Exclusive: 45Drives, LINBIT Partner on Open Storage Solutions

45Drives, an open-source storage provider, is announcing a strategic partnership with LINBIT– the creator of DRBD and LINSTOR, two open-source standards for high availability (HA) and software-defined storage.

Executives with both companies shared the news with Channel Insider ahead of its release. 

Companies bring clustered storage and fully integrated HA server solutions to the enterprise

The partnership will combine 45Drives’ open hardware and support model with LINBIT’s software-defined storage stack to deliver fully integrated HA server solutions for enterprise environments.

45Drives and LINBIT will bring highly available clustered storage into the hands of more businesses, institutions, and creators, without the traditional cost and complexity barriers associated with closed, proprietary systems.

“We believe enterprise storage should be open, understandable, and built for the long haul,” said Dr. Doug Milburn, President of 45Drives. “LINBIT has been advancing that same mission in the Linux software world for more than two decades. Their work on DRBD and LINSTOR has set the standard for open-source block-level replication and storage orchestration. We’re excited to bring their tech directly to our customers in an enterprise-ready form.”

By partnering, LINBIT’s technologies, including DRBD and LINSTOR, will be integrated into 45Drive’s hardware and support ecosystem. 45Drives customers will gain turnkey access to:

• HA, clustered storage architecture built on proven open-source tools.
• Certified integration of LINBIT software with 45Drives hardware, backed by expert support.
• Resilient data protection through synchronous replication and failover.
• Scalable deployments across bare metal, virtualized, or containerized environments.
• Freedom from vendor lock-in with complete transparency into every layer of the stack.

“We’re excited to collaborate with 45Drives because they bring our open storage tools to life in the real world,” said Philipp Reisner, CEO and founder of LINBIT. “Their approach to hardware and customer support is a perfect match for the kind of robust, production-grade deployments our software was built for. Together, we’re reaching new users and helping organizations rethink what’s possible with open infrastructure.”

Addressing open source risk and complexity

In a conversation with Milburn and Reisner, the two discussed how the partnership addresses commonly held concerns that open-source infrastructure is perceived as complex or risky.

However, this new partnership “tames” open source by providing full solutions, a single point of accountability, and by mitigating the contractual risks often associated with proprietary vendors – making open source more consumable for enterprise and risk-averse customers.

“I think it’s time that open source comes to the open storage world,” said Reisner. “And in my perception, it’s happening, and it’s these kinds of offerings. When we deal with our direct customers, sometimes we meet customers which don’t understand hardware well enough to combine it by themselves. So, it’s a lot better if they work with a partner like 45Drives, who brings all the expertise in hardware, and then the end customer gets the bundle they need– containing hardware and software.”

Bringing complete open-source solutions is a significant component of the partnership, both parties agreed. Milburn points to the “VMware situation” as one of many reasons why so many customers are seeking to reduce both technical risk and contractual risk. 

Of course, that “situation” is Broadcom’s continued shrinking of authorized partners and shifts in pricing structures that have left many longtime customers seeking alternatives.

“Our customer base– we have very different sets of customers– but the majority of our revenue comes from extremely risk-intolerant customers,” Milburn explained. “And they’re just at a point right now with proprietary solutions, financial stresses, and mature industry that profit margins kind of grind down … the VMware situation is just case in point– it’s one of many– why so many customers are looking to reduce risk and that contractual risk looms very, very large in their head.”

Channel implications for partners of all sizes

Milburn outlined a strategy to make the new offering easily accessible to both large enterprises and smaller MSPs by integrating enterprise-ready HA open storage solutions into the 45Drives Professional Channel, simplifying quoting, purchasing, and contract management to accelerate adoption among risk-averse organizations.

“When we get down to smaller channels who sell to smaller customers, we think there’s a really, really cool offering for organizations that want high availability that haven’t really had access to high availability,” said Milburn. “Our new professional channel is all about making that really easy for those customers. One of the things happening– when I say making it easier– is going to be our portal that’s in advanced beta right now that just makes it incredibly easy for people to buy.”

At the end of the day, 45Drives and LINBIT are committed to learning together to provide the best value to those working with them, the leaders agreed. The partnership offers a strong alternative to closed systems that prioritize margin over transparency, instead providing customers with complete control of their infrastructure, long-term cost predictability, and access to deep technical expertise.