The NetApp All Flash FAS Series are the scale out enterprise system family offered by NetApp that can be configured to satisfy both high-end and mid-tier customer needs with the performance of an all flash storage system. The all flash models support scaling of both capacity and performance using clustered
scale-out, which allows NetApp to offer highly configurable systems to cover a broad market.
NetApp offers the systems as Unified Storage, which is unified in that they support both file and block access. NetApp has also added S3 support to the AFF’s ONTAP operating system. The first All Flash FAS models were released in 2015 and there have been a number of AFF models ranging from entry level systems to high end. The current AFF models include the AFF c190 entry level model, AFF A250, AFF A400, AFF A700, AFF A800, and AFF A900. The A800 was the first to bring NVMe protocol storage devices (SSDs) and NVMe over Fabric support. Initial NVMeoF support is with Gen 6 Fibre Channel at 32 Gb/s, which was followed by NVMe over Ethernet at 100 Gb/s.
NetApp additionally has added AFF C models, in which the “C” designates a focus on capacity. The C series models utilize the same fundamental technology as AFF A series, but utilize QLC flash devices to create denser, capacity optimized systems. The AFF C Series includes the C250, C400, and C800.
AFF models are also offered with SAN support only (no NAS or object support). These are termed All SAN Arrays. With ONTAP 9.9.1, NetApp supports in place conversion of AFF systems to an All SAN Array with minimal disruption.
This document provides an overview and analysis of the major features and functions of the NetApp All Flash FAS storage systems. NetApp systems use the ONTAP operating environment. This document covers the complete storage OS functionality including data protection and deduplication capabilities.
NetApp All Flash FAS Product Analysis Includes:
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