Hortonworks launches Apache Hadoop based platform

Hortonworks, the Yahoo spinoff launched in June, has debuted its Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP). The platform packages a number of Apache Hadoop ecosystem projects into one system and includes (on top of the Hadoop MapReduce framework and the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS)) Hadoop subprojects such as the Pig data flow system, Hive SQL access, HBase NoSQL store and Zookeeper coordination. It also adds incubating projects HCatalog, a table and storage management service, and Ambari, a management project for Hadoop clusters formerly known as HMS. The company promises open APIs, and no proprietary management mechanisms, for WebHDFS, Ambari and HCatalog, to make integration easier for other software vendors.

Hortonworks architecture
Source: Hortonworks The Hortonworks Data Platform will be released as open source, with all the components having been integrated and tested by Hortonworks. The company describes it as "ideal for organisations that prefer a 100% Apache-licensed, open-source platform", and recommend it for anyone who has previously had trouble installing or integrating Hadoop projects or wants to avoid a proprietary Hadoop variant. A Technology Preview Program is offering early access to the integrated platform with a "Limited Preview" phase. This initial release will be based on Hadoop 0.20.205, a stable release which was the first to support security and HBase. As there has been progress on "Next Generation MapReduce" in Hadoop 0.23, the company expects to release an early preview of HDP version 2, based on 0.23, within the coming weeks. A wider public technology preview is planned for early 2012.

Hortonworks has also announced Hortonworks Services, a range of support and training offerings, which the company says is backed by Apache Hadoop experts who can assist in production support or in designing Hadoop based solutions. The company has also partnered with companies such as Jaspersoft, Lucid Imagination, EnterpriseDB, Pentaho, 10gen and VoltDB, and has announced two partner programs, for system integrators or for technology vendors.

(djwm)