The SVC – SAN Volume Controller – qualification of the IBM-branded, diskless versions of NetApp’s gear allows it to be placed in front of SAN or block-level storage that has been virtualized by the SVC.
Last month NetApp began shipping its FAS3070 disk array, and yesterday IBM said will ship its version of that box on December 8, branded as the IBM N5600.
We’re riding NetApp’s coat tails, said IBM marketing manager John Foley. IBM says its target is to ship within 90 days of NetApp. IBM’s re-branded version of the diskless V3070 will ship in the next quarter.
Finally, IBM said that it has begun shipping a re-branded version of NetApp’s SnapManager for Oracle software – the 41st and penultimate NetApp software tool that IBM has added to its portfolio. The remaining tool is NetApp’s version of the NAS virtualization tool that was originally developed by NuView, which is now owned by Brocade Communications Systems Inc.
SnapManager for Oracle is an important product for NetApp, and it was updated only last month with self-service facility for DBAs. The fact that IBM has only just added it to the IBM portfolio might surprise some. IBM said that only one of the reasons for the late appearance is that most IBM customers running Oracle databases do so on IBM’s block-level DS4000 arrays.
