Open source giant Red Hat has joined Facebook's Open Compute Project to collaborate on the development of next-generation data centers.

Red Hat's first step as a member of the Open Compute Project was to certify its Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system to run on two servers based on the project's specifications, the open source software giant said Oct. 27. After certification is complete, Red Hat is expected to test its Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization platform and storage technologies it obtained as part of the Gluster acquisition on those servers.

"With the Open Compute Project, Facebook is using the power of the open source model to redefine how data centers are designed and built. With our consistent focus on innovation and end-user value, it was natural to take part in this project to not only extend the benefits of Red Hat products to these systems, but to also help expand the reach of open source technologies as a whole," said Brian Stevens, CTO and vice-president of engineering at Red Hat.

Read here.