NetApp Private Storage for Cloud
Use multiple industry leading clouds and maintain complete control over your data

Overview:

The Multicloud Challenge

Thanks to continuous innovation from cloud providers, companies are faced with a dazzling array of continually evolving choices. The savings from infinite, elastic, affordable public clouds are impossible to ignore. Major cloud providers continually add capabilities and lower the price points of their offerings.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, how can you tell which clouds and cloud types are right for your organization now and in the future? Wouldn’t it be great to use a public cloud for more workloads— even those with sensitive data and compliance requirements?

Expand your cloud choices - Connect to many clouds and switch clouds at any time.

When it comes to cloud, one thing is clear: Enterprise customers demand choice and control. That’s why NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Cloud solutions are designed to keep you in control. 

Get cloud on your terms.
Use multiple, industry-leading clouds while maintaining complete control over your data on dedicated, private NetApp storage. Choose from solutions for an expanding NetApp network of cloud service providers, including:

• NPS for Amazon Web Services
• NPS for Microsoft Azure
• NPS for SoftLayer

Switch at any time.
With an NPS approach, you put your data “next to” multiple clouds in Equinix data centers. Once you make your first cloud connection you can add or switch to any or all of them—in minutes—using the Equinix Cloud Exchange.

Own and control your data.
You can meet your data compliance and sovereignty requirements because you know where your data is located at all times.

Quick and Easy Multicloud Access

With NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Cloud solutions, you keep your data on NetApp storage “next to” rather than “into” multiple clouds. You get the freedom to connect to the clouds you want while maintaining complete control of your data on your own dedicated, private NetApp storage systems.

Match your clouds to your workloads
With access to multiple clouds, you can match your clouds to your workloads and choose the right mix of clouds for business at hand. For example, you may decide to run an analytics application in Amazon Web Services, but prefer to use Microsoft Azure to cloudburst from your existing on-premises Microsoft infrastructure.

Quickly connect to new clouds and switch clouds any time
Start with your favorite cloud, then add new clouds or switch clouds in minutes. Once you establish a secure, dedicated, high-speed network connection from your NetApp storage to your first cloud in an Equinix colocation facility, it’s easy to add new clouds or switch clouds. The Equinix Cloud Exchange offers seamless, on-demand cloud connections through a simple web portal.

Eliminate lock-in and costly data migrations
NPS for Cloud eliminates time-consuming, costly data migrations that cause cloud lock-in. You can turn off connectivity to one cloud and spin up connectivity to another in minutes without having to move your data.

Diversify risk
Using more than one cloud to run your applications reduces business risks. If the first cloud does not respond, your application can instantly move to a second one.

Maximize your cloud buying power
As major competitors continue to innovate on price and feature set, the NPS for Cloud approach puts you in the driver’s seat to get the service, capabilities, and price you want from your cloud providers.

Maintain Complete Control Over Your Data

When you control your storage, you can meet the strictest possible data compliance and sovereignty requirements because you know where your data lives at all times. With advanced data protection features such as NetApp SnapLock technology and NetApp disk encryption, you can achieve compliance standards in even the strictest industries.

Move your data any time
The NetApp universal data platform makes it easy to move data between any NetApp based infrastructures, including private, public, and hybrid clouds. You can change your mix of public and private cloud resources to meet dynamic business needs or move data back on the premises any time you want. See Figure 3 on page 3, which shows the connections that allow NetApp SnapMirror data movement to NetApp on the premises.

Moving data back on the premises is quick and easy with a dedicated VPN/MPLS line and NetApp SnapMirror data replication software.

Gain world-class physical security for your data
Placing NetApp storage in Equinix gives you unmatched physical and environmental security for your data.

Protect your critical applications
Your business-critical applications will benefit from NetApp Integrated Data Protection features, such as spaceefficient Snapshot copies for backup and rapid recovery.

The Hybrid and Multicloud Approach

Private cloud services let companies retain control, but they do not offer low-cost commodity compute power and scalability of public cloud services. And public cloud services, although they provide great flexibility and scalability, require giving up control and putting your data into the hands of external providers. No single cloud type is just right. NPS for Cloud is unique because it blends private and public resources to give you the benefits of both. See Figure 4 on page 4, to compare NPS with other familiar types of cloud offerings.

Public cloud benefits with dedicated, proven enterprise storage
The NPS for Cloud approach gives you the elasticity and savings of a public cloud with the performance and availability of dedicated enterprise storage. By locating your data near major clouds with a dedicated highspeed connection to cloud compute in Equinix, your compute will feel local while your data remains secure and protected in a colocation facility. Your enterprise applications will get the high performance and low latency they need.

Common Use Cases Include:

Use cloud compute for enterprise workloads
Reap cloud elasticity with the speed, reliability, and availability of NetApp storage for enterprise workloads such as Oracle Database and Microsoft SQL Server.

Use cloud compute for variable workloads
You can match compute resources to utilization and avoid the large capex investments required for peak, unforecasted, or seasonal workloads with enterprise applications.

Accelerate innovation and time to market
Gain cloud agility for development and test. Then, run in the cloud you choose or deploy on the premises.

Provide disaster recovery at a lower cost
Deploy cost-effective single or multiregion, multicloud DR by activating your cloud only in test and failover scenarios.

Leverage temporary cloud resources for data center migration and consolidation
Maintain operations in the cloud as old data centers are decommissioned, then keep using the cloud or move your data to a new data center.

Adjust your capex-opex spending throughout your SaaS lifecycle
Pay as you go for cloud compute, then repatriate data to a NetApp based private cloud as you grow.

Most cloud solutions require a tradeoff between flexibility and control. By blending private and public resources, NPS for Cloud gives you the benefits of both.

Leverage the Experience of Industry Leaders

With NetApp Private Storage for Cloud you can move your business to the cloud with confidence by leveraging the experience of industry leaders in storage and cloud computing. According to Gartner, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are the industry leaders and SoftLayer is an up-and-coming visionary.* Over one billion end users rely on cloud services built on NetApp; 77% of Fortune 500 companies built their storage infrastructure on NetApp.

*Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, 2014

Amazon Web Services:

Get Amazon Web Services cloud on your terms. Combine the world's #1 public cloud* with proven enterprise storage.

When it comes to cloud, one thing is clear: Enterprises want flexibility and control. Most cloud solutions require trade-offs. The NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Amazon Web Services (AWS) solution gives you both.

Combine AWS cloud compute with proven enterprise storage.
Get the elasticity and savings of AWS cloud compute with the performance and availability of dedicated enterprise storage.

Match compute resources to utilization.
Use AWS EC2 for peak, unforecasted, or seasonal enterprise workloads and avoid large, unnecessary capex investments.

Maintain complete control over your data while using AWS.
NPS for AWS puts your data “next to” AWS cloud in Tier 1 data centers such as Equinix, eircom, and e-shelter with connectivity provided by AWS Direct Connect—a secure, dedicated, high-speed connection that outperforms the Internet. Your AWS compute feels local while your data remains protected. Data sovereignty is a non-issue. You know where your data resides at all times. 

* Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Storage Service

Microsoft Azure:

Harness the power and control of a hybrid cloud solution from NetApp and Microsoft Azure.

When it comes to cloud, one thing is clear: Enterprises want flexibility and control. Most cloud solutions require trade-offs, but the NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure solution gives you both.

Leverage Azure cloud compute with proven enterprise storage.
Combine the elasticity and savings of Microsoft Azure with the performance and availability of dedicated enterprise storage.

Match compute resources to utilization.
Use Azure compute for peak, unforecasted, or seasonal enterprise workloads and avoid large, unnecessary capex investments.

Put your data next to Azure for performance and control.
Placing your NetApp storage in an Equinix Tier 1 datacenter next to Azure gives you physical and environmental security, along with performance. Azure ExpressRoute connectivity between NetApp storage and Azure improves throughput by 36% compared to VPN over the Internet. Your compute feels local, while your data remains protected. Data sovereignty is a non-issue because you know where your data is located at all times.

The Challenge

As CIOs and their teams continue their evolution from being builders of applications and operators of data centers to brokers of information services, they require choice and flexibility to navigate their evolving mobile-first, cloud-first world. They need agile solutions that harness the power of private, public, and hybrid cloud resources to transform their data centers to meet evolving business requirements.

The Solution

NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure enables your enterprise to build an agile, high-performance cloud infrastructure that balances private and public cloud resources to optimize business outcomes. It is an addition to NetApp’s award-winning Microsoft Cloud portfolio, which includes the FlexPod Datacenter with Microsoft Private Cloud. NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure enables you to leverage the performance, agility, and control of private NetApp storage resources with the savings and elasticity benefits of Microsoft Azure. This capability enables your organization to simply and securely extend into the cloud to enable massive scalability as you need it. And it allows workloads to move seamlessly across cloud resources.

NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure features the NetApp clustered Data ONTAP storage operating system. This system offers a single storage and data management platform that enables unrestricted and secure data movement across private, public, and hybrid clouds.

NetApp Private Storage connects to Microsoft Azure using Azure ExpressRoute, a private, high-bandwidth, low-latency connection that does not go over the Internet. With ExpressRoute you can connect directly to your private storage at an Equinix cloud access facility to Microsoft Azure. Equinix, a global interconnection and data center company, is the first colocation facility to offer direct, high-speed connections to Microsoft Azure with ExpressRoute. Testing of NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure has shown that ExpressRoute provides 36% better performance versus that of a VPN over public Internet connections.

Combine Public Cloud Benefits with Proven Enterprise Storage

NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure combines the elasticity and savings of Microsoft Azure with the performance and availability of dedicated NetApp enterprise storage.

• Enterprise workload optimization.
  Your organization will reap the benefits of Microsoft Azure combined with the speed, reliability, and availability of NetApp storage for enterprise workloads such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, SAP, and more.
• Azure compute for variable workloads.
  You can easily match compute resources to utilization and avoid large capex investments that would otherwise be required for peak, unforecasted, or seasonal workloads.
• Disaster recovery at a lower cost.
  You can deploy cost-effective single- or multiregion disaster recovery by activating Azure only in disaster recovery test and failover scenarios.
• Protecting critical applications.
  Take advantage of space-efficient NetApp Snapshot technology for backup, rapid recovery, and integrated data protection of business-critical applications.

Your Cloud, Your Terms

With NetApp Private Storage, you have complete control over your data while using Microsoft Azure:

• Store your data “next to” rather than “in” the cloud.
  By locating your data next to Azure, you retain control of your data and enable performance similar to on-premises infrastructure stacks without needing a significant compute investment.
• Secure connectivity to the cloud.
  ExpressRoute enables you to connect NetApp storage with a secure, dedicated, highspeed network connection.
• Meet compliance and sovereignty regulations.
  The use of NetApp Private Storage helps you to meet compliance requirements. You own your storage and know where your data lives at all times. Advanced NetApp compliance features include NetApp SnapLock software and NetApp disk encryption.
• Enabling cloud data mobility.
  NetApp clustered Data ONTAP offers a single storage and data management platform that makes it easy to move data within your infrastructure based on NetApp, including private, public, and hybrid clouds.
• World-class physical security.
  Placing NetApp storage in tier 1 data centers such as those provided by Equinix offers your organization superior physical and environmental security.

Optimize Resources Across Private and Public Clouds

With NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure, you can dynamically change your mix of public and private cloud resources to balance your opex-capex profile and meet changing business needs.

• Accelerate innovation and time to market.
  Your organization can leverage the speed and flexibility of Azure compute resources for development and test and then run those workloads on Azure or deploy them on the premises.
• Optimize cloud resources.
  The use of Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 and Data ONTAP PowerShell Toolkit enables management and mobility of data between a private cloud and private storage connected to Microsoft Azure.
• Data center migration and consolidation.
  Move your data to private storage connected to Azure and maintain operations as old data centers are decommissioned. Then leave the data in place or move it to a new data center.
• Adjust capex-opex spending.
  You can adjust your capex-opex spending throughout your software-as-a-service lifecycle. Pay as you go for Azure compute, then repatriate data to a private cloud as you grow.

NPS for Azure: Azure ExpressRoute and Equinix Cloud Exchange connect your private storage to Azure compute.

Softlayer:

Extend SoftLayer cloud services with dedicated enterprise storage.

What if you could use SoftLayer Cloud for workloads that involve sensitive data? NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for SoftLayer, an IBM Company, gives you the elasticity and savings of SoftLayer Virtual and Bare Metal Servers coupled with the performance, availability, and control of dedicated enterprise storage.

Use SoftLayer cloud compute for workloads that require strict data sovereignty and compliance. When you control your storage, you know where your data is located at all times. An NPS approach puts your data “next to” rather than “into” the SoftLayer cloud in Equinix data centers via SoftLayer Direct Link, a secure, dedicated, high-speed connection that outperforms and bypasses the Internet. Your compute feels local while your data remains secure and protected.

Match compute resources to utilization. Handle peak, unforecasted or seasonal workloads. Avoid unplanned investments or outages. Your enterprise applications will get the high performance and low latency they need.

The Challenge

SoftLayer, an IBM Company, provides cloud infrastructure as a service to born-onthe-web start-ups and global enterprises around the world. For many enterprises, the promise of instant, elastic, affordable cloud compute backed by IBM support and services is a very attractive business proposition. Yet before they transition to the cloud, organizations need to be truly confident that they can do so, while maintaining compliance mandates, data sovereignty, and complete control over their sensitive data.

The Solution

NetApp Private Storage for SoftLayer is a hybrid cloud solution and the newest member of the NetApp Private Storage for Cloud family. The service combines the elasticity and savings of SoftLayer cloud compute with the performance, availability, and control of dedicated enterprise storage.

Extend SoftLayer Cloud Services with Dedicated Enterprise Storage

Now SoftLayer virtual and bare-metal servers can be enhanced for workloads that have strict data sovereignty and compliance requirements. When you use the NPS for SoftLayer approach, your NetApp storage is kept in an Equinix International Business Exchange data center, directly connected and close to SoftLayer cloud computing resources. Your storage and SoftLayer servers are connected through SoftLayer Direct Link, a private, secure, dedicated high-speed connection that outperforms and bypasses the Internet. SoftLayer Direct Link is available through the Equinix Cloud Exchange (ECX) so customers can quickly, easily connect their storage to SoftLayer cloud resources and other cloud providers. When you put your data “next to” rather than “into” the SoftLayer cloud, your compute resources feel local while your data remains secure and protected.

Address compliance regulations and data sovereignty laws
Because you control your storage, you know exactly where your sensitive data resides at all times. Equinix provides unmatched physical and environmental security with a patented five-layer system designed by the architects of the Federal Reserve’s security system. The system includes 24/7 security staffing, biometric hand-geometry readers, and 24-hour video surveillance. For highly regulated industries, NetApp disk encryption helps you achieve even greater compliance.

Use SoftLayer cloud compute with enterprise workloads that require data sovereignty
You can now match compute resources to handle peak, unforecasted, or seasonal workloads. This capability enables you to avoid unplanned investments or outages for high-performance and low-latency enterprise applications:

• Big data analytics
• Development, test, and production
• Disaster recovery (DR)
• Cloud burst
• Transcoding
• Data center migration and consolidation
• Multicloud compute access

Same SoftLayer User Experience with NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP Benefits

Many SoftLayer cloud services are already built on NetApp. Therefore, NPS for SoftLayer offers the same user experience and popular features available with iSCSI SAN and scale-out NAS SoftLayer cloud services today. Benefits shared between NPS for SoftLayer and the SoftLayer platform include nondisruptive operations, scalability, efficiency, and integrated data protection, all based on the NetApp clustered Data ONTAP operating system.

Our team will recommend latency characteristics and capacity for your NPS for SoftLayer solution based on your applications and workloads. NetApp and SoftLayer can tune your NPS implementation to offer the same experience as you get with SoftLayer Performance and Endurance Storage Services. In addition, NetApp and SoftLayer have validated select enterprise solutions based on NPS for SoftLayer, such as SAP on Oracle and Catalogic ECX DR.

Optimize resources across private and public clouds
You can balance your capex and opex profile and meet dynamic business requirements by changing your mix of infrastructure resources on demand. Thanks to SoftLayer flexibility and the NetApp Data ONTAP universal data platform, you can quickly and easily move data and workloads between on-premises NetApp storage and NPS for SoftLayer. SoftLayer enables you to choose your preferred hypervisor: VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Citrix Xen.

NPS for SoftLayer: SoftLayer Direct Link and Equinix Cloud Exchange connect your private storage to SoftLayer virtual servers and bare-metal servers.

Documentation:

Download the NetApp Private Storage for Cloud Datasheet (.PDF)