Intel Corp. announced a strategic partnership with Israeli firm Lightbits Labs aimed to reduce the total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) involved in data center management.
The deal also includes co-engineering and market collaboration for an undisclosed sum. As far as Intel is concerned, the company is finding new solutions for the challenges faced in maintaining the data center, at peak performance.
Issues surrounding the extraneous hardware and stranded disk capacity contribute to the risks and costs of TCO in data centers. Intel cited problems with unused space and applications using electricity and contributing to the overall costs.
Lightbits Labs make use of the LightOS NVMe, which is a software block storage platform that can store data from multiple devices. Unlike the more costly Fibre Channel networking gear, Lightbits’ platform pools everything in one place, needing no extra charges.
With Lightbits’ software, Intel can also enhance its range of products, particularly storage offerings. But for Intel’s use, the LightOS will be optimized to improve storage efficiency and reduce the underutilization of data infrastructure.
“The data center is being transformed, with disaggregation and composability of resources being essential to meet the efficiency requirements needed to address the explosion of data,” said Intel vice president Remi El-Ouzzane.
El-Ouzzane claims that Intel is working closely with Lightbits Labs to provide exceptional solutions to address issues surrounding the cloud. With hardware capabilities and innovative NVMe software, customers can enjoy more economical solutions to pressing problems.
Intel also said LightOS storage has been undergoing a series of tests to work on Ethernet 800 network adapter series with Application Device Queues or ADQ. This will ensure the Ethernet is refined and faster.
Ease of Implementation
More than the capability, LightOS features ease in implementation due to the impressive storage ecosystem. Lightbits Labs will further the operating system to meet the criteria and demands of the Intel storage products, benefiting customers and users.
LightOS with ADQ shows a 30 percent improvement as measured in the tail latency and a 50 percent reduction in latency overall. Meanwhile, about 70 percent of the IOPS increase is recorded using ADQ.
Intel’s Optane memory will also benefit from the Lightbits Labs’ operating system, storing 3D NAND SSDs and Xeon processors.
“We are excited to partner with Intel Corporation, and our joint solutions will set the bar for generating new ROI metrics for enterprise and cloud customers,” said Lightbits Labs CEO Eran Kirzner.
Reports are also circulating about Intel investing heavily with Lightbits Labs, but no further information was disclosed.
