NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced new storage and data management advances for VMware View to help customers deploy and operate virtual desktop environments faster and more efficiently. NetApp also announced that it is now a VMware Authorised Consultant (VAC) partner and can help customers better design, implement, and optimise their VMware environments. Together, these announcements underline NetApp's commitment to helping customers adopt desktop virtualisation through technological innovation, collaboration, and support.
NetApp's new Rapid Cloning Utility 2.0 simplifies the way administrators clone VMware virtual machines and datastores, providing greater ease through automation. Rapid Cloning Utility is a free plug-in for the VMware vCenter suite of management products that integrates core NetApp technologies with VMware management tools to provide multiple storage efficiency and performance enhancements. Now customers can significantly reduce the amount of time IT personnel must spend to provision multiple virtual desktops by using a simple graphical interface to create new virtual machines nearly instantly. In conjunction with NetApp FlexClone, a single image can be replicated hundreds of times in minutes while using almost no additional storage capacity. NetApp offers fully automated provisioning tools for VMware environments that extend savings value into storage infrastructures.
Customers can also boost virtual desktop performance using deduplication-aware intelligent cache combined with the solid-state Performance Accelerator. This enables high-speed cache to serve a greater number of virtual desktops while the Performance Accelerator Module increases solid-state cache to boost performance throughput for large environments. Recent NetApp internal tests show that users can increase performance up to 70%, reduce boot times by 50%, and realise significant savings in purchase price, rack space, and energy use.
“Storage costs should never prevent virtual desktop projects from getting off the ground or meeting ROI goals,” said Jeff Jennings, vice-president, Desktop Products and Solutions, VMware. “VMware View Composer, a component of VMware View, leverages our linked clones technology, which helps control storage costs by reducing the storage needs for virtual desktops. NetApp complements VMware View by seamlessly integrating storage efficiency technologies such as deduplication, FlexClone, and Rapid Cloning Utilities. The integrated solution from VMware and NetApp provides customers with a unified, flexible, and economical solution for deploying and managing secure, personalised virtual desktop environments.”
“It was important to our business to find a storage solution that would allow us to expand our virtual desktop deployment without incurring the high costs of a one-to-one desktop-to-storage relationship,” said Dave Dephillis, manager of IT Operations at Allied Cash Advance, one of the nation's largest providers of payday advances. “By using NetApp storage for our VMware virtual desktop and server environment, we have seen more than a 90% reduction in capacity requirements for XP workstations. That translates to a huge cost savings. With this high level of storage efficiency, we've had the cost efficiency to continue to grow our virtual desktop deployment.”
NetApp expects most customers will see dramatic reductions in storage capacity requirements. The company will even guarantee reduced storage needs by 50% through the NetApp Virtualisation Guarantee* Programme.
With NetApp, customers also have available the training and support needed to quickly deploy a virtual desktop solution that is customized to meet their business goals. As a VAC partner, NetApp has access to VMware tools and resources to design and implement virtual environments that boost customer productivity and cut costs.
“With tightened IT budgets, our customers are now accelerating virtualisation projects to cut costs and maximize efficiency,” said Patrick Rogers, vice-president of Solutions Marketing at NetApp. “By partnering with our customers at every step, we help them reduce the cost of implementing or migrating to a VMware solution and substantially reduce payback times on their investment.”
Pricing and availability:
Customer pricing for products described in this press release is available from NetApp sales or reseller partners. Rapid Cloning Utility 2.0 and Performance Accelerator Module are available immediately.
For more information on NetApp Virtualisation Desktop Infrastructure solutions and a demo of Rapid Cloning Utility, please visit the VDI Ask the Experts session at http://communities.netapp.com/community/technet/ask_the_expert.
For more information on the NetApp Virtualisation Guarantee Programme, visit www.netapp.com/guarantee.
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