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To: Knight who wrote (37780)	1/11/2001 10:12:32 AM
From: DownSouth	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 54805

Does NTAP's patented WAFL architecture contain technology that could be leveraged for SAN environments (servers attached to centralized storage) as well as NAS environments (content management/delivery) allowing NTAP NAS to replace SAN? Almost a good question, til you got to the "replacing" part. WAFL is storage network agnostic. It does not require NAS. It does not require SAN. It is a storage method. NTAP is already using fibre channel (FC), which is the storage network media of SAN, to connect disk arrays to multiple filers in "clusters". Use of FC (SAN) will expand in NTAP product design. So NTAP NAS will not be replacing SAN. NTAP NAS will be incorporating the SAN storage network media. NAS is a way to connect the storage network to the communications network. SAN is a way to connect the storage devices within the storage network to the file system platforms. A very fundamenal point deserves discussion here. WAFL allows the customer to dis-integrate the file system from the application server platform. The file system software and hardware are literally removed from the application server computer and are, instead, on the storage network subsystem. In other words, WAFL replaces the UNIX and/or Windows file systems, and WAFL resides on the storage network on filers. EMC (Symmetrix) does NOT dis-integrate the the file system from the app server. The file system software still resides on the app server in the Unix or Windows OS. But the app server is physically connected to a SAN where the data resides on disk arrays. The innefficiencies of UNIX and Windows file systems are still there, but the SAN provides higher scalability and better file management. EMC's CrosStor-based NAS product is a true NAS product, but it lacks the efficiencies and scalability of NTAP's filers. That is because WAFL and ONTAP OS are superior performers to CrosStor (sp).