OpenStack has released the 30th version of its open source infrastructure management platform, called Dalmatian. The platform opens the doors for companies fed up with VMware.
The OpenStack community has released the latest version of its open source cloud infrastructure software, called OpenStack Dalmatian. It’s a celebratory launch, as Dalmatian is already version number thirty. 500 parties put their heads together to improve the software, from companies you would expect genre Red Hat, the main contributor, and Nvidia to companies you associate less with software development, such as Walmart.
We really almost shouldn’t say it anno 2024, but the code words of OpenStack Dalmatian are AI and security. This release offers improvements in AI and HPC workloads, security and user experience, and comes at a time when demand for OpenStack is surging.
Irony
OpenStack Dalmatian should provide support for compute-intensive tasks, such as AI and HPC workloads. To that end, the platform introduces a new user interface Skyline, which enhancements for managing cloud environments and is already catching on with users, according to OpenStack. Security enhancements in the Ironic and Neutron components provided for that purpose.
For example, Ironic now requires encrypted rescue passwords and enables firmware updates on active nodes. This helps in applying security patches. Nova, another key OpenStack component, now supports virtual Trusted Platform Modules (vTPM) and offers more options for secure connections.
For AI and HPC workloads, Dalmatian introduces enhancements to support GPU instances and virtual GPUs. This makes it easier to train AI systems on hardware accelerators, which is essential for companies focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Inflow from VMware
OpenStack has the wind in its sails and has Broadcom to thank for it. Customers fed up with the antics of VMware’s new parent company are looking for alternatives and not infrequently end up with OpenStack. The platform is growing rapidly: the market for OpenStack is estimated at $22.81 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to $91.44 billion by 2029.
OpenInfra Foundation, the organization that anticipates the development of OpenStack, is itself surprised by the sudden success. “That VMware would provide a revival of OpenStack was not something I had on my 2024 bingo card. Broadcom has introduced a lot of uncertainty into the enterprise IT market,” said chief executive Jonathan Bryce in an interview with TechCrunch.
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