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Technology Stocks : Network Appliance -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cfoe who wrote (6693)	2/15/2001 10:23:41 AM
From: DownSouth	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 10934

if NAS and SAN do converge, is it going to be easier for NTAP to enter SAN market or EMC to enter NAS market? Good question. Realize that EMC has already entered the NAS market with Celerra, using the SAN Symmetrix as the data storage subsystem. So that's done. Also, NTAP just announced its BRCD-based fibre channel switching fabric product which puts a SAN behind one or more NAS filers. So that's (almost) done. So now the question will be which has delivered the most effective product representing the convergence of NAS and SAN. Clearly, EMC has the most robust SAN product because of their software layer which manages that SAN. NTAP has the most robust NAS product because of their OS and File System (ONTAP/WAFL) which manages the NAS interface and data serving to that interface. So now the question for the future is can EMC evolve its NAS product(s) to be as effective as NTAP's; and can NTAP evolve its SAN software to be as effective as EMC's. There is one very important caveat: NTAP is focused on delivering content mgt/dist by laying WebManage software on top of its NAS/SAN/Cache platforms. So its SAN storage mgt software may have a very different purpose than EMC's existing software. But we have heard from EMC that its alliance with CacheFlow is to deliver content mgt/dist capability. Just as we see NAS and SAN converging the whole NAS/SAN arguement is no longer relevant. Now its a game of content mgt/dist. NAS and SAN convergence is a given. Sidebar: Has Chamelon become irrelevant?