Unq, NTAP has many patents. The key one is on its Write Anywhere File Layout (WAFL). This file layout is the cornerstone for the filer's reliability, performance and ease of administration. The file layout minimizes head movement for reads and writes, has an inherant feature that recovers the entire file system from a catastrophic failure (Snapshot), and minimizes the effort in adding disk drives to a RAID array.
NTAP also has a patent on its cross-platform security system, which maps the security rights of files between Windows and UNIX environments, allowing users from both platforms to access the same files without security concerns and allowing a user to access the files from either platform but have the same security rights regardless.
There are some patents around its new SNAPSHOT Backup/Restore software, also.
I am pretty sure, but not positive, that NTAP has patents on some of its soft failover/recovery techniques, using nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) and NUMA (for its clustered configurations).
Whethter these patents make NTAP a Gorilla candidate is debatable. The patents to heighten the barriers to entry, as to "copy cat" NTAPs methods of gaining reliability, speed, and performance would result in a barrage of IP lawyers well armed and ready to battle.
But the question begs, does NTAP have IP for "enabling technology". Hmmmmm. Could this IP be for the enabling technology of a "fast, simple, reliable, multiprotocol network attached storage subsystem"?
Hmmmmmmm.
BTW, FranQ, Dan Wormenhaven is a student of G. Moore's book "Inside the Tornado", which is, of course, the premise to "The Gorilla Game". You can bet that Dan and his entire team have spent a great deal of time thinking about their business model in terms of how to knock down the pins in the bowling alley, manage itself during the Tornado, and emerge as the Gorilla. And they are having these discussions in terms defined by G. Moore. |
