Dell is joining the OpenCHAMI consortium to integrate its open source Omnia software, aiming to simplify and accelerate high-performance computing management.
Dell Technologies has become a full voting member of the OpenCHAMI consortium, joining Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and other major tech vendors in advancing open source HPC management. Founded in 2023, OpenCHAMI develops a cloud-like toolkit to provision and manage high-performance computing (HPC) systems with straightforward troubleshooting. Dell plans to integrate its Omnia software stack with OpenCHAMI’s tools.
Launched in 2021, Omnia is Dell’s open source software for managing compute servers, storage, and networking in complex environments. It includes Ansible Playbooks developed by Dell’s HPC and AI innovation team, automating software installation for cluster management, application execution, and accelerator drivers. The combined system will give administrators high availability tools and reproducible HPC system definitions.
Already deployed at major U.S. National Laboratories, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, OpenCHAMI supports accelerated AI research. Dell’s involvement is expected to attract more community contributions, accelerating feature development and implementation.
John Lockman, Dell Distinguished Engineer for AI and Supercomputing, said:
“Open-source projects thrive on community involvement, and Dell’s participation will help attract more contributions to OpenCHAMI. This increased collaboration will accelerate the project’s development, leading to faster implementation of new features and improvements.”
He added, “As more organisations adopt Omnia and OpenCHAMI, we can expect to see a transformation in how HPC resources are managed and provisioned, leading to greater efficiency and productivity.”
OpenCHAMI recently joined the Linux Foundation and the High Performance Software Foundation (HPSF), with support from institutions including CSCS (Swiss National Supercomputing Center), NERSC (Berkeley), and the University of Bristol, home to the UK’s fastest supercomputer, Isambard-AI.
Dell’s participation in open source initiatives follows its role in the Cisco-led Agntcy project, now part of the Linux Foundation, alongside Google Cloud, Oracle, and Red Hat, highlighting the company’s commitment to community-driven, open HPC and AI ecosystems.
