Cloud computing growth projections are almost always bullish these days – IDC’s forecast of a sizzling 25% compound annual growth in the global cloud services market to 2018 is just one example.
But despite the optimistic forecasts, plenty of enterprises just aren’t interested in the cloud. Persistent concerns about cloud security and performance have long held companies back from cloud adoption.
That’s where solutions like NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure come in.
The solution – which is available only in Equinix International Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers – brings private storage to the public cloud by allowing businesses to build a hybrid cloud that uses and extends their existing storage infrastructure, while capturing the public cloud’s efficiency and flexibility.
The integration of NetApp storage systems and Azure, which is used by more than 55% of Fortune 500 companies, can eliminate a barrier to cloud adoption by creating an “enterprise-grade” cloud environment that leverages the public cloud.
The NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure solution stores enterprise data on the customer’s private NetApp platform, which can be colocated in Equinix data centers around the world. Applications run in Microsoft Azure and have a dedicated connection to the NetApp storage by Azure ExpressRoute connections. ExpressRoute’s private, secure, high-throughput connectivity between cloud compute and private storage resources means data can be transferred with ultra-low latency, providing the high performance to support many demanding enterprise applications.
NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure expands the cloud-enabled storage options available through the Equinix Cloud Exchange, a new software-defined connectivity platform that allows companies to make multiple connections to multiple clouds from multiple sites.
The Cloud Exchange’s near real-time provisioning of cloud services and dynamic bandwidth allocation makes connecting to the cloud as simple, elastic and convenient as the cloud itself. It enables companies to pick from the data center industry’s largest selection of IaaS, SaaS and managed IT services, so they can connect to the clouds they want and adjust their portfolio of cloud services as their needs change.
The Cloud Exchange with Azure ExpressRoute will be available in 16 Equinix data center locations worldwide.
The combination of NetApp, Microsoft and Equinix technology in NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure will mean real gains for customers, according to five months of testing by NetApp. The testing showed that throughput between NetApp Private Storage customers and Microsoft Azure rose 36% when the services were connected via the Cloud Exchange, instead of public networks. Latency, meanwhile, was two milliseconds or less in the Azure U.S. East and Azure U.S. West regions, where NetApp Private Storage Labs are deployed with Equinix.
The results demonstrate why the ability to bypass the public Internet, and avoid its latency and security concerns, is such an important feature of NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure. Bringing NetApp’s storage and applications into close proximity inside Equinix enables secure, direct connections with low latency that’s far superior to what’s available on public networks. It’s like having your storage and compute racked in the same cabinet. But because the solution leverages the Azure cloud, it has added scale, savings and elasticity capabilities.
Among them:
_ the ability to address enterprise workload applications with the flexibility of hybrid cloud;
_ the ability to archive data to Azure for higher reliability and faster recovery;
_ cost-effective disaster recovery enabled by the replication of on-premises NetApp storage to an Equinix ExpressRoute enabled data center. The data can then be retrieved when needed;
_ access to Azure’s fast, flexible development and testing resources.
The soIution also delivers big data analytics by allowing the enterprise to store massive amounts of data on NetApp technology and use Azure analytics tools. In addition, businesses can create temporary computing capacity to meet specific requirements at specific times.
The NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure solution is built in part on the trust that the three partnering companies have earned over the years. It offers companies a way to venture into the cloud with time-tested partners, leveraging solutions that are familiar to their employees through their enterprise IT environment.
The rapid projected growth in cloud and cloud services can’t happen without the enterprise growing, too. The NetApp Private Storage for Microsoft Azure solution can help make sure it does.
Watch this video featuring NetApp’s Tom Shields, Senior Manager for Cloud Service Marketing. You’ll learn how NetApp tapped into Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Equinix to extend the data center into the public cloud via private, secure and reliable connection:
Check out the following video featuring NetApp’s Tom Shields, Senior Manager for Cloud Service Marketing. You’ll see how enterprises can benefit from NetApp’s partnership with Equinix, leveraging Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute which provides a secure,private connection to the cloud.
More Information
● For more information about Equinix and ExpressRoute
http://www.equinix.com/solutions/partner-solutions/microsoft-windows-azure/
● For more information about Cloud Exchange
http://www.equinix.com/solutions/by-services/interconnection/exchanges/equinix-cloud-exchange/
● For more information about NetApp Microsoft Cloud Solutions
http://www.netapp.com/microsoftcloud
Subscribe to the Equinix Blog