Features - Storage Innovations:

NetApp ENHANCES ENTERPRISE gFiler STORAGE SYSTEMS

Network Appliance Inc announced that the NetApp enterprise gFiler storage systems now provide Fibre Channel data access, and fully leverage the new enterprise storage virtualization capabilities in Data ONTAP 7G for multi-vendor storage environments. The NetApp gFiler solution has extended its storage systems support to include the HP StorageWorks XP Disk Array family and the IBM TotalStorage DS4000 series (formerly named "FAStT"), complementing existing support for Hitachi Data Systems, Hitachi Limited, Sun StorEdge 9900 Disk Array family, and IBM Enterprise Storage Server disk array systems. NetApp gFiler therefore expands the range of applications and user needs it can manage with the industry's most robust, multiprotocol, multivendor, dynamic storage virtualization products.

"The NetApp gFiler provides a common management infrastructure for disparate storage systems and handles heterogeneous storage provisioning and replication with ease," said Stephanie Balaouras at Yankee Group. "The NetApp gFiler also provides advanced data management capabilities to utilize, consolidate, protect, and recover mission-critical and tier one business data. For multi-vendor Grid environments, the new NetApp gFiler is a compelling solution."

"We are offering even more customers the opportunity to experience the simplified data management provided by NetApp gFiler," said Paul Albright, senior vice president of marketing at NetApp. "At the same time, we're broadening our own potential market footprint by supplying a 'dynamic virtualization engine' that can manage and virtualize storage resources from a wide variety of third-party vendors representing a lion's share of the total storage market. Powered by new features and benefits of Data ONTAP 7G, gFiler is poised to become the industry's preferred gateway solution."

NetApp gFiler is a special-purpose, highly optimized multiprotocol storage appliance that seamlessly integrates into Fibre Channel SAN fabrics, enabling customers to leverage NetApp high-performance and scalable data management solutions, consolidating disparate DAS, NAS, and SAN islands into a common open storage pool. In multiprotocol data access, NetApp gFiler enables affordable, cost-effective storage consolidation; provides data accessibility and recoverability to a broader range of existing and new applications; and helps today's business share its valuable data across wider corporate networks.

NetApp announced its first gFiler storage partnership with Hitachi Data Systems in December 2002 and in April 2003 began shipping the solution for HDS storage arrays and the Sun StorEdge 9900 series. In December 2003 NetApp added support for Hitachi Limited and high-end IBM storage system platforms to its list of supported arrays.

The new gFiler solution for IBM and HP storage systems, along with previously supported IBM and Hitachi Limited systems, will be sold by NetApp through its direct sales and channel partners.