PEAK:AIO has announced the release of PEAK Open pNFS, a fully open source, vendor-agnostic metadata server for parallel Network File System (pNFS), targeting artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads in data centers. According to PEAK:AIO, this marks the first time the pNFS metadata layer supports true horizontal scalability and eliminates vendor lock-in, with technical collaboration from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University.
PEAK Open pNFS is built as a modular, horizontally scalable architecture, enabling both metadata and storage performance to expand linearly with demand. The open source metadata server replaces proprietary components in legacy file systems, allowing users to start with a single high-availability node and scale to exabyte-level workloads without changing architectural foundations. It is designed for easy integration with PEAK:AIO’s AI Data Server and supports the latest Flex Files standard, aligning with next-generation GPU-driven, data-intensive deployments common in current data center environments.
The company says PEAK Open pNFS delivers seamless compatibility with existing network-attached storage (NAS) and Tier 0 or hybrid architectures, extending from edge deployments to exascale. It is optimized for AI and HPC workflows, providing support for distributed metadata handling, intelligent data placement, and high-throughput storage within a single platform. PEAK:AIO reports its AI Data Server can deliver up to 320 GB/sec throughput in a 2U form factor and can achieve up to six times the density and energy efficiency compared to legacy storage vendors.
Gary Grider, High Performance Computing Division Leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory, stated, “Emerging AI workloads present scaling demands similar to HPC needs but require different access patterns,” and continued, “Open-source solutions like PEAK:AIO’s PEAK Open pNFS promises to address the growing requirements and performance needs and is a very important step towards achieving a flexible base on which community innovation can proceed.”
PEAK:AIO notes the launch has received support from major technology vendors. Greg Matson, Head of Marketing, Product and Business Strategy at Solidigm, commented, “Solidigm recognizes the urgent need for an open source parallel filesystem tailored to the demanding performance and scalability requirements of AI workloads,” adding, “PEAK:AIO’s PEAK Open pNFS appears to address these critical needs with its innovative, modular architecture that scales linearly with demand.”
PEAK Open pNFS will be on display at SC25, with live demonstrations available at Booth 6359 and Exhibitor Suite ES10. Documentation and early access details are provided on PEAK:AIO’s website.
Source: PEAK:AIO
