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NetApp insists it won't drop StorageGRID

If you have any internal objects, fling them now

The Register's storage desk has been told by insiders that NetApp is going to drop its bought-in StorageGRID product in favour of an internal object development from its Indian operation.

StorageGRID is NetApp's object storage platform, a renamed product NetApp obtained after buying Canadian firm Bycast in April 2010. It is not integrated with Data ONTAP, NetApp's FAS storage array operating system which offers both file and block-access storage. The unified storage message would be enhanced if object storage could be integrated with ONTAP.

HDS is offering unified file, object and block storage with HUS VM, as we noted this morning. EMC has no equivalent development although we have heard stories about object storage being added to a forthcoming Isilon product release called Mavericks. Another story has HP's internal object development involving the IBRIX scale-out filer technology. Both these developments as described would not include block storage.

El Reg has been told of internal object storage developed by NetApp in India. It can be integrated with ONTAP, offering an object storage presentation of ONTAP, on top of ONTAP's basic file structure, a reversal of normal object storage having an NFS head.

The NetApp India code requires further development, so according to our sources, there will be another release of StorageGRID to tide things over and then it would be retired in favour of the new product, or, rather, ONTAP feature. There may be some migration facility from StorageGRID to the new platform.

If this goes ahead the Bycast acquisition becomes a mistake.

Asked to comment to this idea, a NetApp spokesperson said: "There are no plans to discontinue StorageGRID or combine StorageGRID into Data ONTAP. NetApp is continuing to make investments in the development and support of StorageGRID." ®

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