meet the rising demand for storage is to leverage the channel and open it up to other channels. What we are doing is creating reference architectures using open solutions, not treating the server as a dumb device, but allowing channels to optimise the solutions and find value in them.”
But the reference architectures are more like blueprints – it is up to the channel to create a customer-specific package.
He acknowledges that software defined storage is still not mainstream: “I doubt if we have more than a few hundred experts in the channels, but by providing these solutions, we are offering the channel control over its accounts. We expect to work with them on the first few, then it is very much up to them to take it forward.”
“Today’s announcement makes Red Hat Ceph Storage and Red Hat Gluster Storage available to enterprises in more ways than ever before through global resellers and our embedded, cloud and service provider partners.” He points out that researcher IDC sees storage rising at just 3% a year while software-defined storage leaps ahead at 20%+.
Robin Porter, business development manager, Quru, a London-based open source IT services and solutions company: “Quru is about providing inspired open source solutions, so it makes sense that we would partner in the channel with Red Hat, the leading provider of open source software solutions. We're pleased to share a community-powered approach with Red Hat and to partner with them to reduce costs and increase operational agility through software-defined storage.”