NetApp expands its lineup of high-performance flash storage arrays today with the launch of three new models for the AFF line, all catering to smaller customers or enterprise storage needs at the edge.
The storage vendor also refreshed the lineup of capacity flash and hybrid arrays, provided updates to the OnTap software and integrated Astra backup services into the Trident Kubernetes orchestrator.
Customers wanting high-performance flash at a lower price exist. But a more likely scenario will be enterprises purchasing these lower capacity boxes for branch locations or other edge spots where the cloud might not reach equivalent performance.
"They're building out the lower end," Lucchesi said. "They're seeing that the edge is becoming more important for companies, [and] software-defined storage plays better at the edge."
All hardware is available from NetApp and its associated resellers today with shipping starting in December.
Hardware news
The AFF A-Series adds three new models that are aimed at the entry to mid-market buyer: the A20, A30 and A50. The storage footprint for all three, with a high-availability configuration, starts at 15 TB and expands up to 737 TB for the lower-end A20 model or 3.30 petabytes (PB) for the A50, according to the company.
The new models offer all the same features and software as the A70, A90 and A1K models released earlier this year. Compared to the block-storage focused ASA A-Series line, which also launched this year, the AFF supports file, block and object storage across a variety of common protocols like NVMe and S3.
If you're going to use a storage orchestrator, why wouldn't you want that built in?
Simon RobinsonAnalyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
The AFF C-Series, a line focused on capacity flash and general-purpose workloads for enterprises of all sizes, gains the C30, C60 and C80 models, according to NetApp. In a high-availability configuration, the C30 starts at 122 TB and expands to 2.2 PB, while the C80 series starts at 367 TB and can grow to 14.7 PB. If clustered, the C80 series can reach 176.8 PB.
Both lines use the OnTap storage operating system updated with high-capacity load balancing for improved application performance, according to NetApp.
Customers having access to the OnTap software is a boon to the buyers, regardless of initial platform investment, said Simon Robinson, an analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group.
OnTap provides a consistent experience for customers as they grow into larger storage systems, he said. Since OnTap is built into the hardware itself, customers also won't need to implement additional software for storage management out-of-the-box.
"[Enterprises] have data everywhere and there are advantages in standardizing infrastructure," Robinson said. "If you're going to use a storage orchestrator, why wouldn't you want that built in?"
Hardware and software by NetApp divorced from the OnTap system also received a refresh.
The E-Series has two new hybrid flash and HDD SAN storge arrays, the E4070 and E4012. Uses for the E-Series mixed media include block storage deployments, backup targets and video surveillance.
The StorageGRID hardware and software, a capacity-focused array line prioritizing space and object storage, now supports 60 TB QLC drives within the SGF6112 model. The StorageGrid software better supports small object workloads popular with AI, according to NetApp, with new-data-only and metadata-only nodes.
Software news
NetApp Astra, a separate container backup service, is no more according to NetApp.
Astra's data management capabilities are now part of NetApp Trident, the vendor's open-source storage orchestrator for Kubernetes and other container distributions.
Trident version 24.10, launching today, now includes many data backup and protection capabilities such as snapshots, migrations and disaster recovery that were previously part of Astra.
These Kubernetes services will be delivered at no additional cost in Trident, according to NetApp.
NetApp also continues walk a tightrope among virtualization partners with new OnTap support for VMware by Broadcom and IBM's Ret Hat OpenShift.
The vendor's OpenShift offerings include joint solutions such as OpenShift Dedicated with Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, and validated designs for the Cisco Flexpod.
For VMware, OnTap Tools for VMware vSphere now supports disaster recovery using SnapMirror active synch through VMware Live Site Recovery services.
NetApp has long balanced the demands of numerous partners, Robinson said, and the shifting virtualization market is no exception.
"Red Hat is in the [virtualization] mix," Robinson said. "NetApp along with everybody else has to offer that integration."
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for TechTarget Editorial covering cloud and data storage.
