Vendors Push For Tighter Linux-InfiniBand Coordination

Leading proponents of the open-source Linux operating system and InfiniBand high-speed networking technology have allied to develop and promote uniform drivers for using InfiniBand to connect Linux servers. InfiniBand is an input/output architecture used in high-end servers.

Members of the so-called OpenIB alliance include Intel, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Engenio Information Technologies, InfiniCon Systems, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Mellanox Technologies, Network Appliance, Sandia National Laboratories, Topspin Communications, Veritas, and Voltaire.

Sandia and Livermore labs will serve as testing sites for the technology and standards that the alliance develops.

Linux is in demand in high-performance computing environments, says Thad Omura, director of product marketing for Mellanox Technologies, a maker of InfiniBand semiconductors used in switches, host channel adapters, and target channel adapters. The alliance plans to deliver its first specifications during the third quarter.

Most of the alliance's members also belong to the InfiniBand Trade Association, a group formed in 1999 to create standards for InfiniBand development.