HDS Inks Deal To OEM Network Appliance Filers
The Filers, which would include no internal storage, will be offered as an option to HDS storage arrays starting next quarter, said Scott Genereux, vice president of global marketing and business development at HDS, Santa Clara, Calif.
The products, expected to be co-branded with both vendors' names, will be sold as an option to form an integrated SAN/NAS solution for HDS' Lightning 9900 and 9900V enterprise arrays, as well as for the company's new Thunder 9500V modular arrays, said Genereux. They will also be available as an option to HDS' installed base.
THE NAS/SAN LOWDOWN
>> Who: Hitachi Data Systems, Network Appliance
>> What: HDS will OEM Network Appliance Filers without
internal storage for use as NAS gateways for HDS Thunder and Lightning arrays, allowing HDS storage to be used for NAS and SANs.
>> When: First products due first-quarter 2003
HDS plans to make the Filers available through its direct and indirect sales channels, Genereux said. However, the products will not be sold through Hewlett-Packard, which currently sells HDS' Lightning arrays under an OEM deal, or to Sun Microsystems, which resells the Lightning line via its own direct and indirect channels, he said.
The deal with Network Appliance, Sunnyvale, Calif., gives HDS a new NAS head to replace the one it previously OEMed from Network Storage Solutions. The companies had a short-term relationship, which ended earlier this year.
HDS and Network Appliance plan to cooperate on R and D and technical support, said Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of Network Appliance.
HDS' HiCommand storage management software will be extended to include Network Appliance APIs. Level-one and level-two tech support will be handled by HDS, while Network Appliance will handle level-three tech support.
John Murphy, executive vice president of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based HDS solution provider, called the deal a good one for HDS. "This lets them play in the NAS space where they couldn't before," Murphy said. "It lets them become a total solution company and not just a SAN vendor."
Murphy said there is a need for products combining SAN and NAS. However, he said, the deal makes Network Appliance's SAN strategy less clear. "One question would be what percentage of Network Appliance's installed customer base is interested in SANs," he said. "Network Appliance is now in the SAN space, so this move muddies the picture."