Network Appliance
Encyclopedia
NetApp, Inc. formerly Network Appliance, Inc., is a proprietary computer storage
and data management
company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California
. It is a member of the NASDAQ-100
and is also Fortune
magazine's fifth best place to work. In 2011, Netapp is placed at third rank in ' 25 Best Global Companies to Work For ' list by Great Place to Work® Institute.
, James Lau, and Michael Malcolm. At the time, its major competitor was Auspex
. In 1994, NetApp received venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital
. It had its initial public offering
in 1995. NetApp thrived in the internet bubble years of the mid 1990s to 2001, during which the company grew to $1 billion in annual revenue. After the bubble burst, NetApp's revenues quickly declined to $800 million in its fiscal year 2002. Since then, the company's revenues have steadily climbed.
In 2006 NetApp sold the NetCache product line to Blue Coat Systems, Inc.
. On August 19, 2009, Dan Warmenhoven stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Tom Georgens.
s was the company's flagship since the very beginning. A filer is a type of disk storage device which owns and controls a filesystem, and presents files and directories to hosts over the network. This scheme is sometimes called file storage, as opposed to the block storage that has been traditionally provided by major storage vendors like EMC Corporation
and Hitachi Data Systems
.
NetApp's filers initially used NFS and CIFS protocols based on standard local area network
s (LANs), whereas block storage consolidation required storage area network
s (SANs) implemented with the Fibre Channel
(FC) protocol. In 2002, in an attempt to increase market share, NetApp added block storage access as well. Today, NetApp systems support it via FC protocol, the iSCSI
protocol, and the emerging Fibre Channel over Ethernet
(FCoE) protocol.
The filers use NetApp's proprietary operating system called Data ONTAP which includes code from Berkeley Net/2 BSD Unix and other operating systems. Data ONTAP originally only supported NFS, but CIFS, iSCSI and Fibre Channel were later added. Today, NetApp provides two variants of Data ONTAP. Data ONTAP 7G and a nearly complete rewrite called Data ONTAP GX, based upon grid technology acquired from Spinnaker Networks. In the near future these software product lines will be merged into one OS - Data ONTAP 8, which will fold Data ONTAP 7G onto the Data ONTAP GX cluster platform.
In 2006, NetApp launched a Virtual Tape Library
(VTL) product for magnetic tape data storage
virtualization.
In 2007 NetApp introduced its own deduplication
technology: NetApp Dedupe, available for all current models of NetApp filer.
in its industry, behind EMC Corporation
and ahead of Seagate Technology
, Western Digital
, Brocade
, Imation
, and Quantum. In total revenue, NetApp ranks fourth behind EMC, Seagate, Western Digital, and ahead of Imation, Brocade, Xyratex
, and Hutchinson Technology
. Note that these lists of competitors do not include companies with significant storage businesses, such as Hewlett Packard, IBM
, Hitachi
, Dell
, Oracle
, and Fujitsu.
According to a recent (06.2010) IDC report, NetApp is a third company in network storage industry "Big 5's list", behind EMC and IBM, and ahead of HP and Dell, with largest annual revenue growth (47.4%).
100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009. This is the seventh consecutive year NetApp has earned a spot on the list, placing in the top 50 each time. NetApp also earned top honors in the "Best Companies to Work for in Research Triangle Park
" competition in 2006. Other previous distinctions include making ComputerWorld's "Top 100 Places to Work in IT 2005", "Best Places to Work" in the Greater Bay Area in 2006 by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley
/San Jose
Business Journal, and the 8th spot on the 2006 list of "Best Workplaces in Germany" by Capital Magazine. NetApp Canada was ranked #2 by the Great Place to Work Institute on the 75 Best Workplaces list for 2010.
, NetApp has been implicated as a supplier of technology that aids the surveilance efforts by the Syrian government
, claiming that the ZFS
File System developed by Sun infringed its patents. The following month, Sun announced plans to countersue based on alleged misuse by NetApp of Sun's own patented technology. Several of NetApp's patent claims were rejected on the basis of prior art
after re-examination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
.
On September 9, 2010, NetApp announced an agreement with Oracle Corporation
(the new owner of Sun Microsystems) to dismiss the charges.
Computer storage
Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....
and data management
Data management
Data management comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource.- Overview :The official definition provided by DAMA International, the professional organization for those in the data management profession, is: "Data Resource Management is the development and execution...
company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
. It is a member of the NASDAQ-100
NASDAQ-100
The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The companies' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components...
and is also Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine's fifth best place to work. In 2011, Netapp is placed at third rank in ' 25 Best Global Companies to Work For ' list by Great Place to Work® Institute.
History
NetApp was founded in 1992 by David HitzDavid Hitz
David Hitz is an American engineer. In 1992, he and James Lau founded NetApp, where he became an executive vice president.A graduate of Deep Springs College, David earned a BSE from Princeton University and went on to work as a senior engineer at Auspex and as an engineer at MIPS Computer...
, James Lau, and Michael Malcolm. At the time, its major competitor was Auspex
Auspex
Auspex, Inc. was founded 1985 by Michael Henney, Burt Brockman and Terry Kisner to develop SCADA software systems. In 1986, Rich Newell joined Auspex and the company started providing software support for SGM, Inc.'s RCS-7 line of SCADA products. In 1987 Auspex acquired the RCS-7 product line from...
. In 1994, NetApp received venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
. It had its initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in 1995. NetApp thrived in the internet bubble years of the mid 1990s to 2001, during which the company grew to $1 billion in annual revenue. After the bubble burst, NetApp's revenues quickly declined to $800 million in its fiscal year 2002. Since then, the company's revenues have steadily climbed.
In 2006 NetApp sold the NetCache product line to Blue Coat Systems, Inc.
Blue Coat Systems
Blue Coat Systems Inc. is a network security and network management company based in Sunnyvale, California, United States.It identifies itself as an application delivery network specialist...
. On August 19, 2009, Dan Warmenhoven stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Tom Georgens.
Major acquisitions
- 1997 - Internet Middleware (IMC): IMC's web proxy cachingProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
software became the NetCacheNetCacheNetCache is a former web cache software product which was owned and developed by NetApp between 1997 and 2006, and a hardware product family incorporating the NetCache software.-History:...
product line (which was resold in 2006). - 2004 - Spinnaker Networks: The technology Spinnaker brought to NetApp was integrated into Data ONTAP GX and first released in 2006.
- 2005 - Alacritus: The tapeMagnetic tape data storageMagnetic tape data storage uses digital recording on to magnetic tape to store digital information. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes. The device that performs actual writing or reading of data is a tape drive...
virtualization technology Alacritus brought to NetApp was integrated into the NetApp NearStore Virtual Tape LibraryVirtual Tape LibraryA virtual tape library is a data storage virtualization technology used typically for backup and recovery purposes. A VTL presents a storage component as tape libraries or tape drives for use with existing backup software.Virtualizing the disk storage as tape allows integration of VTLs with...
(VTL) product line, introduced in 2006. - 2005 - Decru: Storage security systems and key management.
- 2006 - Topio: Software that helped replicate, recover, and protect data over any distance regardless of the underlying server or storage infrastructure. This technology became known as ReplicatorX, and has since been abandoned.
- 2008 - Onaro: Storage service management software which helps customers manage storage more efficiently with guaranteed service levels for availability and performance.
- 2010 - Bycast: StorageGRID Object based storage.
- 2011 - Akorri: Cross-domain analysis and advanced analytics to help customers manage, optimize, and plan performance and utilization across their data center infrastructure.
- 2011 - ESG(LSI): Purchased the Engenio® external storageExternal storageIn computing, external storage comprises devices that temporarily store information for transporting from computer to computer. Such devices are not permanently fixed inside a computer....
systems business of LSI CorporationLSI CorporationLSI Corporation is an electronics company based in Milpitas, California that designs semiconductors and software that accelerate storage and networking in datacenters and mobile networks.-History:...
(NYSE: LSI), a publicly held company headquartered in Milpitas, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in an all-cash transaction for $480 million.
Filers
The line of NetApp filerNetApp filer
In computer storage, NetApp filer, known also as NetApp Fabric-Attached Storage , or NetApp's network attached storage device are NetApp's offering in the area of Storage Systems. A FAS functions in an enterprise-class Storage area network as well as a networked storage appliance...
s was the company's flagship since the very beginning. A filer is a type of disk storage device which owns and controls a filesystem, and presents files and directories to hosts over the network. This scheme is sometimes called file storage, as opposed to the block storage that has been traditionally provided by major storage vendors like EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
and Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems is a company providing mid-range and high-end storage systems, software and services. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. and part of the Hitachi Information Systems & Telecommunications Division....
.
NetApp's filers initially used NFS and CIFS protocols based on standard local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
s (LANs), whereas block storage consolidation required storage area network
Storage area network
A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices...
s (SANs) implemented with the Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
(FC) protocol. In 2002, in an attempt to increase market share, NetApp added block storage access as well. Today, NetApp systems support it via FC protocol, the iSCSI
ISCSI
In computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
protocol, and the emerging Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Fibre Channel over Ethernet is an encapsulation of Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks. This allows Fibre Channel to use 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol...
(FCoE) protocol.
The filers use NetApp's proprietary operating system called Data ONTAP which includes code from Berkeley Net/2 BSD Unix and other operating systems. Data ONTAP originally only supported NFS, but CIFS, iSCSI and Fibre Channel were later added. Today, NetApp provides two variants of Data ONTAP. Data ONTAP 7G and a nearly complete rewrite called Data ONTAP GX, based upon grid technology acquired from Spinnaker Networks. In the near future these software product lines will be merged into one OS - Data ONTAP 8, which will fold Data ONTAP 7G onto the Data ONTAP GX cluster platform.
In 2006, NetApp launched a Virtual Tape Library
Virtual Tape Library
A virtual tape library is a data storage virtualization technology used typically for backup and recovery purposes. A VTL presents a storage component as tape libraries or tape drives for use with existing backup software.Virtualizing the disk storage as tape allows integration of VTLs with...
(VTL) product for magnetic tape data storage
Magnetic tape data storage
Magnetic tape data storage uses digital recording on to magnetic tape to store digital information. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes. The device that performs actual writing or reading of data is a tape drive...
virtualization.
In 2007 NetApp introduced its own deduplication
Data deduplication
In computing, data deduplication is a specialized data compression technique for eliminating coarse-grained redundant data. The technique is used to improve storage utilization and can also be applied to network data transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent across a link...
technology: NetApp Dedupe, available for all current models of NetApp filer.
Datafort
The Decru Datafort storage encryption device is used to encrypt NFS, CIFS, iSCSI or Fibre Channel storage. The series also includes a lifetime key management appliance to store and safeguard the encryption keys.Partnerships
NetApp has technology partnerships with a number of leading IT vendors, such as BMCBMC-In business and organizations:* Beard Miller Company, a US public accounting firm* BioMed Central, a UK-based scientific publisher* BMC , a Turkish vehicle manufacturer...
, BrocadeBrocadeBrocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
, CiscoCiscoCisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
, Citrix, MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Oracle CorporationOracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, SAP AGSAP AGSAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
, SymantecSymantecSymantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
, Apple and VMwareVMwareVMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
.
The company’s latest partnership, billed as "Imagine Virtually Anything," involves collaboration with Cisco and VMware to offer customers an end-to-end Secure Multi-tenancy Design Architecture that provides enhanced security in cloud environments.
In addition to its technology alliance partnership, the NetApp Partner Program helps resellers, distributors, Service Providers and Systems Integrators create new revenue opportunities by leveraging NetApp solutions to help their customers solve business problems.
Principal competitors
NetApp competes in the Data Storage Devices industry. NetApp ranks second in market capitalizationMarket capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
in its industry, behind EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
and ahead of Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
, Western Digital
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world. It has a long history in the electronics industry as an integrated circuit maker and a storage products company. Western Digital was founded on April 23, 1970 by Alvin B...
, Brocade
Brocade Communications Systems
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. , based in Silicon Valley , is a vendor of storage area network hardware and software. The company also designs, manufactures, and sells networking products and management applications for local, metro, and wide area networks...
, Imation
Imation
Imation is a US based multi-national technology corporation that designs, manufactures and sells recordable data storage media, consumer electronics products and accessories.The company is a 1996 spin off of 3M and is headquartered in Oakdale, Minnesota...
, and Quantum. In total revenue, NetApp ranks fourth behind EMC, Seagate, Western Digital, and ahead of Imation, Brocade, Xyratex
Xyratex
Xyratex is a provider of disk drive manufacturing equipment and data storage subsystems with headquarters of Xyratex International in Havant, United Kingdom and U.S. headquarters in Fremont, CA. Xyratex has two business divisions serving distinct storage markets. They are the Networked Storage...
, and Hutchinson Technology
Hutchinson Technology
Hutchinson Technology is a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of precision technologies. Hutchinson's primary products are suspension assemblies that hold magnetic read-write heads at microscopic distances above the disks in rigid disk drives.Hutchinson's manufacturing plants...
. Note that these lists of competitors do not include companies with significant storage businesses, such as Hewlett Packard, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, and Fujitsu.
According to a recent (06.2010) IDC report, NetApp is a third company in network storage industry "Big 5's list", behind EMC and IBM, and ahead of HP and Dell, with largest annual revenue growth (47.4%).
Work environment
NetApp also has a long history of making "Best Places to Work" lists. The company ranked first on Fortune'sFortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009. This is the seventh consecutive year NetApp has earned a spot on the list, placing in the top 50 each time. NetApp also earned top honors in the "Best Companies to Work for in Research Triangle Park
Research Triangle Park
The Research Triangle Park is a research park in the United States. It is located near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina...
" competition in 2006. Other previous distinctions include making ComputerWorld's "Top 100 Places to Work in IT 2005", "Best Places to Work" in the Greater Bay Area in 2006 by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
/San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
Business Journal, and the 8th spot on the 2006 list of "Best Workplaces in Germany" by Capital Magazine. NetApp Canada was ranked #2 by the Great Place to Work Institute on the 75 Best Workplaces list for 2010.
Involvement with Syrian surveillance
In November 2011 during the 2011 Syrian uprising2011 Syrian uprising
The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...
, NetApp has been implicated as a supplier of technology that aids the surveilance efforts by the Syrian government
Legal dispute with Sun Microsystems
In September 2007 NetApp started proceedings against Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, claiming that the ZFS
ZFS
In computing, ZFS is a combined file system and logical volume manager designed by Sun Microsystems. The features of ZFS include data integrity verification against data corruption modes , support for high storage capacities, integration of the concepts of filesystem and volume management,...
File System developed by Sun infringed its patents. The following month, Sun announced plans to countersue based on alleged misuse by NetApp of Sun's own patented technology. Several of NetApp's patent claims were rejected on the basis of prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
after re-examination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
.
On September 9, 2010, NetApp announced an agreement with Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
(the new owner of Sun Microsystems) to dismiss the charges.
See also
- NetApp filerNetApp filerIn computer storage, NetApp filer, known also as NetApp Fabric-Attached Storage , or NetApp's network attached storage device are NetApp's offering in the area of Storage Systems. A FAS functions in an enterprise-class Storage area network as well as a networked storage appliance...
- Write Anywhere File LayoutWrite Anywhere File LayoutThe Write Anywhere File Layout is a file layout that supports large, high-performance RAID arrays, quick restarts without lengthy consistency checks in the event of a crash or power failure , and growing the filesystems size quickly. It was designed by NetApp for use in its storage appliances...
(WAFL), used in NetApp systems - Team NetAppTeam NetAppTeam NetApp is a cycling team established in 2010 with a German UCI Professional Continental license that hopes to obtain a ProTour licence in 3 years time.The teams main sponsor is NetApp and in 2010 the team is sponsored by Focus Bikes.-Major results:...