Rorke Global Solutions, a Seagate Cloud Builder Alliance partner, has launched its second Open Compute Project Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The implementation showcases the power of open hardware that enables operators to achieve high levels of performance while trimming electricity bills and other costs.
Rorke launched its first Innovation Lab in Eden Prairie, Minn. as a place for developers, partners and end users to get acquainted with open solutions for cloud compute, storage and networking. The lab offers guidance on how to create Open Compute Project-branded products, plus the facility provides opportunities to explore interoperability with other platforms. The lab at UTSA will also help students get acquainted with specific scenarios, and it may facilitate development and testing of new technologies.
“Rorke Global Solutions is committed to helping our customers create cost-effective, power-efficient compute, storage and networking solutions,” said Scott MacDonald, vice president and general manager at Rorke. “And, we’re also passionate about contributing to the education of young developers who will pioneer next-generation technology in the not-so-distant future.”
Rorke is already a key supplier for the Open Compute Project, an initiative under which open data technology is licensed to OEMs and then certified for consumer use. Initiated by Facebook, the Open Compute Project has given operators an alternative to proprietary integrated solutions. Appliances are typically vanity-free, without any extraneous bezels or branding tags that could impede airflow. As such, they are highly energy efficient, sometimes obviating the need for air conditioning within the data center.
At last year’s Open Compute Project Summit in San Francisco, Facebook executive Frank Frankovsky said certification from labs is an important part of supporting custom technology work. He also said licensing may more closely resemble a general public license in the future.
