NetApp: Not simply NAS filers, and a complete cloud technique
On this storage provider profile, we take a look at NetApp, which made its title synonymous with the network-attached storage (NAS) “filer” for the primary decade or two of its existence.
And whereas revenues have trended upwards ever since, it has slipped by way of storage array market share, with Chinese language entrants Huawei and Lenovo overtaking it within the IDC rankings.
Extra not too long ago, it has diversified from its earlier NAS specialism, and now provides flash-powered block storage – all-flash SAN array (ASA) and all-flash FAS (AFF).
It has additionally pivoted efficiently to the cloud, and is the one storage provider with a presence in all three hyperscaler clouds.
Moreover, it has embraced cloud-like consumption fashions of storage buying with Keystone.
On this article, we take a look at NetApp’s origins, its key storage array merchandise, and its method to the cloud, containers and consumption fashions of storage buying.
The place did NetApp come from?
NetApp was based in 1992 as Community Equipment, and had its IPO in 1995. It grew massively through the Nineteen Nineties dotcom years, and suffered an enormous decline in 2002 as that bubble burst, however then noticed revenues enhance regardless of falling behind in market share (see under).
Auspex Methods launched the primary ever NAS, and was an early competitor of NetApp’s. However NetApp then grew to become synonymous with the NAS filer. By 2003, Auspex had turn into defunct and NetApp gained its patents. It formally grew to become NetApp in 2008.
Acquisitions through the years gave it:
- Clustered NAS performance (Spinnaker Networks, 2004)
- Object storage (Bycast, 2010)
- What later grew to become its first flash arrays (Engenio, 2011)
- All-flash arrays (Solidfire, 2015)
- Cloud companies and orchestration (Greenqloud, 2017)
- Kubernetes as a service (StackPointCloud, 2018)
- Cloud price optimisation (Spot in 2020, Cloudcheckr in 2021)
How does NetApp rank in opposition to different storage gamers?
By 2023, IDC ranked NetApp fifth in income and market share. That was down from third in late 2021 due to new entrants within the rankings, Huawei and Lenovo (second and fourth in 2023 – HPE in third, Dell in high spot). NetApp’s 2023 market share was 7%, down from 8.3% in 2022 and 10% in late 2021.
NetApp ranked 411th within the 2014 Fortune 500, however by 2018 had dropped to 495th earlier than dropping out in 2021.
In 2001, NetApp revenues had been slightly below $0.90bn. That elevated to $6.29bn by 2014, with progress as much as roughly 30% in some years. Nonetheless, from a 2014 excessive level, revenues declined to $5.4bn in 2016. They since trended upwards to $6.572bn by the tip of economic 12 months 2024-2025.
What are NetApp’s key storage merchandise?
NetApp made its title with the file entry FAS sequence of merchandise. FAS was the acronym for cloth hooked up storage, extra colloquially generally known as a filer – i.e. a NAS field. It has since diversified away from that mainstay.
Now, NetApp’s storage product vary is broadly break up into FAS and all-flash FAS merchandise that construct on its Ontap working system, plus a more moderen variant, all-flash SAN array (ASA), that brings merchandise devoted to dam storage. Block storage was potential in FAS arrays via most of their historical past, nevertheless it was an add-on that has now been totally addressed in ASA.
FAS arrays nonetheless exist and are flash and spinning disk hybrid. AFF arrays are available in A-series and C-series, with the latter geared up with QLC flash for larger density and decrease price per GB for capability use instances with decrease entry rapidity necessities. Block-oriented ASA arrays additionally come as higher-performance A-series and capability QLC flash C-series variants.
A-series arrays are geared toward low-latency, high-performance, mission-critical functions of <100 microseconds latency. C-series goal denser storage wants.
AFF A-series arrays vary in most capability from the A20 with 9.3PB to 185PB within the flagship A1K, and include NVMe flash, NVMe-over-fibre channel and TCP connectivity, in addition to NAS functionality by way of NFS, CIFS and restricted S3 connectivity.
C-series all-flash QLC-based storage arrays comprise the AFF C30, C60 and C80, which run from 29PB to 707PB.
ASA array capability ranges from most efficient capability of 6PB to 11.6PB after compression.
Each NetApp’s E- and EF-series date again to NetApp’s acquisition of Engenio in 2011, whose arrays had been designed for spinning disk. E-series are billed as hybrid spinning disk and flash, whereas EF-series are billed as all-flash however appear to incorporate some HDD choices. They run the SanTricity working system, which is a legacy of that pedigree. Sticking flash in these was actually NetApp’s first foray into the flash array market, with the EF540 in 2013.
E- and EF-series arrays are block entry solely and embrace Infiniband connectivity.
No superior storage companies are offered, as they’re performance-focused and don’t cluster.
EF-series arrays goal excessive low-latency workloads resembling OLTP, AI (SuperPod), HPC and high-performance functions the place efficiency and reliability are key. Efficiency is as much as two million IOPS per node, with <100 microseconds latency.
E-series provide as much as a million IOPS and purpose at workloads resembling video surveillance, analytics, backup, archive and worth/capacity-focused functions. E-series arrays go from uncooked capability of 286TB or 345TB to 1.3PB or 6.6PB (relying on whether or not they get an HDD capability enhance or not) over 4 variants. EF-series arrays go from uncooked capability of 367TB to 1.8PB or 9.6PB with HDD enlargement throughout 4 array fashions.
NetApp’s core object storage provide is StorageGrid (though restricted S3 capability is supported in FAS and AFF arrays). This can be a software-defined product that may run on-premise or within the cloud, however can also be accessible in all-flash and HDD-equipped StorageGrid home equipment primarily based on E-series {hardware}.
NetApp’s Ontap storage working system runs on its FAS, AFF and ASA arrays, and in addition runs as a digital equipment in cloud situations. It dates again to 1992, when it was developed by NetApp’s founders. It has undergone many iterations through the years to incorporate deduplication, compression, snapshots, cloning, skinny provisioning, clustered NAS, write as soon as, learn many, and high-availability functionality.
Ontap has for many of its historical past been geared in direction of file storage, with block-optimisation and restricted S3 functionality added extra not too long ago. Cloud Volumes Ontap is a digital storage equipment that may be run within the hyperscaler clouds as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
NetApp’s prospects are unfold throughout all sectors. The corporate can provide storage, information administration, cloud and containerisation companies to all verticals.
How does the cloud match NetApp technique?
NetApp has pivoted laborious to a future within the cloud. Its storage array {hardware} permits for connectivity to the key public clouds, whereas its storage can also be accessible in all three of the hyperscaler clouds, specifically Amazon Internet Companies (AWS), Azure and GCP.
These companies embrace, for instance:
- Amazon FSx for NetApp Ontap, which is delivered on AWS companies and lets prospects entry information over NFS, SMB, and iSCSI. NetApp promotes use of FSx for NetApp Ontap on AWS for synthetic intelligence (AI) workloads.
- Azure NetApp Information, which is used as shared file storage in situations resembling migration of Linux and Home windows functions, SAP Hana, databases, high-performance compute (HPC) and apps, and enterprise internet functions. In 2024, NetApp added its GenAI Toolkit for Azure.
- Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, which is a totally managed file storage service in Google Cloud geared toward file sharing, enterprise functions, distant information replication and complete information safety. More moderen additions have included capabilities geared toward scaling for AI workloads and integration with Google’s Vertex AI platform.
To handle sources throughout on-premise and cloud, NetApp offers BlueXP, which supplies an summary of its storage by way of an internet interface with the power emigrate information throughout any NetApp {hardware} or service. Different performance consists of information safety auditing and administration, in addition to anti-ransomware capabilities. More moderen additions embrace workload instruments for AI. BlueXP is free for all new and current NetApp storage prospects.
In the meantime, Instaclustr offers a platform for administration of open-source databases, pipeline and workflow functions that embrace PostgreSQL, occasion streaming product Apache Kafka, Apache’s NoSQL database Cassandra, in-memory datastore Redis, and (Uber-designed) enterprise logic orchestrator Cadence.
Since we final centered on NetApp, it bought its Spot performance to finops enterprise Flexera for a reported $100m. Spot included performance to help cloud operations and automation, efficiency, and optimisation. The sale included CloudCheckr, which displays cloud prices and purchases.
What’s the NetApp container technique?
NetApp Trident offers storage and information safety provisioning and administration for Kubernetes functions at no further price to NetApp prospects. It’s primarily based on container storage interface APIs.
NetApp began to dabble with Kubernetes administration in 2018, when it acquired Stackpointcloud’s Kubernetes-as-a-service provision. In 2021, it introduced Astra Knowledge Retailer, however in late 2022, that was folded into BlueXP, which acts as a management airplane throughout Astra and NetApp’s on-premise and cloud storage merchandise.
What consumption fashions of buying does NetApp provide?
NetApp’s consumption mannequin provide is Keystone, which provides {hardware} procurement in non-capex codecs for on-premise and the cloud.
Keystone cost choices vary from pay-upfront for {hardware} (Flex Pay), via Flex Subscription pay-as-you-go, and Flex Utility, which aligns prices to utilization.
A spread of service ranges is out there with billing for predicted capability, plus pay-per-use burst capability and bundle pricing that features {hardware}, core OS and file, block, object and cloud storage companies.
NetApp BlueXP makes use of Energetic IQ software program by way of a dashboard to permit prospects to watch and handle storage, set information safety insurance policies, and assessment burst capability, utilization and billing.
