Enterprise all-flash storage for Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud and data protection workloads
Predictable performance. Rapid scalability. Enterprise-grade resilience. |
Servers Australia delivers NetApp enterprise storage as a managed Storage-as-a-Service platform, with policy-driven performance tiers and flexible protection options for business-critical workloads.
All-flash performance Low-latency storage designed for demanding virtual machines, databases, analytics and shared workloads. | Scale without disruption Expand storage capacity without installing physical disks or taking the attached server offline. |
Built-in resilience High-availability controllers, RAID protection, encryption at rest and continuous platform monitoring. | Advanced protection Optional snapshots, replication, ransomware anomaly detection and immutable storage capabilities. |
Talk to Servers Australia about the right storage architecture for your workload, location and recovery objectives.
Enterprise storage, delivered as a service
NetApp-backed storage gives organisations the performance and resilience of an enterprise storage platform without the complexity of deploying and maintaining a dedicated array. Storage is delivered over a dedicated, isolated storage network and can be attached to eligible Servers Australia infrastructure.
Where it fits
Solution | Typical use cases |
|---|---|
Dedicated Servers | High-performance shared storage for supported Blaze and Enterprise Server configurations. |
Private Cloud | Backend storage for private virtualisation environments, shared datastores and storage pools. |
Storage-as-a-Service | Flexible block and file storage for applications, file services and data platforms. |
Backup and DR | Recovery targets, replicated volumes and storage-layer protection for supported designs. |
Why move beyond local server disks?
Rapid scalability
Capacity can typically be expanded quickly, without physical disk installation or server downtime.
Continuous availability
Active-active storage controller architecture improves availability at the storage layer.
Data mobility
Storage is no longer tied to a single physical server, making future moves, expansions and platform changes easier.
Consistent operations
Policy-based controls, monitoring and automation support predictable delivery across supported workloads.
Performance tiers
Choose a tier aligned to workload demand. Each tier uses policy-driven quality-of-service controls to provide a defined performance profile.
Tier | Designed for | Performance profile |
|---|---|---|
Cold | Archival data and backup targets | Capacity-focused storage for low-transaction workloads. |
Warm | File shares, web servers and DR replication | Balanced performance for general business workloads. |
Hot | Production VMs, databases, VDI, containers and development | The standard production tier for demanding business applications. |
Blaze | High-demand VMs, databases and analytics | Highest performance profile for workloads that cannot compromise on throughput or latency. |
Tier availability and final performance design depend on workload characteristics, connectivity, infrastructure location and capacity availability.
Data protection and cyber resilience
Protection features can be enabled on selected volumes, allowing each workload to be matched to its recovery, continuity and compliance requirements.
Snapshot Protection
Fast point-in-time recovery
• Scheduled, rolling snapshots at the storage layer
• Rapid rollback and recovery for accidental deletion, corruption or operational incidents
• Space-efficient recovery points using NetApp WAFL technology
• Writable copies can be created with FlexClone for dev/test, validation and automation workflows
SnapMirror Replication
Business continuity and disaster recovery
• Replicates data to a secondary location (where supported)
• Policy-based replication with health and schedule monitoring
• Supports planned DR workflows and recovery design
• Can be deployed using synchronous or asynchronous architectures, depending on solution requirements
Autonomous Ransomware Protection
Storage-layer anomaly detection
• AI-driven behavioural analysis to identify suspicious encryption activity
• Alerts and detection at the storage layer
• Can integrate with snapshot-based recovery workflows
• Provides an additional last line of defence alongside endpoint security and backup
SnapLock
Immutable WORM storage
• Prevents deletion or modification during a defined retention period
• Supports compliance-driven retention and data governance use cases
• Available where supported by the service design
Important: Snapshots and ransomware detection complement - but do not replace - backup, endpoint security and disaster recovery controls. |
Connectivity and deployment
NetApp storage is delivered through a dedicated storage VLAN, separating storage traffic from public transit traffic for security and predictable performance.
Supported access protocols
Protocol | Storage type | Typical applications |
iSCSI | Block storage | Database and application storage |
NFS | File storage | Linux workloads, shared file systems and virtualisation |
SMB | File storage | Windows file services and supported shared workloads |
Dedicated Server requirements
Eligible Dedicated Servers must have suitable network interfaces and bandwidth. A typical design includes:
• A network port for transit or internet connectivity.
• A network port for out-of-band management.
• One or more network ports for the storage network.
For most deployments, multiple 10Gbps storage connectivity are strongly recommended and may be required depending on the selected tier and workload. Multipathing, iSCSI initiators or NFS configuration may also be required at the operating-system level.
Location and platform eligibility
NetApp-backed services are available only in locations with the required storage arrays, switching, segmentation and redundancy. Availability for Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud, VPS, Cloud Server and colocation environments is assessed against the proposed architecture.
Provisioning expectations Standard capacity can often be provisioned within hours. Network changes may take one to three business days; multi-zone designs are scoped separately. |
Enterprise platform capabilities
Servers Australia operates NetApp all-flash systems using ONTAP, providing unified enterprise storage capabilities across supported block and file workloads.
Capability | What it delivers |
High availability | Active-active storage controllers, backend disk protection and resilient storage fabric design. |
Encryption | AES-256 encryption at rest and secure volume encryption where configured. |
QoS controls | Policy-driven performance allocation to align each volume with its selected tier. |
Monitoring | Platform monitoring, proactive alerting and operational health oversight. |
Efficiency | Data reduction capabilities such as deduplication and compression, subject to workload characteristics. |
Automation | Scheduled snapshots, replication policies and repeatable storage operations. |
Service measurement
Storage availability is measured monthly at the platform layer, including controller, backend disk and storage fabric availability. Performance is assessed against the throughput, IOPS and latency parameters associated with the selected tier.
Service measurements exclude issues caused by customer configuration, operating systems, applications or customer-side networking. Replication outcomes also depend on data change rate, available bandwidth and workload behaviour.
Designed for growth
Storage capacity can be expanded rapidly when backend capacity is available. Although fully automatic capacity scaling is not currently offered, the service removes the need to purchase and install additional disks at the customer server level.
Frequently asked questions
Is network storage slower than local disks?
Not necessarily. Correctly designed all-flash network storage can deliver very strong performance and may outperform local disks, depending on the server, network and workload.
Can storage capacity be increased later?
Yes. Capacity can usually be expanded without server downtime, subject to backend availability.
Can I change performance tiers?
Yes, subject to technical design, workload requirements and platform availability.
Can protection features be added after deployment?
Yes. Snapshot, replication and ransomware protection options can be enabled later on supported volumes.
Does NetApp provide disaster recovery?
NetApp provides the storage replication foundation for DR. A complete DR outcome also requires appropriate compute, networking, application and recovery procedures.
Can colocation equipment connect?
Yes. Availability and connectivity depend on the facility, available cross-connects, VLAN design and secure segmentation, and are assessed case by case.
Build the right storage architecture
Every workload has different performance, availability, recovery and compliance requirements. Servers Australia can help assess the complete solution - including compute, networking, storage tier, data protection and disaster recovery.
1 Assess Workload, capacity, performance, connectivity and recovery objectives. | 2 Design Storage tier, network architecture and optional protection services. | 3 Deliver Provisioning, configuration, monitoring and ongoing support. |
Speak with Servers Australia Contact our team to confirm product eligibility, location availability and the recommended design for your environment. |
Product features and availability are subject to technical assessment, infrastructure location, capacity and final solution design.