NetApp Debuts Multiprocessor NAS Devices

Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) is marching forward with its first multiprocessor storage appliances in an effort to either hold or regain (depending on who you ask) its lead in the network-attached storage (NAS) market. The appliances introduced this week, dubbed F880 and F880c, are designed to handle large databases.

The move toward high-end storage filers broadens the companys market opportunities. Its earlier appliances, such as the predecessor F840 product, are more commonly used for lighter jobs like storing email. The new products should make NetApp more competitive with companies like EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC)in winning big-spending enterprise customers.

The F880 can handle up to 9 terabytes of data and the F880c clusters two of the appliances together for 18 terabytes. The increased horsepower of dual Pentium III microprocessors in each device delivers better performance than the earlier products. The company also uses a single operating system so that networks can easily be upgraded with the new storage filers.

A company spokesman said the throughput of the F880 is “50 percent higher” than the F840 but he declined to offer specifics. He also said prices “start at $135,000” but declined to offer pricing on a product with all the bells and whistles.

EMC isn’t standing still. “EMC’s access to the enterprise has been hurting Network Appliance,” says Arun Taneja, an analyst with The Enterprise Storage Group Inc.. “EMC has been publicly stating it will pass NetApp this year in total NAS sales.”Taneja says NetApp does have some large corporate customers but notes that the biggest clients typically use NetApp’s appliances selectively within certain divisions or workgroups rather than throughout the corporation. This product release, he adds, could lead to more widespread market respect for the company.

Taneja notes that prior to the current financial downturn, NetApps was selling its products at 30 to 40 cents per megabyte while EMC’s prices were much higher. But that’s changed. “Now, with the new economy, EMC is fighting tooth and nail on pricing,” he says. “It’s become a battle of the giants within the NAS space.”

EMC claims to be the NAS leader this year with its Clarion IP4700 appliance. But thanks to this year’s slump in information technology spending, neither company is going gangbusters. EMC’s overall sales (EMC doesn’t break out NAS sales in its earnings reports) for the most recent quarter were off 6 percent from a year ago while NetApp’s fell 13 percent.

That downturn should not last long, however, if Taneja is correct in his assessment of the industry. He expects the market for NAS and SAN products to grow tremendously over the next few years. The return on investment is attractive for IT managers, he says, because “fewer administrators are needed per terabyte and demand for storage administrators is unabated.”

He also expects that in the near future competition for high-end sales will come out of the blue from the startup BlueArc Corp. “On paper (BlueArc’s) product looks extremely good and early indications from customers look good as well,” he says. “But they still have some proving to do.”— Tom Davey, special to Byte and Switch, http://www.byteandswitch.com