Attending VMworld? Grab Data ONTAP Edge VSA for Free from NetApp!

I have late breaking news, NetApp will be giving away 5,500 of the just released Virtual Storage Arrays to attendees of VMworld! Data ONTAP Edge is our VSA platform, which transforms the local storage of a server into a shared storage array. Data ONTAP Edge provides that the power and capabilities of physical NetApp FAS arrays, delivers as a Virtual Machine.

Data ONTAP Edge is a ‘Bring Your Own Hardware’ Storage Array!

Data ONTA Edge is, simply stated, Data ONTAP. It offers our standardized of data management capabilities including SAN, NAS, Snapshots & replication, Data Deduplication, FlexClone… it’s all there! One can use NetApp management tools like Systems Manager and Edge is completely interoperable with physical FAS and V-Series arrays. Data ONTAP Edge is integrated with VMware & our virtualization partners including API frameworks like VMware VAAI, VACI, VADP and SRM, Microsoft VSS, and NetApp plug-ins like the Virtual Storage Console for vCenter and OnCommand Plug-in for Microsoft (our Systems Center plug-in).

If you don’t have a NetApp array and want to understand why NetApp customer’s are so fervently dedicated to our technology, here’s your chance to get hands on with Data ONTAP and our integrations.

Data ONTAP Edge is Simply Data ONTAP!

With that said, the VSA is a VM and as such there are a few limitations; some due to hardware, others yet to be released. The version of Edge being distributed is 8.1.1 and this release lacks the following features that are available with physical FAS arrays:

• Fibre Channel and FCoE LUNs
• Data Compression
• Cluster-Mode

A Shout Out

I need to thank members of our marketing department and the Edge Product Management team, as this giveaway almost didn’t happen. It was a last minute brainchild of NetApp’s Demand Gen team – and the Edge team pulled this off in less than two weeks and in the face of numerous challenges.

Way to go team, your execution has been nothing short of amazing!

The Demand Gen team has a whole payload of online content coming to support Data ONTAP Edge including quick-start guides, video tutorials, and dedicated community content and discussions.

I will insert the URLs as soon as they go live.

How Can You Get Data ONTAP Edge?

Stop by a NetApp sponsored speaking session (listed below) or attend a mini theater presentation in the NetApp booth (#1402) and you will receive a USB stick containing the Edge VSA and a URL to where you can register for software licenses, download Systems Manager and the VSC plug-in for VMware vCenter Server.

Don’t delay. We only have 5,500 USB sticks to give away so make sure you stop by a NetApp session to grab one before they are gone!

To my good friend Mike Laverick, your USB stick is reserved and will be waiting at the NetApp booth. Enjoy, you’ve been waiting a long time for this.

NetApp Sponsored Sessions:

SS1011 – NetApp Founder Dave Hitz: How to Transform Your Business with an Agile Data Infrastructure, Featuring Customer PeakColo and VMware

Tuesday, Aug 28, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Luke Norris – CEO, PeakColo

Dave Hitz – Founder and Executive Vice President, NetApp

 

SPO3339 – NetApp, VMware, and Walz Group: How to Achieve Optimized and Virtualized Business Critical Applications

Monday, Aug 27, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Vaughn Stewart – Director for Cloud Computing solutions and Virtualization Evangelist, NetApp

David Korsunsky – Director – ISV Alliances, VMware, Inc.

Bart Falzarano – Chief Information Security Officer, Walz Group

 

SPO3340 – NetApp, VMware, and Logicalis: Enabling a Private Cloud on NetAppand VMware

Tuesday, Aug 28, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Joel Kaufman – Team Lead, Core VMware TME, NetApp

Chris Knowles – Global Cloud Specialist, VMware, Inc.

Steve Pelletier – Cloud Solution Architect, Logicalis