Aptiris, Inc.

Network Appliance^TM and FirstClass

While many organizations have traditionally run FirstClass in a single-server environment using internal storage, many sites may find that their disk requirements will expand significantly in the coming years. Reasons for this increase include evolving requirements for archiving of data, planned changes to the FirstClass network store to facilitate long-term storage, and the desire to allow users to do more within FirstClass.

As sites consider upgrading hardware, Aptiris strongly recommends consideration of a storage architecture that provides benefits that go beyond drive capacity.

Please review our FirstClass / Network Appliance Technical Review, a white paper last updated December, 2007 that provides detailed considerations for the use of NetApp in a FirstClass environment.

NetApp FAS

The Network Appliance FAS series of appliances have been the flagship of the NetApp line since 1992. Many of the largest FirstClass sites worldwide have been running on NetApp FAS devices for a decade or more. Continuous improvements to the line have maintained the status of these devices as the preferred storage architecture for large FirstClass installations.

NetApp Website

StoreVault

The introduction of StoreVault to the market in 2006 brings the same enterprise-class technology and operating system of the FAS series into devices built and priced to meet the needs of smaller organizations. For sites running FirstClass, these devices are an excellent choice for Archive Services data storage, and a powerful back-end for production environments with concurrency of 250 users or fewer.

StoreVault Website

Network Appliance^TM Benefits

Addition of a NetApp filer provides numerous benefits for any environment.

In addition to FirstClass, NetApp is an excellent fit for VMWare implementations, SQL Server, Oracle Databases, Exchange/Sharepoint services, File Services, Archiving, and more.

	Reliability - With greater than 99.99% availability and the ability to better enable FirstClass sites to configure standby hardware, use of a NetApp filer keeps mission-critical systems running full-time
	Backup and Recovery - Exclusive Snapshot^TMand SnapRestore^® technologies provide a more efficient means of backing up your network store than FirstClass-native mirroring, allowing multiple backups per day and increased efficiency for backing up large volumes.
	Disaster Recovery - The ability to roll back instantly to a snapshot, and the capacity for off-site storage via SnapMirror^®, provide ways in which your organization can protect data in the event of catastrophic events.
	Data Consolidation - Centralizing data for multiple services a single server allows for easier management and reduced time and cost for hardware, maintenance, backups, and ongoing administrative tasks.
	Flexibility - With units available from 500GB to several terabytes and the ability to easily expand and upgrade existing arrays, NetApp provides a solution that will grow with your organization's needs

Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today’s data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that simplify data management.