XtreemOS 2.0 Manages and Mounts in Grid

XtreemOS 2.0 provides a brand new application management system that searches for workable computing resources in the grid that meet the requirements of current applications. Among them is the XtreemFS distributed filesystem in its current version 1.0, which is mountable over the Internet. Global process management allows for cluster-wide PIDs and management tools, such as ps, top or kill, as well as an (experimental) restart function for applications. The XtreemOS team also provides a programming interface named XOSAGA that is based on the Simple API for Grid Applications (SAGA) standard. Details on the features are in the project release notes.

As of version 2.0 the EU project is also open to external users. ISO versions and images exist for VirtualBox and KVM on the project download page, as well as source code versions on a project member's GForge webpage. XtreemOS is based on Mandriva Linux and is under GPL and partly under BSD license. Mailing lists and an "active" IRC channel named #xtreemos-dev are available.

XtreemOS works on two logical levels: the foundation level (XtreemOS-F) has a compatible kernel for various target platforms, while the grid level (XtreemOS-G) prepares the services for the resource network.

The XtreemOS project has an open source grid operating system with a "general purpose" Linux as its goal. With the motto "Building and Promoting a Linux-based Operating System to Support Virtual Organizations for Next Generation Grids," it will be getting around 15 million euros (about $22.5 million) funding from the European Commission's 6th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP6). (The program is also supporting other projects, such as the Grid for Debian project.)

The XtreemOS project works as an international consortium. The newest contributor is the Kerlab firm behind the Kerrighed grid Linux, a spin-off from France's national Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automatic Control (INRIA). Many of the other XtreemOS teams recruit from INRIA, but also from such as NEC Deutschland GmbH, SAP and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.