Citrix and NetApp Deliver Virtualization Solution for Storage Environments

Citrix Systems, Inc. and NetApp
announced a global, strategic partnership to deliver a complete server
virtualization solution capable of leveraging the power of NetApp
storage solutions.

Citrix XenServer Adapter for NetApp Data
ONTAP enables customers to unlock the power of virtualized storage
in Citrix XenServer environments. This jointly developed certified
solution simplifies virtual machine creation and management by
allowing customers to centrally manage storage configuration and
provisioning from a single console, making it one of the industry’s
few virtualization solutions optimized for storage environments.
Citrix and NetApp are building on their existing relationship and
extending virtualized data management environment capabilities
included in Citrix XenServer 4.1, which began shipping today.

The growth of virtual servers has complicated the way in which
many IT professionals approach networked storage by requiring
additional new layers of management software or disruptive changes to
the underlying storage architecture. Unlike other server
virtualization solutions, Citrix XenServer features an open
architecture that allows customers to manage storage in the same way
for both their physical and virtual server environments. The Citrix
XenServer Adapter for NetApp Data ONTAP takes this one step further by
allowing customers to access all the storage features in NetApp Data
ONTAP directly from the XenServer management console. This approach
dramatically simplifies the process of implementing virtual servers in
NetApp networked storage environments and enables customers to
leverage their existing investments in storage infrastructure without
retraining users or implementing new layers of management when using
the NetApp V-Series systems.

"ManageOperations has successfully deployed both Citrix XenServer
virtualization software and NetApp Storage for customers such as
T-Systems and Daimler, automating the management of their large
computer centers running anywhere from 3,000 – 8,000 servers," said
Jim Corrigan, Founder of Manage Operations. "After looking at the beta
product for Citrix XenServer integrated into NetApp, we are excited
about a storage-optimized virtualization solution that will enable our
customers to leverage familiar software to add server virtualization
capabilities and manage it all through one central management
console."

Delivering Storage-Optimized Virtualization

NetApp Data ONTAP enables IT staff to process resource-intensive
storage services in the storage array to free up physical server
resources to run business-critical application workloads. With the new
Citrix XenServer Adapter for NetApp, these benefits can now be
seamlessly leveraged for virtual server environments running Citrix
XenServer. As a result, customers can quickly take full advantage of
the rich data management and data protection capabilities in their
existing NetApp storage systems directly from the XenServer management
console, including thin provisioning, cloning, replication,
deduplication and backup and recovery. Customers can now leverage
XenServer to use NetApp Data ONTAP for instant thin provisioning of
virtual disk images (VDI), and for VDI cloning and Snapshot
copies, improving performance of these data-intensive operations
without affecting the performance of the virtual machines (VMs)
themselves. Other highlights include:

• Integrated and simplified wizard-based set up and
  configuration – Citrix and NetApp provide a simplified user
  experience, allowing customers to quickly configure their
  solution and start using its powerful capabilities right
  away–all without scripting, additional downloads, licensing,
  or add-on components. Customers can now deploy a server or
  desktop virtual infrastructure and realize the full benefits
  of VM-optimized storage to maximize system wide performance
  and storage utilization and prevent the need to configure
  complex clustered file systems.
• Task and resource optimization – Because server and storage
  management is unified in the XenServer management console,
  customers can leverage NetApp tools such as RAID-DP,
  Snapshot, FlexVol, and FAS deduplication to achieve
  reliable and smarter server and storage resource utilization.
  As a result, customers can leverage their existing investment
  in NetApp storage management, disaster recovery, and backup
  systems for their virtualized infrastructure to save expenses,
  training and additional investment.
• Hardware Agnostic – XenServer’s integration with Data ONTAP
  optimizes all Data ONTAP based systems, including those from
  NetApp, IBM, and Fujitsu. For customers using non-NetApp
  storage connected to a NetApp V-Series system, all the data
  management and data protection provided by the new NetApp
  adapter in XenServer can be leveraged.

"Integrating our products with XenServer provides customers with
the unique ability to leverage the virtualization awareness inherent
in NetApp arrays," said Jay Kidd, CMO, NetApp. "By bringing the worlds
of server and storage virtualization together, we offer operational
breakthroughs that help customers improve their IT infrastructure and
processes."

"Our customers want the ability to create a data center experience
with all the benefits of server virtualization without disrupting
their storage virtualization environment," said Peter Levine, senior
vice president and general manager, Virtualization and Management
Division for Citrix. "Citrix and NetApp customers can now virtualize
their servers and directly leverage the superior data management
capabilities from NetApp."

In addition to the availability of the Citrix XenServer Adapter
for NetApp Data ONTAP, NetApp has also completed testing and
certification of Citrix XenServer to assist in seamless integration
and support.

The Citrix XenServer Adapter for NetApp Data ONTAP is included
with XenServer 4.1 and is available today at no additional cost.

NetApp

Citrix Systems, Inc.