One constant for every company is that if the business expands, so does the need for storage. It’s like a teenager out-growing his clothes every year; you love to see him grow, but spending more money for clothes can have a negative impact on your budget. Just like outgrowing a wardrobe, outgrowing storage can be expensive, and making sure you’re getting the best possible performance without compromising on price is an unwelcome chore.
When comparing storage solutions, it always seems to come down to the same criteria: price for performance. Limited budgets and resources, like ever-increasing Windows data, storage infrastructure needs and server virtualization, often means less money left in the budget for innovation.
A powerful storage platform on a shoestring budget
Fortunately for growing pains everywhere, the NetApp FAS2220 storage appliance offers a unified storage system starting at under $8,000. This new entry-level system offers:
- Each controller with four 1GbE and two SAS ports
- Up to two external SAS shelves
- Data ONTAP 7G storage OS
And includes software:
- Performance optimization: FlexShare
- Storage efficiency: Deduplication, thin provisioning, compression, Snapshot and RAID-DP
- Core management: System Manager, Operations Manager, Provisioning Manager, Protection Manager
- High availability: RAID-DP, Snapshot, DSM/MPIO, OSSV, Cluster ready
- Secure multi-tenancy: MultiStore
Optional software is also available including:
- SnapRestore, SnapMirror, SnapVault, SnapManager Suite
- OnCommand Balance
The FAS2220 storage array is built to be faster and easier to use than any NetApp system before it.
Easy management with OnCommand system manager
Administators can easily set up and manage individual FAS2220 systems using:
- An intuitive wizard and workflow-driven interface that automates common storage tasks.
- Flash Pool support—view, create, and manage Flash Pool environments.
- A single interface for SAN and NAS environments.
- Upgradability to other NetApp systems while using the same OS and software tools.
Administrators can use the OnCommand System Manager across all NetApp storage systems.
Choosing the right system
The FAS2220 works best for value-oriented deployments (like one to three Windows applications) requiring a competitive price. However, NetApp offers the following in their 2200 series of products:
Figure 1: From NetApp’s FAS2200 series datasheet
In addition, extended-value software products offer advanced capabilities such as instant data recovery, instant cloning, data replication, disk-to-disk backup, and application-aware backup and recovery.
Just like humans, growth doesn’t have to consume your entire budget. Make sure to start right, keep it simple, and grow smart. To learn more, read our free eBook How do I better allocate and manage shared storage?
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