The PEAK:AIO answer
Parallel file system power with NFS simplicity. Clients read directly from the correct data node using standard Linux NFS, so you start on one node and grow to many with the same client and tools. Built on open standards, including pNFS Flex Files, RDMA, NVMe and CXL, so you can scale without legacy parallel file systems or proprietary stacks.
Why it matters
• Parallel performance, NFS simple
• Scale without changing clients or workflows
• Open on server and client, no vendor lock in
• Works with your preferred hardware, existing or new
• Keeps GPUs busy with steady small read latency
• Quick to deploy with clear setup notes
Architecture @glance
Parallel performance with NFS simplicity.
- Client: standard Linux NFS with pNFS Flex Files
- Control path: light metadata path for LOOKUP, GETATTR and READDIR
- Data path: client reads directly from the correct data server, RDMA or TCP
- Data servers: NVMe, layout aware, steady small read latency
- Standards: pNFS Flex Files, RDMA, NVMe, CXL ready
- Open on server and client, no vendor lock in
Why this matters for AI and HPC
Your team gets a standard Linux client with pNFS Flex Files over RDMA, not a proprietary client. Results are reproducible, with clear mounts, settings and logs. Storage stays centralised, simple to run and easy to scale. The outcome is predictable throughput, steady small-read latency, and higher GPU utilisation without shifting risk to host-local “tier 0” storage.
Performance highlights
- Parallel throughput that scales cleanly Aggregate read rises with each data server added.
- Small read latency stays steady under load 99th percentile shown for growing client counts.
- One tenth of the hardware for AI Like for like AI tests show leading results with about one tenth of the kit. Full test notes and settings available.
Emerging AI workloads present scaling demands similar to HPC needs but require different access patterns, said Gary Grider, High Performance Computing Division Leader at Los Alamos National Labs To achieve a multi-decadal solution to address the combined and growing requirements benefits greatly from a standards and community-based solution, Open-source solutions like PEAK:AIO’s PEAK Open pNFS promises to address the growing requirements and performance needs and is a very important step towards achieving a flexible base on which community innovation can proceed.
As a leading producer of high-performance SSDs enabling AI, KIOXIA America understands the pressing need for an open source parallel filesystem designed to meet the rigorous performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency demands of AI workloads. As AI applications continue to expand and data intensifies, it is essential to have storage solutions that are both powerful and easy to manage, said Rory Bolt, Senior Fellow, KIOXIA America, Inc. PEAK:AIO’s PEAK Open pNFS appears to embody these qualities with its modular and scalable architecture, aligning with KIOXIA America’s dedication to advancing innovative flash memory and storage technologies. We support this initiative as a key enabler for accelerating AI infrastructure capabilities across industries.
Working with PEAK:AIO over the years has been invaluable in helping us overcome real-world performance and scalability challenges for our clients. Their new Open pNFS delivers the performance of traditional parallel file systems, but with the simplicity and usability of a true plug-and-play solution, said Elan Raja, CEO, Scan Computing. By taking a great standard and making it practical for the modern AI and HPC market, PEAK:AIO has created something genuinely transformative. Our goal is to enable clients to focus on innovation, not storage administration, and PEAK:AIO’s vision, experience, and technology give us the confidence to do exactly that. This marks an exciting new chapter for the entire industry.
Solidigm recognizes the urgent need for an open-source parallel filesystem tailored to the demanding performance and scalability requirements of AI workloads. As data-intensive AI applications continue to evolve, the industry requires solutions that not only deliver high throughput but also offer operational simplicity and cost efficiency, said Greg Matson, Head of Marketing, Product and Business Strategy at Solidigm. PEAK:AIO’s PEAK Open pNFS appears to address these critical needs with its innovative, modular architecture that scales linearly with demand. As a PEAK:AIO partner, Solidigm sees this technology as a valuable complement to our industry leading AI storage portfolio, enabling customers to maximize the performance potential of next-generation AI infrastructures.
