Industry Heavyweights Back DAOS Foundation's Next-Gen Open Source Storage System for HPC and AI/ML

In a groundbreaking move, the Linux Foundation has launched the DAOS Foundation, an initiative aimed at advancing the governance and development of the Distributed Asynchronous Object Storage (DAOS) project. The open-source storage system, which boasts record-setting performance for high performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workloads, has garnered support from industry leaders Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Enakta Labs, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and Intel.

DAOS: Redefining Performance for HPC and AI Workloads

Since its inception in 2012, Intel has been a significant contributor to the DAOS source code. The open-source community, which now spans various hardware and software vendors, has grown into an established force in the storage industry. With the launch of the DAOS Foundation under the Linux Foundation's umbrella, the project aims to ensure continuous development and enable broader participation in architectural and development decisions. Intel will donate the DAOS source code to the foundation and remain a key contributor.

Argonne National Laboratory's Technical Director, Kevin Harms, expressed excitement about the potential of DAOS for HPC: "DAOS provides the core high-performance storage system for Argonne Leadership Computing Facility's latest supercomputer, Aurora. Its performance is 20x greater than our current file systems and offers better performance across a broad range of I/O workloads."

Enakta Labs, Google Cloud, HPE, and Intel have all joined the DAOS Foundation as founding members, demonstrating their commitment to advancing next-generation storage technology. Enakta Labs' CEO, Denis Nuja, stated, "We are proud to be a part of this community and contribute to the open source development of cutting-edge, high performance storage systems."

Google Cloud's Storage VP/GM, Sameet Agarwal, shared his enthusiasm: "DAOS is the foundation for our new storage service, Parallelstore. We are thrilled to accelerate the growth of HPC and AI/ML workloads in the cloud with this world-record setting technology."

HPE Fellow, Vice President, and Director of Hewlett Packard Labs, Andrew Wheeler, expressed his support: "We believe the DAOS architecture will advance emerging supercomputing and technical computing use cases. HPE is honored to be a founding member of the DAOS Foundation."

Intel Vice President of System Software, Data Center AI Solutions, Hillarie Prestopine, emphasized Intel's dedication to open source technology: "As a founding member of the DAOS Foundation, we are reinforcing our commitment to open source software and providing a platform for the expansion of software development surrounding DAOS."

The DAOS Foundation is open to anyone interested in contributing to the project. Membership levels include Premier, General, and Associate, each offering varying degrees of participation in governing board and technical working groups. To learn more about the DAOS Foundation and how to become a member, visit their website at https://foundation.daos.io/.

The Linux Foundation, which hosts numerous open source projects, will provide the necessary infrastructure for the DAOS community to thrive and innovate. With the backing of industry leaders and the support of the Linux Foundation, the future looks bright for this next-generation storage system.