SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 27, 2012
- In order to gain the flexibility and efficiency of
virtual environments, organizations are migrating IT operations
from on-premise, hardware-defined application silos to virtual,
software-defined cloud computing platforms. Today, however, IT
departments are struggling to manage the scope, scale and
complexity of inflexible storage infrastructures in data-driven
enterprise. The migration to the cloud, and its agility, elasticity
and reliability can best be achieved through software that
abstracts out hardware resources, pools it into aggregate capacity,
and enables automation to allocate resources as needed by
applications.
For almost a decade, NetApp and VMware have
aligned their storage and virtualization technology roadmaps to
accelerate the customer journey to the cloud. Today NetApp (NASDAQ:
NTAP) unveils integration between VMware® vSphere® 5.1
and NetApp® Data ONTAP® 8 software operating in
Cluster-Mode to enable organizations to not only securely manage
and deploy infinite storage pools, but to deliver non-disruptive
migration of data among hundreds of virtual machines at a time.
This new solution provides continuous data access and uninterrupted
business operations even as infrastructure grows and scales in
capacity and performance, and it requires no change to server
hosts. Data ONTAP 8 operating in Cluster-Mode, Data ONTAP Edge and
Flash Accel will be on display at the NetApp booth (#1402) at
VMworld San Francisco, August 26 - 30.
As part of the NetApp and VMware solution,
NetApp is also introducing Virtual Storage Console 4.1 (VSC 4.1), a
new version of its end-to-end storage management software for
VMware environments. VSC 4.1 adds support for VMware vSphere 5.1,
enhanced support for NetApp Cluster-Mode configurations, and online
alignment of misaligned virtual machines. The new features expand
on support for existing VSC capabilities for storage management,
including datastore provisioning, virtual machine cloning, and
backup and recovery of virtual machines. VSC 4.1 is accessible by
VMware administrators directly from VMware vCenter™,
centralizing storage management and providing real-time visibility
into the performance and health of your storage environment.
Together, NetApp and VMware are collaborating
to accelerate movement to cloud architectures. NetApp support for
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 will enable a new era of software-defined
storage, networking, and security. Data ONTAP operating in
Cluster-Mode extends the virtualization benefits of VMware with the
ability to transparently migrate data within a cluster to provide
nondisruptive load balancing, hardware maintenance, or technology
refreshes-virtually eliminating planned storage downtime. NetApp
offers complete integration with the entire VMware cloud
infrastructure suite, including VMware vCloud® Director,
VMware View®, and VMware vShield™.
"The transition to cloud is a corporate
strategy, not a tactical solution. The foundation for this business
approach is a dynamic virtualized infrastructure with an
easy-to-administer shared storage platform," said Brendon Howe,
vice president, Product and Solutions Marketing, NetApp. "We
continue to align our technology development and integration
efforts with VMware with support for VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 to
help organizations realize the power of software to greatly improve
the efficiency and simplify the virtualization of more servers,
desktops, and applications."
Other benefits from the NetApp and VMware
integration include Data ONTAP Edge, which delivers enterprise
storage services on a virtual storage appliance hosted by VMware.
For remote offices, Data ONTAP Edge addresses the needs of
enterprises with many small or remote offices that require local
storage with minimal IT supervision and to be able to backup and
protect that data easily. The result is that branch facilities can
fully participate in a shared IT infrastructure without
compromise.
Key New Highlights
Today's announcement of NetApp and VMware's further integration
highlights the strength of the global partnership:
- Business Agility: The ability to scale and
move to cloud architectures with flexibility to adapt to dynamic
business needs
- Peak Performance: Cut virtualization storage
requirements and operational expenses through deduplication
- Validated Architecture: New solution for
vSphere 5.1 including Virtual Storage Console includes industry
best practices and proven design
- Nondisruptive Data at Scale: Cluster-Mode
enables infrastructure that can grow and change without disruption
and additional resources can be added while maintaining stability
and service predictability
Supporting Quotes
- Gary Green, vice president, Global Strategic Alliances,
VMware
"As organizations of all sizes realize the benefits of cloud
computing, there is a need for virtualized storage and server
solutions that are reliable, proven and scalable. With VMware
vCloud Suite 5.1, along with NetApp's solutions, our joint
customers are armed with storage efficiency, performance and data
protection for enhanced productivity and the ability to respond
immediately to business needs."
- Brian Babineau, vice president, Enterprise Strategy
Group
"Nearly two-thirds of IT budgets are spent on maintaining
infrastructure, leaving limited resources to enable new projects.
NetApp and VMware's integrated approach to virtualized environments
is a catalyst to reverse this allocation so customers maximize data
infrastructure flexibility and business value from their IT
operations."
- Luke Norris, CEO, PeakColo
"PeakColo helps our clients increase application performance and
drive innovation through our public, private, hybrid and customer
cloud solutions. By building our infrastructure-as-a-service
offering on NetApp and VMware technology we have the enhanced
security and agility to create enterprise-class solutions that are
specific to each of our service provider clients. Also, we have the
resources to safeguard systems to recover from business
disruptions."
Additional Resources
About NetApp
NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions
that deliver outstanding cost efficiency and accelerate business
breakthroughs. Our commitment to living our core values and
consistently being recognized as a great place to work around the
world are fundamental to our long-term growth and success, as well
as the success of our pathway partners and customers. Discover our
passion for helping companies around the world go further, faster
at www.netapp.com.
Press Contact:
Alex Goldsmith
NetApp PR
(408) 822-7291
xdl-uspr@netapp.com
NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further,
faster, and Data ONTAP are trademarks or registered trademarks of
NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. VMware,
vSphere, vCloud, and vShield are registered trademarks and vCenter,
VMware View, and vCloud Director are trademarks of VMware, Inc. All
other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders and should be treated as such. Use of the
word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership
between NetApp and any other company.