Nutanix is partnering with EDB to integrate its PostgreSQL software in Nutanix’s Database Service with an AI aspect to the deal. It also announced the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), which simplifies management of container-based apps, along with a power monitor that displays Nutanix software’s electricity consumption.
This is our third story about Nutanix’ .NEXT 2024 announcements with the first part here and the second part here.
PostgreSQL is an open source, Oracle-compatible, and extensible relational database management system (RDBMS) that’s said to be enterprise-grade. VC-funded EDB (EnterpriseDB) provides PostgreSQL software, services, and support. Its commercially supported EDB Postgres Advanced Server has added features, tools, and certifications to make it even more enterprise-ready. The EDB offering now becomes an officially supported database of the Nutanix Database Service.
Nutanix chief commercial officer Tarkan Maner said: “Nutanix Database Service automates provisioning, patching, cloning, and data protection to accelerate deployment, support day two operations, maintain compliance, and manage databases at scale. Our collaboration with EDB allows customers to deploy PostgreSQL in the most demanding enterprise environments while simultaneously increasing productivity for developers building applications on PostgreSQL.”
EDB CEO Kevin Dallas echoed the sentiments about AI, stating: “The expanded partnership between Nutanix and EDB promises a seamless path to migration from legacy systems and provides a competitive edge for the AI generation of applications with support for transactional, analytical, and AI workloads.
”EDB’s future data and AI platform will catapult PostgreSQL into the world of data analytics and AI, providing businesses with a PostgreSQL-enabled, comprehensive data ecosystem.”
This refers to EDB adding vector support to PostgreSQL, with a pgvector extension adding vector data types and functions aiding semantic or similarity searching. The platform aims to add vector embedding capabilities, enhance vector search, and incorporate retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows. Data scientists will be able to develop and execute machine learning models inside the PostgreSQL ecosystem, coding in Python, R, and Rust.
In summary, EDB is extending its PostgreSQL software into Postgres AI, a combined database, data lake, data warehouse, and AI/ML vector datastore in a single software stack, and now has Nutanix cooperation, adoption, and support for its Postgres AI to do so.
Nutanix Kubernetes Platform
Nutanix has supported Kubernetes in its Cloud Platform software for some while. NKP extends this Kubernetes support by building upon Kubernetes management technologies developed by D2iQ’s Kubernetes Platform, which was acquired by Nutanix in 2023.
It is also part of Nutanix’s Project Beacon to enable the decoupling of apps and data from the underlying infrastructure so developers can build applications once and run them anywhere.
NKP has a complete, CNCF-compliant cloud native stack providing a consistent operating model for managing Kubernetes clusters across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. It can manage clusters running in non-Nutanix environments, including popular public cloud Kubernetes services, as well as both connected and air-gapped environments.
Customers can manage both on-premises Nutanix containers and clusters running in the public cloud through a single interface, reducing “complexity and operating costs.”
Tobi Knaup, general manager of Cloud Native at Nutanix, said: “One of the biggest challenges organizations face with cloud native applications is deploying, securing and managing the rapidly expanding fleets of Kubernetes clusters being deployed on premises and in public clouds and NKP simplifies this.”
NKP comes in three tiers:
- NKP Starter is included in Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure and effectively replaces the existing Nutanix Kubernetes Engine, delivering turnkey clusters
- NKP Pro adds a suite of cloud native projects to help securely run and operate individual clusters, including built-in Nutanix Data services for Kubernetes when deployed on Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
- NKP Ultimate brings fleet management capabilities, including the ability to install, run and monitor clusters in the public cloud
Power monitor
Nutanix’s Cloud Platform software is getting an electrical power consumption monitor, based on measurements from the hardware in use, updated in near-real time. Customers will be able to visualize power metrics in their Prism Central dashboard, report historical data, and better understand energy utilization across their Nutanix environment.
It is included in Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), and builds upon recently released capabilities in Nutanix’s X-Ray benchmarking tool, providing power and energy information for comparison alongside other performance metrics (CPU, Memory, IOPS, etc.) for real-world scenarios. This can help customers better understand the power and energy usage for specific simulated workloads.
Nutanix says that, on average, its customers who shared their experiences using the NCI product, the hyperconverged infrastructure-based building block, reported over a 70 percent decrease in physical footprint and a 50 percent reduction in energy consumption versus their legacy systems.
It claims that this is the first step in providing Nutanix Cloud Platform users with information and tools to better support their sustainable IT initiatives.
Availability
EDB on NDB is available now. Learn more here. NKP is expected to be available in the summer of 2024. More information can be found here. The power consumption dashboard is under development. More information here.
