A State of NetApp 2015

Introduction

When this blog started way back in March 2010, I’d never had the fortune to touch or even see a NetApp device. Then in 2011 I had the good fortune to be working with a Citrix Consultant (thanks Ursatt Ankhs) who wanted best of breed NFS storage for a VDI implementation he was doing, and there started my love of NetApp Technology.

I’d been working with HP storage devices for years (and - to a lesser extent - Dell, EMC, IBM), and yes they had some cool stuff, but the NetApp Technology got me excited because of the agility, capabilities, power, freedom, and flexibility of their software. No longer did you need multiple different appliances each only capable of serving 1 purpose; 1 super powerful ONTAP appliance would serve for NAS (NFS/CIFS), SAN (iSCSI/FC), backup repository (SnapVault with Deduplication & Compression), with unprecedented integration with Enterprise applications, ..., and you didn’t need expensive forklift upgrades (you had simple headswaps instead, with all the disks and precious data remaining in-place.) SnapMirror is so flexible: “Need to move your datacentre?” no problem, fan in/out some SnapMirrors, or cascade some SnapMirrors, schedule a cutover, resync and it’s done!

I touched very little NetApp until early 2013, and since then I’ve been working mostly with NetApp technologies, and I couldn’t be happier - I love working with storage, I love working with cool technology, and NetApp is number one for me! NetApp is the last pure play ‘storage company’ standing, and I love this focus - it’s not after world domination, just wants to be the very best in data storage solutions!

A State of NetApp 2015

In all the time I’ve been working with NetApp technologies, I’ve never been so excited with the product portfolio as I am now in 2015, it really is an awesome product line up, and I just wish I had the time and opportunity to play with all the technologies. Here are some highlights (I’m no expert and no sales guy, just a geek with a passion for IT, and apologies in advance if I miss out any cool products.)

N.B.: Because I couldn’t do all the products true justice in my own words, some of the words (most) are taken from www.netapp.com.

2015 Product Portfolio

ONTAP 8.3 - now with MetroCluster! The World’s Number 1 Storage O/S keeps getting better and better, with more and more capabilities being added in every new release. It’s awesome now and it evolves so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with all that it can do. The mind boggles with the capabilities it will have in future releases.

AFF (All Flash FAS) - Who knew that ONTAP and Flash would go together so well? This is the best all flash box on the market! “Improve the speed of business and your ROI with high-performance, consistent low latency and rich data management!”

Want low-cost, enterprise-class data management and protection delivered virtually to branch offices? Check of NetApp Data ONTAP Edge.

Want to maximise your storage assets across domains? Use OnCommand Insight storage resource-management tools!

Want to automate storage processes? Get one-click self-service and cloud service delivery with OnCommand Workflow Automation!

Want to streamline storage management and simplify configuration, backup, and restore for enterprise operating environments? Check out NetApp SnapManager software for Exchange/ Microsoft SharePoint Server/ SAP/ Oracle/ Microsoft SQL Server/ Hyper-V / Virtual Infrastructure (VMware). And going beyond the SnapManagers, check out OS-independent Snap Creator Framework that integrates NetApp data protection with a broad range of third-party applications.

Looking to leverage public and private cloud as part of your backup and archive strategy? Game-changing NetApp AltaVault (formerly SteelStore) cloud-integrated storage delivers enterprise-class data protection - at up to 90% less cost than on-premises solutions.

Need to increase the flexibility and ROI of your existing arrays and embrace the power of ONTAP? Check out FlexArray!

Need to store and manage massive amounts of data worldwide, on-premises and in the cloud? Check out NetApp StorageGRID software!

Just SAN? Want to realise affordable, block-optimised storage performance and 99.999% uptime? Check out NetApp E2700 storage systems!

Just SAN? Want to optimise enterprise SAN applications? Check out NetApp E5600 storage systems!

Just SAN? Want all-flash to deliver fast, consistent response times to accelerate high-performance databases? Check of NetApp EF-Series!

Hybrid cloud integration with Amazon Web Services (AWS)? NetApp Cloud ONTAP for AWS lets you manage and maintain control of your resident cloud data on your terms. Pay only for what you use, when you use it.

Amazon Web Services? Check out NetApp Hybrid Cloud Solutions for Amazon Web Services. Transform you enterprise faster with seamless hybrid cloud from NetApp and Amazon Web Services.

Azure? Check out NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure. Harness the power and control of a hybrid cloud solution from NetApp and Microsoft Azure.

SoftLayer? Check out NetApp Private Storage for SoftLayer. Extend SoftLayer cloud services with dedicated enterprise storage.

OpenStack? Check out NetApp Solutions for OpenStack. Deliver OpenStack cloud services quicker, easier, and with less risk with NetApp storage solutions.

SAP? Check out NetApp Advantage for SAP: Deploy, scale out and upgrade SAP applications faster. NetApp solutions enable agile, virtualised SAP infrastructures.

Unified Computing? Check out FlexPod! The FlexPod solution portfolio combines NetApp storage systems, and Cisco Unified Computing System servers, and Cisco Nexus fabric into a single, flexible architecture. FlexPod solutions are designed and validated to reduce deployment time, project risk and the cost of IT.

Branch and Department Workgroups? Empower them by using cloud-scalable NetApp Integrated VMware EVO:RAIL Solution

Already have Veeam? Check out Veeam and NetApp!