NetApp Announces Integration Between vSphere and Data ONTAP 8

VMworld 2012 – NetApp has announced a new integration between their Data ONTAP 8 software and VMware’s vSphere 5.1 in order to offer customers the ability to deliver and manage data migration between hundreds of virtual machines at once.

The improvements to Data ONTAP 8 mean that organizations can get continuous data access and uninterrupted business operations, even as infrastructure grows and scales in capacity and performance. Moreover, the enhancements mean that this ability comes without the need for changes to server hosts.

“Data ONTAP operating in Cluster-Mode extends the virtualization benefits of VMware with the ability to transparently migrate data within a cluster to provide non-disruptive load balancing, hardware maintenance, or technology refreshes—virtually eliminating planned storage downtime,” the company said.

Other benefits from the NetApp and VMware integration include Data ONTAP Edge, which the company explained as a service that delivers enterprise storage on a virtual storage appliance hosted by VMware. It’s useful for remote operations, as enterprises with many small or remote offices that require local storage will be able to backup and protect data easily, with minimal IT supervision.

Data ONTAP 8 operating in Cluster-Mode, and Data ONTAP Edge are on display at the NetApp booth (#1402).