NetApp today launched two new modular disk arrays designed to let companies gradually build enterprise-class storage solutions from smaller devices.

Designed for both network addressed storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) environments, the FAS3400 and V3040 combine 4Gbit/s Fibre Channel (FC) and iSCSI connectivity, and can accommodate up to 252 disk drives.

“You can get pretty much the same performance levels out of most applications [such as Oracle, SAP and MS Exchange] from a scalable mid-range disk array as you can from larger big-iron alternatives, then go from smaller to larger solutions without migrating the data or changing the software platform,” said NetApp EMEA product marketing manager John Rollason.

Rollason added that, far from tying customers in to a NetApp architecture, the arrays will fit into any type of infrastructure and manage a host of third-party disks, though potentially at the expense of simple storage provisioning and replication, and integration with SnapManager data management tools.