Network Appliance will soon be offering its data de-duplication technology for corporate storage systems, regardless of the data management software being used.

NetApp Advanced Single Instance Storage (A-SIS) software will allow block-level de-duplication for NearStore R200 and FAS storage systems.

Previously A-SIS has only been available in systems bundled with Symantec NetBackup. Starting this week, however, the software will no longer require Netbackup.

With the offering, NetApp is targeting de-dupe technology not just for backup and archiving, but for primary storage systems as well. De-duplication removes redundant information as data is stored. The process greatly decreases storage capacity required.

ComputerWorld reports the software lacks a graphical interface, requiring the user to brave command-line inputs. NetApp, however, says the software runs seamlessly in the background with "virtually no read/write performance overhead."

The software is being offered as a free upgrade to NearStore R200 customers and as a $3,000 option for its FAS systems. ®