Cloud Computing: NetApp and Fusion-io Team Up

August 1, 2012 Off By David
Object Storage

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Maureen O’Gara.

NetApp and flash storage start-up Fusion-io are going to create software-defined "solutions using server-side flash and caching software products when used in conjunction with the NetApp Virtual Storage Tier."

They are "collaborating on low-latency, high-performance solutions for compatibility between the Fusion ioMemory platform and NetApp’s Data ONTAP operating system, as well as key caching solutions, including NetApp Flash Cache, NetApp Flash Pool and Fusion-io caching software."…

In its announcement Fusion-io said, "The momentum behind shared IT infrastructure and the need for always-on application availability is fueling a rethinking of automated storage tiering models. The proliferation of storage media technologies (SATA, Fibre Channel, SAS and flash) can complicate decisions of how to get the right data to the right place at the right time. The NetApp Virtual Storage Tier offers a unique approach to automated storage tiering that matches data with the specific technology that can best align with lifecycle and performance objectives."

All Things Digital finds the partnership "mysterious" and opaque about what they’re really doing. The move is of course treated as a knee-jerk reaction to EMC’s acquisition of flash start-up XtremeIO in May.

The widgetry could turn up in the NetApp-Cisco-developed FlexPod converged infrastructure platform since Cisco also has a deal to stick Fusion PCIe-based flash in the UCS servers that are part of the platform this half.

Cisco of course is also a joint venture partner of NetApp’s hereditary enemy EMC. And EMC has its own PCIe flash solution, VFCache, a high-speed cache layer. Fusion-io uses its widgetry to enhance application performance.

NetApp says it expects to "enable rapid, low-latency assessment of workload priorities, resulting in low-cost high-performance solutions to the exponential data growth our customers face today."

Fusion figures "software-defined solutions will be able to deliver much greater efficiency for customers, enabling them to do more than ever before at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems."