OrangeFS is an open-source parallel file system, the next generation of Parallel Virtual File System (PVFS). A parallel file system is a type of distributed file system that distributes file data across multiple servers and provides for concurrent access by multiple tasks of a parallel application. OrangeFS was designed for use in large-scale cluster computing and is used by companies, universities, national laboratories and similar sites worldwide.
Versions and features
2.8.5
Server-to-server communication infrastructure
SSD option for storage of distributed metadata
Full native Windows client support
Replication for immutable files
2.8.6
Direct interface for applications
Client caching for the direct interface with multi-process single-system coherence Initial release of the webpack supporting WebDAV and S3 via Apache modules
2.8.7
Updates, fixes and performance improvements
2.8.8
Updates, fixes and performance improvements, native Hadoop support via JNI shim, support for newer Linux kernels
2.9
Distributed Metadata for Directory Entries
Capability-based security in 3 modes
Standard security
Key-based security
Certificate-based security with LDAP interface support
Extended documentation
2.10
Bug fixes and build changes to support recent distributions. The Linux upstream kernel client is the primary access method for Linux, the out-of-tree kernel module is deprecated. The OrangeFS Windows client has been refreshed
History
OrangeFS emerged as a development branch of PVFS2, so much of its history is shared with the history of PVFS. Spanning twenty years, the extensive history behind OrangeFS is summarized in the time line below.
A development branch is a new direction in development. The OrangeFS branch was begun in 2007, when leaders in the PVFS2 user community determined that: Many were satisfied with the design goals of PVFS2 and needed it to remain relatively unchanged for future stability Others envisioned PVFS2 as a foundation on which to build an entirely new set of design objectives for more advanced applications of the future. This is why OrangeFS is often described as the next generation of PVFS2.