Hybrid cloud data solutions vendor NetApp has brought to the market their new midrange, end-to-end NVMe AFF A320 (NVMe over Fibre Channel) storage system to help businesses maximize the value of their data. ONTAP 9.6 includes an expanded portfolio of services including an ecosystem now including VMware ESXi, Microsoft Windows, and Oracle Linux hosts, in addition to Red Hat and SUSE Linux, with storage path resiliency.
NetApp ONTAP 9.6 would accelerate applications painlessly while delivering simplicity and security for a future-proof infrastructure. ONTAP 9.6 also includes the following enhancements:
- FabricPool now supports Google Cloud Platform and Alibaba Cloud, in addition to Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and IBM Cloud Storage. Organizations would be enabled to lower the cost of primary storage by automatically tiering cold data to any major public cloud or to a NetApp StorageGRID private cloud
- NetApp FlexCache software now supports NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, allowing organizations to experience “the benefits” of FlexCache in hybrid cloud deployments
- Over-the-wire encryption for NetApp SnapMirror technology and FlexCache would increase security for data replication and remote caching
- NetApp MetroCluster IP support for entry-level NetApp AFF and FAS systems would make business continuity a cost-effective option for organizations, taking advantage of existing customer IP networks between sites
“As enterprises evolve to new, more data-centric business models where data is a key strategic resource, data availability requirements are on the rise,” said Eric Burgener, research vice president, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies Group, IDC. “NetApp’s cloud-connected flash solutions, coupled with their Data Fabric strategy, provides the performance, availability, agility and simplicity enterprises undergoing digital transformation need in their hybrid cloud infrastructure to create and leverage innovative business opportunities.”
“In advances that are coming our way, like 5G networks, we can see that a company’s ability to generate, gather and disseminate a massive volume of data will be enabled like never before and companies that aren’t ready are going to be overwhelmed,” said Joel Reich, executive vice president, Storage Systems and Software, NetApp. “With NetApp ONTAP, organizations can overcome the challenges introduced by these data-intensive technologies and cutting-edge innovations with a smart, powerful, and trusted solution that maximizes the value that organizations can derive from data.”
New Midrange End-to-End NVMe System
Last year NetApp introduced its AFF A800 end-to-end NVMe. With the launch of the NVMe AFF A320 storage system, NetApp has extended the system’s performance and efficiency benefits to the midrange market. The AFF A320 system would enable customers to:
- Accelerate traditional and emerging enterprise applications such as artificial intelligence and deep learning, analytics, and databases with extremely low latency
- Reduce data center costs by consolidating applications with a powerful system
- Future-proof their environment with NVMe technology, 100GbE Ethernet, and cloud integration
Expanded Services Portfolio
The new midrange, end-to-end NVMe AFF A320 storage system comes with an expanded portfolio of services. NetApp’s expanded services portfolio now includes:
- SupportEdge Prestige – offers a “high-touch, concierge level” of technical support that would resolve issues faster through priority call routing. Customers are assigned a designated team of NetApp experts and receive specialized reporting, tools, and storage environment health assessments
- Tiered Deployment Service – accelerates “time to value” for new NetApp technology and would reduce the risk of improper installation or misconfiguration. Three new “high-quality” options include Basic, Standard and Advanced Deployment, each aligned to customer business objectives
- Managed Upgrade Service – is a remotely delivered service that would reduce security risks by ensuring NetApp software is always up to date with all security patches and firmware upgrades
