InformationWeek

s more IT managers deploy network-attached storage systems, they're discovering that NAS lacks many of the capabilities that made direct-attached storage systems easier to manage. Network Appliance Inc., the leader in the network-attached storage market, tried to address that problem last week when it added five features to help control, protect, and manage data on its storage appliances and OnTap, its operating system.

The software is designed to let Network Appliance customers manage all their information as files in ways that compare with enterprise-management frameworks. For the first time, the company's devices can be connected to a storage area network based on Brocade Communications Inc. technology that has connections to multiple tape libraries and permits customers to back up and recover data across the SAN using Legato Systems Inc.'s Networker software.

In addition, Data Fabric Manager software gives customers a single console view of three to 50 devices and can help manage activities such as installation and configuration. Network Appliance also has expanded the number of disk drives per shelf its software can handle from nine to 14 for up to 1 terabyte of capacity.

Secure Share Quota Manager lets administrators work with users to reduce the amount of storage per user devoted to Word files and E-mail. And the software can take snapshots of data at frequent intervals so less data is lost when corrupted data causes outages, and lost information needs to be restored.

The new capabilities can provide significant benefits, says Carolyn DiCenzo, an analyst at Gartner--especially the quota-management feature. It's a "big win" for Network Appliance, she says. "The third-party tools didn't work with OnTap, but now they can get capacity under control by making users manage their own files."

Data Fabric Manager is designed to appeal to businesses that have growing storage systems but lack an enterprise storage system or framework, says Judy Bourcz, a senior manager of software systems at Network Appliance. "It's not for our large customers with hundreds of appliances," she says. "We already have agents that work with products from Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard, and Tivoli."