NetApp Unleashes FlashRay All-Flash Storage, Promises Interop With FAS

NetApp has finally unveiled its long-delayed FlashRay all-flash storage platform, promising a new level of current and future storage performance with the ability to interoperate with its current flagship FAS platform.

With FlashRay, NetApp has also launched its first new storage operating system, the Mars OS, since its 2011 acquisition of Engenio.

The introduction of the Mars OS is a significant move for NetApp which, except for its relatively minor sales of Engenio storage solutions, has with its Data Ontap operating system traditionally held bragging rights to a consistent user experience from its entry-level to enterprise-class arrays.

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NetApp will continue supporting all three operating environments, said Ty McConney, vice president of flash products for the vendor.

NetApp has provided the ability for data to be seamlessly migrated between Data Ontap and Mars OS storage, McConney told CRN.

However, NetApp has said since its FlashRay strategy was introduced early last year that it was important to build a new operating system for its FlashRay solution, which was designed from the ground-up as an all-flash storage array, he said.

"NetApp and our competitors do a lot to provide the performance to support mission-critical applications," he said. "But we want to be prepared for the continued evolution of flash into the future. FlashRay currently uses consumer-grade flash memory, and lower-cost TLC flash is coming. We want to take advantage of lower-cost flash technology as it comes out, but won't ask customers to compromise on flash performance."

McConney compared the introduction of consumer-grade flash memory in all-flash arrays by all the major vendors to the introduction several years ago of low-cost SATA drives in enterprise arrays.

"Back when we introduced SATA into arrays, people scratched their heads thinking it was too cheap," he said. "But we added the software and other technologies to make it work."

Integration between the FlashRay and the FAS series is important, said Shawn O'Grady, COO of Datalink, an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based solution provider and long-time NetApp partner.

NetApp's EF-Series of all-flash arrays has been reasonably successful even though they do not interoperate with FAS, O'Grady told CRN. However, he said, customers looking to buy all-flash storage and who already have NetApp in their data center will not get that interoperability.

NEXT: Impact Of FAS Integration And The Use Of Consumer-Grade Flash Technology

"Interoperability is a great feature for NetApp," O'Grady said. "NetApp's value proposition has been consistency across their line. For existing NetApp customers who want interoperability, and there are a lot, this will be great news."

The use of consumer flash technology is also not an issue for customers as it is already in use by many of the top storage vendors, O'Grady said.

"The value of the storage technology is in the software," he said. "We have to evaluate the software and its ability to protect the data. What NetApp is saying is logical. Sure, some competitors will sell against it. But if NetApp's software works as promised, and we think it will, this will be a perfectly acceptable solution for our enterprise customers."

Unlike NetApp's Data Ontap-based FAS line of unified SAN and NAS appliances, which were designed for a variety of workloads, the FlashRay family is designed for high performance in block storage workloads, McConney said. The company's third line, its EF-Series all-flash storage line, is targeted at higher-density storage applications.

It features a latency of under 0.5 milliseconds, compared to just under 1.0 milliseconds in the all-flash versions of its FAS line. They also feature always-on, in-line deduplication and compression with variable-length block input that does not force data to be managed in any particular block size, he said. They also feature always-on thin provisioning.

The FlashRay systems, which were originally scheduled to ship late last year, are now available to order. They are currently available as a single 11-GB node with a single controller and 16-Gbps Fiber Channel connectivity, McConney said.

McConney bristled at talk about FlashRay being late to market. "Late? I don't think so," he said. "We have our all-flash E-Series and FAS solutions. The extreme performance of the FlashRay will be extremely appealing, especially its integration with Data Ontap."

McConney admitted that a single-controller version does carry a limited availability risk when compared to dual-controller solutions. "We don't see this going into production mode right away after release," he said. "It may not appeal to everyone. But we wanted to get it into the hands of customers and partners."

Pricing for the FlashRay solution was not available at press time. However, McConney said, it will be lower in price than NetApp's FAS solution but higher than its EF-Series.

PUBLISHED SEPT. 17, 2014