The iconic “these go to 11” scene from Spinal Tap is well-known to many. Another memorable moment occurs when the band listens to an old track on a US radio station. Their expressions of pride fade as the host notes that the band is “currently residing in the where-are-they-now file.”
At NetApp’s Insight 2024 event, it seems the E/EF-series high-performance storage has also found a place in that “where-are-they-now” category. The challenge it faces is a misalignment with NetApp’s overarching narrative that positions Ontap as the singular operating system (OS) for all solutions.
This message was a key focus during this week’s event in Las Vegas, especially with the company unveiling significant new features centered on artificial intelligence (AI)—including enhanced data discovery, classification, and management functionalities for Ontap. These capabilities are designed to help curate AI datasets within customer workloads, showcasing their practical value.
However, the E-series felt like an awkward relative trying to fit in, running on a distinct operating system unlike most other NetApp products. This separation prevents it from fully leveraging the advancements being made in the Ontap platform. Executives mentioned the E-series in presentations, but the lack of consensus about its future began to raise concerns about whether it was at risk, leaving many to wonder if it might be phased out or integrated into the Ontap ecosystem.
To clarify the situation, we sought answers and ultimately discovered that NetApp remains committed to the E-series, but it did require some investigative effort.
The E-series arrays were introduced following NetApp’s acquisition of Engenio in 2011. They initially operated on the SanTricity OS and started as spinning disk solutions before incorporating flash in 2013, as NetApp evolved its flash storage strategy.
Today, the EF-series focuses on delivering exceptional speed and multi-petabyte capacity for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, including AI applications. Yet, the compatibility of the E-series within NetApp’s strong Ontap-centric messaging raises questions.
We spoke with Jonsi Stefansson, NetApp’s chief technology officer, who acknowledged the messaging inconsistencies.
How does the E-series align with the Ontap message?
“The E-Series excels in performance, but lacks data management capabilities. In the era of AI, silos are being created that fail to connect with essential enterprise workloads. I’d liken E-Series to storage solutions from Vast Data or DDN—essentially, they’re just basic storage devices.”
What happens when E-series is used for AI workloads?
“There’s not much interaction between E-Series and Ontap. We’re effectively creating a silo. While E-Series offers remarkable performance, seamlessly integrating data into AI environments for optimal cost management is where it falls short. There’s no cloud connectivity in E-Series, which is a significant concern.”
Where is the incompatibility between Ontap and E-series?
Migrating data presents a considerable challenge due to data gravity issues. Tools like XCP or XCOPY can take a long time to transfer data, and without continuous synchronization, transferring data without losing deduplication, compression, or encryption becomes problematic. Ontap-to-Ontap setups are simply more efficient, and we don’t discuss E-Series often because it contradicts our unified storage narrative centered around Ontap.
Will E-Series be replaced by something that fits better with Ontap?
“That’s not my call to make, but I don’t believe E-Series will be replaced. It has a distinct role in HPC environments that don’t require extensive data management.”
Should E-Series users worry about NetApp support?
“Not at all. E-Series serves a crucial purpose. It excels in performance, even though it doesn’t possess the enterprise-level data management features that are increasingly essential in today’s landscape.”
George Kurian, NetApp’s CEO, later reinforced this commitment, indicating that the E-series will continue to play a vital role within specific workloads.
What’s the future for E-Series? Will it be replaced?
“The E-series will always have its place within NetApp. It’s designed for high-performance environments where minimal data management is necessary. It provides consistent low-latency data access.”
In premises where data management occurs at the application layer, such as in HPC with parallel file systems, or in object storage using the E-Series as a performance-driven backbone, the system proves its worth.
In summary, while the E-series may not align perfectly with NetApp’s all-encompassing Ontap narrative, it remains a valued component within the company’s strategy.