HP buys Ibrix for undisclosed sum

Hewlett-Packard announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Ibrix Inc., a privately held maker of clustered file system software used for creating large, highly available network-attached storage (NAS) architectures.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed. It's expected to close within 30 days.

HP said the move is part of a strategy to converge its server and storage infrastructure, establishing a tighter integration between applications and data. The Ibrix organization will be integrated into the StorageWorks division of HP's Technology Solutions Group.

“These advanced data management capabilities enable customers to easily store, move and access large volumes of data,” an HP spokesman said. “Customers can also seamlessly add capacity while lowering costs, simplifying operations and streamlining resources to improve overall productivity.”

Ibrix claims its Fusion software can create a NAS system that scales to tens of petabytes of capacity while being managed from a single interface. Ibrix, based in Billerica, Mass., has 53 employees and claims more than 175 enterprise customers in the communications, media, entertainment, Internet, oil and gas, health care, life sciences, and financial services industries.

According to Gartner Inc., ISPs represent the biggest vertical market for Ibrix's technology.

HP already has file clustering software through its 2007 acquisition of PolyServe. PolyServe's software runs on Windows or Linux systems through NFS and CIFS file-serving protocols.

HP had already offered the Ibrix technology with its StorageWorks storage-area networks, HP ProLiant servers, HP BladeSystem, and HP ProCurve Ethernet switches and management software under a three-year reseller agreement. Ibrix has similar reseller agreements with Dell Inc. and EMC Corp.

Milan Shetti, CEO of Ibrix, said in a statement that joining forces with HP is a “natural fit for our customers, resulting in an enhanced storage solution that scales to meet their data growth.”