NetApp Introduces Storage And Data Management For Windows Server 2012

Trends toward greater virtualisation of IT infrastructure, increased levels of content digitisation, faster levels of IT service deployment, and continued service-level availability expectations are driving increased interest in cloud computing. This period of transformation from physical to virtual infrastructures, and then to secure private, public, and hybrid clouds, offers new opportunities for IT professionals to deliver agile, on-demand services built on a flexible pool of shared compute, network, and storage resources.

In close collaboration with technology players such as NetApp, Microsoft is unveiling a new Windows Server release to help accelerate this transition. NetApp has announced support for Windows Server 2012 with storage solutions for server and desktop virtualisation, storage and availability, Web and application platform development, and private cloud deployment. For organisations of any size and in any industry, this close collaboration simplifies and accelerates how storage is pooled, provisioned, accessed, and managed in Windows environments.

“Windows Server 2012 is the category benchmark for organisations looking to migrate rapidly to cloud-ready infrastructures for application and service delivery,” said Phil Brotherton, Vice President, Enterprise Software Ecosystem, NetApp. “To help organisations realise the full value of their Microsoft technology investments, we continue to align our solution delivery roadmaps to address the critical challenges our mutual customers are facing, from increasing storage efficiency to maintaining high availability of servers, applications, and services.”

“Windows Server 2012 is built from the ground up to be cloud ready and delivers important storage enhancements to help organisations reduce costs and achieve a whole new level of business agility,” said Thomas Pfenning, General Manager, File Server Foundation, Microsoft. “We’ve worked closely with NetApp with a focus on giving our mutual customers an efficient, flexible, and reliable IT foundation for delivering business-critical services.”

NetApp offers the following support for key capabilities of Windows Server 2012:

• Storage: NetApp FAS and V-Series storage systems have been thoroughly tested, and are fully supported with Windows Server 2012, which means compatibility and confident deployment of applications. NetApp is committed to providing support for SMB 3.0 and Windows ODX — file storage and data transfer technologies used in Windows Server 2012 storage environments— and is launching a public beta program for this support in October 2012.

• Server and desktop virtualisation: NetAppSnapshot based backup and recovery with SnapManager for Hyper-V 1.2 and SnapDrive for Windows 6.5 have achieved Windows Server 2012 logo certification and provide integrated data protection in Windows Server 2012 environments, speeding backup, restore, and disaster recovery operations in Microsoft Private Cloud and Hyper-V environments.

• Reduced infrastructure for cloud: With delivery expected later this year, a NetApp reference architecture built with Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1 will tightly integrate with NetApp FAS data storage systems and V-Series open storage systems running NetApp Data ONTAP.

• Management and automation: For private cloud implementations, NetApp OnCommand Plug-in for Microsoft 3.2 is designed to provide integration with Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 for dynamic scalability, automated workflow, on-demand self-service, and infrastructure orchestration in conjunction with the release of the updated management suite for Windows Server 2012 by Microsoft.

• Web and application platform: NetApp provides comprehensive support for application platforms on Windows Server 2012, including support of SQL Server 2012 data protection with SnapManager 6.0 for SQL Server.