NetApp's virtualization software will play a key role in supporting 3PAR Utility Storage hardware for consolidated block and file services.Utility storage vendor 3PAR and NetApp announced June 5 a partnership to build a storage package that unites 3PARs InServ Storage Server with NetApp V-Series systems.
Jointly developed in direct response to demand from common enterprise customers, the new 3PAR/NetApp package provides highly scalable, single-console-managed block-and-file data services from a single-capacity pool, a 3PAR spokesperson said.
3PAR Utility Storage hardware aims to provide a massively scalable, high-end, tiered-storage array for reliable block (Fibre Channel and iSCSI) data services. The companys InServ array is designed for open systems storage consolidation, integrated data lifecycle management and performance-intensive applications, the spokesperson said.
The NetApp V-Series software delivers the high-level data management capabilities of Data ONTAP to heterogeneous storage environments via a flexible virtualization platform, the spokesperson said.
Click here to read about NetApps introduction of a storage deduplication tool.
3PAR also has a partnership with VMware for disk virtualization purposes that is used in other array products.
"When vendors listen, customers win," said Roger Cox, research vice president at Gartner. "The trend toward environments that supply a single, easily scaled pool of capacity for multiple storage services promises greater cost-effectiveness for customers."
Joint beta customers have identified the dramatic reduction in storage capacity and management costs as the key benefit of the 3PAR and NetApp package.
"With this joint solution, we now have the ability to use these products together with total confidence," said Dan Grillo, senior director of hosting at Ariba, a customer of both 3PAR and NetApp in Mountain View, Calif.
"We believe the value in consolidating our storage environment with the simplicity and flexibility offered by this solution is tremendous."
Traditional data center infrastructures often consist of proliferating silos of block-and-file capacity. With this new package, both capacities can be reduced significantly through consolidation onto a single, massively scalable, tiered-storage pool.
This storage pool is based on the 3PAR InServ Storage Server, with direct block access provided by 3PAR and file-level access provided by the NetApp V-Series.
"The V-Series is the only virtualization platform on the market that enables customers to enjoy the powerful data management capabilities of Data ONTAP while allowing them to leverage the storage technologies offered by other leading array vendors," said Brendon Howe, general manager of the NetApp V-Series in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The customer-driven partnership with NetApp is aimed at bringing greater storage consolidation and management simplification in FC SAN, IP SAN and NAS environments, said David Scott, president and CEO of 3PAR, in Fremont, Calif.
"Our customers recognize that a single, highly virtualized storage pool for NAS- and block-level consolidation can deliver dramatic cost reductions and greater business agility," Scott said.
The 3PAR/NetApp combined offering is supported with all 3PAR InServ models and all NetApp V6000 and V3000 models. The respective individual components of the solution are sold separately by each company. Pricing will vary depending on configuration. See the 3PAR Web site for more information.
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