PCI-SSD maker Fusion-io acquires Linux SCST developer ID7

Fusion.io is best known for its ioDrive PCIe SSD cards.

Fusion-io has announced that it has acquired the UK-based storage technology company ID7, the leading developer of the open source SCSI Target Subsystem (SCST) for Linux. Fusion-io specialises in acceleration technology including high performance and capacity PCIe SSD cards and is also known for employing Steve Wozniak as Chief Scientist. It supplies companies such as Facebook, Apple and HP with its cache technology, though it did note in its 2012 Annual Report that its top ten customers were responsible for 91% of its $359 million revenue and is therefore working to widen its customer base.

ID7, which was founded in 2006, has been collaborating with Fusion-io on development of its ION Data Accelerator software which can cache in conjunction with Fusion-io's PCIe SSD cards. These are typically used with NetApp's Flash Accel, but the ID7 acquisition should allow Fusion-io to expand its software defined storage offerings based around ION Data Accelerator.

Fusion-io says it will "continue to support the open philosophies that have made ID7 and SCST successful", maintaining an open source version of SCST and continuing to contribute to it. Vlad Bolkhovitin, Founder and Primary Developer of the SCST SCSI Target Subsystem for Linux, said that “By joining the Fusion-io team, we are pleased to be able to provide SCST with more engineering resources and talent to support the development of the open source and commercial SCST subsystems".

(djwm)