Sylabs, a provider of container technologies used in high-performance computing (HPC) environments as well as emerging artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has launched its first channel program.
Singularity containers were developed to provide a means for encapsulating an entire run-time environment in a single file. Primarily used in HPC environments, adoption of open source Singularity containers is starting to expand because it’s now possible to run container images that comply with the Open Container Initiative (OCI) specification on top of both Singularity and Docker containers, says Sylabs founder and CEO Greg Kurtzer.
The Sylabs Partner Program represents an effort to advance that goal via a commercially supported instance of Singularity that Sylabs makes available in the form of SingularityPRO. The first two partners joining this program are PacificTeck and Redapt.
In return for joining the program channel partners gain access to provide training, certifications, architectural practices and support programs as well as signed package repositories, backported bug, and security fixes, and a portfolio of other related services.
Docker containers require developers and IT operations teams to combine multiple files to launch an application. Singularity eliminates that overhead by packaging everything required to launch an application in a single file. That more efficient approach will prove to be more attractive to IT organizations that need to manage thousands of container files when trying to, for example, run application workloads in either an HPC environment or on within a cloud service hosting a complex AI application, says Kurtzer.
“The line between HPC and AI is getting blurry,” notes Kurtzer.
Singularity may not enjoy the popularity of Docker containers, but Kurtzer says emerging applications involving blockchain technologies involving cryptocurrencies will soon require containers that can stand up to the rigors of high-performance application requirements, which Kurtzer says is something Singularity has already proven.
The challenge now is to drive enough sales and technical training into the channel now to drive those advanced applications as they begin to emerge tomorrow.
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