NetApp Releases Unified Storage System for Enterprise Users

NetApp is giving its unified storage system portfolio a major makeover with the release of the FAS2500 series for entry-level users and the high-performance FAS8080 EX. The new, streamlined portfolio of hybrid arrays are designed to meet customers' storage needs today and in the future.

The FAS8080 EX is NetApp’s top-of-the line unified storage system, giving users the ability to scale up to 4 million IOPS of performance for their enterprise data applications. The 8080EX can be configured as either an all-flash array with more than 4.6PB of flash storage or as a hybrid array with nearly half a petabyte of storage, said Nathan Moffit, the director of Storage Platform Marketing at NetApp. As the company’s highest-performing storage system, the 8080 EX can scale to nearly 70PB of capacity and supports more than 600 I/O connections, making it a powerful option for government and other large-scale enterprise users. The system is also 70 percent faster than its predecessors, he noted.

“It’s a real win not just in terms of performance … but in terms of the price performance value,” said Moffit in an interview with The VAR Guy. “Its been designed from the ground up to go fast but to also deliver long-term leverage.”

For customers looking for a little less heft, NetApp is replacing its existing FAS 2200 series with the FAS2500, giving customers more than five times the amount of hybrid flash as the previous 2200 models at the same price point. Moffit said the 2500 scales twice as far as the previous 2200 equivalents, with the ability to configure the system for new users in less than 10 minutes.

The FAS systems are capable of running as all-flash arrays—a real advantage that will allow enterprise users to greatly increase their efficiency and accelerate their business-critical application performance, Moffit said. Both systems also feature integration with Data ONTAP, allowing for an integrated shared storage infrastructure that simplifies data management across the entire enterprise IT environment.

The FAS2500 series is available now, with the 8080EX scheduled for release in July.

“We’ve pretty much refreshed our entire product line … and what that means is an enormous opportunity,” said Regina Kunkle, the vice president of the Americas Channel at NetApp. "The storage technology that has been available has really changed in the last three years. It’s a super exciting opportunity for everybody.”