Sistina Software

About Sistina Software

Sistina Software was a focused American company that provided storage infrastructure software solutions for the Linux platform. Founded in 1997 by Matthew O'Keefe, a former University of Minnesota computer engineering professor, the company originated from a university research project. This initial project was funded by NASA to handle complex data calculations for mapping galaxies. O'Keefe, along with a team of mostly University of Minnesota alumni, commercialized this research into Sistina Software.

The company's business model centered on selling its specialized software and related services to enterprise clients. Its target market included organizations with processing-heavy needs that required high-performance, scalable storage solutions. The client roster featured prominent names such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Dreamworks, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Sistina's main product offerings were the Global File System (GFS), Logical Volume Manager (LVM), and Device Mapper (DM). GFS, a cluster file system, allowed multiple servers to simultaneously access a single file system over a Storage Area Network (SAN), which was a significant feature for data sharing in large computing environments. The LVM enabled the abstraction of physical storage, allowing multiple physical disk drives to be seen and managed as a single virtual disk device. These products were particularly beneficial for large database, file-serving, and web applications. For instance, the company developed a specific GFS solution for Oracle9i RAC to simplify its implementation and maintenance.

In a strategic move to bolster its enterprise offerings, Red Hat acquired Sistina Software in a deal announced in December 2003 and completed in January 2004 for approximately $31 million in stock. Following the acquisition, Red Hat integrated Sistina's technologies into its Red Hat Cluster Suite and made them open source, aligning with its business model. This acquisition allowed Red Hat to provide its enterprise Linux customers with advanced, vendor-independent storage solutions and virtualization capabilities.