Cobalt max config is only 32GB and is based on Linux.
Procom max config is 150GB, also Linux-based using RAID 5.
Neither of these product lines is based on any open proprietary technolgy like NTAP's ONTAP OS with WAFL with SNAPSHOT/SNAP RESTORE, soft failover, etc. They are threats to NTAP only at the very lowest end of the market place, where capacity, reliability, scalability and expandability are not critical.
Sorry for this rather brisk response, but two products just don't measure up.
As for EMC, EMC has no NAS product at all, though they announced that they would be announcing one this year. EMC is much more scalable than NTAP, but its price/performance is a multiple of NTAP's. They are in separate niches at the moment, but as NTAP's capacity quadruples this year to almost 6TB and as EMC finally delivers a NAS product, then they will do battle.
I do not believe that EMC will be able to match NTAP's price/performance simply because NTAP's technology is based on patented file system methods that provide reliability and simplicity that are not matched by Linux or Windows technologies. It will be interesting to watch.
I also question EMC's resolve to be aggressive in the NAS market, which is a downscale market for them with a different customer base than the one they have now. IBM's attack on EMC with Shark is serious and requires a lot of attention by EMC's management. |
