ReadyNAS dead? Long live the ReadyDATA?

[mdgm]

Some more information available here in the Instalationl (or as it should be spelt Installation) Guide: http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20683/~/readynas-documentation

GPL also available: http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20687/~/readynas-gpl-resources

For those curious you can learn a bit about the 5200 from looking at those.

[gibxxi]

Looking at these new devices, you can't help but feel that these are targeted at the "corporation-level" not the network-level. What I mean by this is, that your average NAS is ideally suited to small or medium sized networks. Looking at these new ReadyDATA units, I can see them being primarily used in large megacorps, datacentres and the like. Add-ons? No, i can't honestly see the need for an add-ons infrastucture if my assumptions on the intended target audience is correct.

Remember, this new product may boost them into first place in the upper-tier market where they aren't quite so dominant. I can see these new devices sitting alongside the ReadyNAS line quite well. It's a different device, aimed at a different class of user/business.

[a.carneiro]

Still, it would be sweet to see a ZFS implementation on RAIDiator as a form of adding some "spice" and "seriousness" to the ReadyNAS line...
Does anyone know if this is likely to happen sometime withint the next year or two?

[mdgm]

The ReadyDATA OS is very, very different to that of the ReadyNAS devices. As for NetGear's future product plans we users can only speculate. NetGear's not going to reveal what their plans are.

I agree that it would be nice to see some more new devices with ZFS.

If you are interested in the ReadyDATA devices, both the software and hardware manuals are now available. They are well worth a read.

[a.carneiro]

I was sort of interested until I saw the price tag...
Prosumer I may be, and I may have a bit of a storage fetish, but even I have my limits...

[beisser]

I was sort of interested until I saw the price tag...
Prosumer I may be, and I may have a bit of a storage fetish, but even I have my limits...

yes, the readydata series is not designed for SOHO at all. its pure enterprice grade and the price shows it i think.

[wizzard]

If you want a "cheap" ZFS system you can build our own storage device using a disc cabinet with a standard standard sever components and use Nexenta as os (uses opensolaris)
The only limitation is that you can only have up to 18TB in the free version. But this is over the top for a high en pro user. You will get performance beating $50k system for a fraction of the price.

[mdgm]

There are now ReadyDATA forums here: http://forum1.netgear.com/forumdisplay.php?f=129

[wvotta]

ZFS is a file system technology, and since ReadyNAS's OS already abstracts the file system from the hardware (with it's lovely RAID-X), it's conceivable to perform a conversion. The process would be to spin down physical drives that aren't needed to keep the existing data sane, and spin them back up formatting and mounting them as ZFS -- provided the ReadyNAS OS had the necessary drivers. Once the drive is populated with the new format it could replicate itself to that drive setting it's partition as active and reboot. Once back up and running on ZFS it could continue to convert and move the rest of the data over on the other drives. So long as you use less than, say, 40% of the unit (and if not then just upgrade storage drives until you are), in theory one could convert to the new format of drive.

That aside, anyone without a mission critical ReadyNAS (or a good backup) could just factory reset and reformat it to a ZFS friendly ReadyNAS OS or this new ReadyDATA one.

The question is if there are any physical limitations of, say, the ReadyNAS Pro 3200 that prevents ZFS from working. Main thing I see as a benefit is block level deduplication. That is the only thing I find game changing about the ReadyDATA. It is in no way a SAN replacement since it only has one controller (hard to be a Storage Area Network when it's really only one computer). A true SAN has N+1 architecture built in with a backplane providing the network connections among controllers -- usually fiber or the like tho the Left Hand SAN people show that it's possible over simple gigabit and a decent managed and buffered switch (now the P4000).

A side question is why $10k for the 5200 when one could get a true N+1 SAN for the same money from EMC? I don't need to go into how EMC has the privilege to work with VMWare hosts better than anyone seeing as they own VMWare..

[StewieG]

I thought this forum was for "non serious" talk??? so when is a readynas device going to support reiserfs??? lol

[tarkeen]

NetGear do make ReadyDATA 516 http://hcl.xensource.com/ProductDetails ... dyDATA+516

Run ReadyDATA OS 1.30.

[bajorgensen]

That is weird. Why on earth would they support two OS's?

[StephenB]

I suspect the xensource data might be incorrect.

However, we'll know soon enough (when it is available).

[TeknoJnky]

That is weird. Why on earth would they support two OS's?

readydata is enterprise

readynasos is home/smb

[WSJ]

Remember, this new product may boost them into first place in the upper-tier market where they aren't quite so dominant. I can see these new devices sitting alongside the ReadyNAS line quite well. It's a different device, aimed at a different class of user/business.

Well, that perfectly fits to what Chirpa has posted in "chirpa joins the Jedi Council Alumni (June 29th)" on 03/17/13 (2nd update, right at the end):

All you've done by banning me, is show NTGR's true direction in killing off the community.

That makes perfect sense - because corporate customers are used to pay high fees for support contracts. A community which offers the same (or even better) service level for free would spoil the market. So, they've decided to control the market. I'm just surprised that they did even launch a community for the new product line - actually that does not really make sense (except to convince customers that they have to sign a support contract since the free offering is insufficient ...).

Being in this (corporate) business I know that support services are generating high margins ... - not to compare with hardware business.