Data-storage company NetApp has contributed management software for shared storage pools built on its arrays to the open-source cloud-architecture community OpenStack.

Adding drivers for NetApp’s Data OnTap 8 Clustering to OpenStack means companies using the popular open-source architecture to build cloud infrastructure can now include NetApp’s storage arrays as part of it.

Jonathan Bryce, executive director of the OpenStack Foundation, said NetApp was making open-source solutions more accessible to enterprises. “OpenStack's pluggable architecture and the backing of companies like NetApp enable OpenStack users to choose the best technologies to fit their business needs,” he said.

Folsom, the latest release of OpenStack, was launched in September. The sixth incarnation of the cloud operating system features automation for creating pools of compute, storage and networking resources.

The release also added support for Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions via plug-ins. According to the foundation, this enables users to avoid vendor lock-in.

On the storage side, OpenStack now includes Block Storage – advanced block and volume storage capabilities. Previous releases only supported volume storage, but Folsom will support previously created volumes.