CHICAGO, Dec. 18 -- Grid.org, the online community for open-source cluster and grid software, grew to 481 members and recorded more than 900 downloads of the free open-source Cluster Express beta software in its first month of availability.

Grid.org was launched Nov. 12, 2007 to provide a single aggregation point for information and interaction by the community of users, developers and administrators interested in a complete grid and cluster software stack. The site's primary open-source project, Cluster Express, provides comprehensive cluster scheduling and management by integrating proven, best-of-breed, open-source components into a seamless package that is easy to install and use.

"Response to the initial Grid.org launch and to our call for participation in the Cluster Express beta program has been gratifying," said Steve Tuecke, co-founder and chief technology officer at Univa UD, the Grid.org site sponsor. "Obviously we tapped into pent-up demand for a complete, integrated, open-source approach to cluster and grid computing."

Univa UD announced the initial beta program for Cluster Express last month as a way to let users positively impact and shape development of the software, expected to be generally available in early 2008. Today, the company announced availability of the second beta version of Cluster Express on Grid.org.

"We expect the release of the new beta version to drive more participation in the community, as more and more people begin to install and use the technology. With the excellent input we're getting from users, administrators and developers, there is no doubt we will be able to integrate exactly the components and features this market wants in subsequent releases," Tuecke said.

Grid.org is expanding to meet community requirements based on input from site visitors. Recently, the site added a Wiki that allows shared authoring of open-source grid and cluster content by the Grid.org community. Grid.org also plans to support code-sharing, allowing Cluster Express developers to contribute to the software and users to easily share enhancements and applications. This capability, along with access to the Cluster Express source repository and versioning control system, will be available to members in the first quarter of 2008. Other planned enhancements include an interactive map of cluster implementations worldwide, to visually display and provide metrics on the landscape of cluster users at a global level.

About Grid.org

Grid.org is an online community for open source cluster and grid software users, administrators and developers. The mission of the site has evolved to one focused on providing a single location where open-source cluster and grid information can be aggregated so that people with a similar range of interests can easily exchange information, experiences, and ideas related to the complete open source cluster software stack. Established in 2001, Grid.org operated as a public interest Internet research grid for over 6 years and has now broadened the reach of the site to encourage use of open source technologies for grid computing at large.

About Univa UD

Univa UD is the leading provider of open-source products for grid and cluster computing environments. The company's industrial-strength offerings range from departmental and HPC cluster management to enterprise-wide grids, and represent the proven and cost-effective alternative to traditional proprietary products that customers have been waiting for. Based on a combination of open-source and proprietary components, Univa UD offerings include a downloadable open-source cluster management product, a proprietary cluster product with rich functionality, and a comprehensive enterprise grid product based on award-winning technology. All Univa UD products are run by Fortune 1000 companies in large-scale, production environments. Univa UD is headquartered in Lisle, Ill. with offices in Austin, Texas. For more information, contact us Univa UD at 1-800-370-5320 or visit us at www.univaud.com.

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Source: Univa UD