Discover how the NetApp FAS2220 entry-level platform meets the needs of smaller IT environments.

1. Tech OnTap Newsletter Article
FAS2220: Raising the
Bar for the Entry Level
NetApp strives to deliver storage to-disk backup and/or replication
Steven Miller that addresses the performance and to a corporate data center via
Senior Technical scalability needs and budget realities NetApp SnapVault® or SnapMirror®
Director and of the enterprise, midrange, and entry technology.
Platform level without imposing unnecessary
Architect barriers that make it difficult or Understanding the FAS2220
impossible to move between platforms. When NetApp started to design the
Steven has been the platform We achieve this by running the same FAS2220, we had a few goals in mind.
architect for NetApp for over Data ONTAP® operating environment We wanted a new entry-level system
six years and was responsible and the same management tools that would deliver value for smaller IT
for the FAS3100, FAS3200, across all FAS platforms, and by organizations, and we wanted a system
FAS6200, and FAS2240 as well using the same or similar components that was easier and faster to set up and
as the Performance Acceleration wherever possible. We’re also run than anything we’d built before. In
Module (PAM) and Flash Cache committed to deliver enterprise-level addition, as I said in the introduction,
(PAM II). He is also the NetApp features for reliability, availability, we wanted to deliver the same RASM
Engineering liaison to the National serviceability, and manageability features we provide in the FAS6200
Security Agency (NSA), National (RASM) across our entire line. We think series (https://communities.netapp.
Geospatial-intelligence Agency these things allow you to start right, com/docs/DOC-9948) and FAS3200
(NGA), and Central Intelligence keep it simple, and grow smart. series (https://communities.netapp.
Agency (CIA). Steven is currently com/docs/DOC-9215) in our entry-level
involved with several IEEE and With the new FAS2220, we wanted to FAS systems as well.
industry groups. He is credited round out our entry-level offering with a
with 26 issued patents and 19 platform that addresses several needs: The result is a new system that offers
pending applications in the areas clear advantages versus the FAS2020,
of storage and high-performance • Smaller IT teams get the advantages our earlier entry-level platform. The
computing. of unified storage, integrated data FAS2220:
protection, and advanced storage
efficiency in a platform that’s quick • Supports single or dual controllers
Tech OnTap provides monthly IT to install, easy to manage, and plus disks in a compact 2U form
insights plus exclusive access to sized and priced for their unique factor
real-world best practices, technical requirements. • Improves SAS resiliency with MP-HA
case studies, and behind the scenes • Distributed enterprises get a for both internal and external disks
engineering interviews. To subscribe storage platform that fits the needs • Delivers three to seven times the
visit https://communities.netapp.com/ of remote offices while improving performance of the FAS2020
community/tech-ontap. data protection by facilitating disk-

2. Table 1) Comparison of FAS2220 and previous-generation FAS2020.
NetApp FAS Storage
Want to learn more about the FAS2020 HA FA2220 HA
NetApp FAS storage line? Processor Cores 2 x 32-bit 4 x 64-bit
Platform Architect Steve Miller
has written articles that cover the Hyperthreading CPU No Yes
entire FAS product line: Physical Memory 2GB 12GB
• Enterprise-class FAS6200 series Onboard I/O 4 x 4Gb FC 4 x 6Gb/s SAS
(https://communities.netapp. 4 x GbE 8 x GbE
com/docs/DOC-9948)
Maximum Disks 68 60
• Midrange FAS3200 series
(https://communities.netapp. Maximum Capacity 68TB 180TB
com/docs/DOC-9215)
• Entry-level FAS2240 Management BMC Service Processor (SP)
(https://communities.netapp. Data ONTAP Support 7.2.2+, 7.3 8.1.1
com/docs/DOC-13020)
Performance 1x 3–7x
• Includes all supported storage The FAS2220 uses 6Gb/s SAS for all Upgrades
protocols (NFS, CIFS, iSCSI) at no internal and external disk connections. Unlike the FAS2240, the FAS2220
additional cost For expansion storage, three external cannot be converted into a disk shelf as
• Provides simplified management shelves—DS2246, DS4243, and part of an upgrade operation because
via the latest OnCommand® System DS4246—are supported and can be the chassis is not supported as a disk
Manager software mixed on a single FAS2200 SAS stack. shelf. However, you can migrate SSD
• Is cluster-ready for future growth Up to 2 external shelves are supported and capacity HDD drive carriers from
• Offers the new NetApp® Flash Pool for a maximum of 60 drives. the FAS2220 to a DS4243 or DS4246
capability to increase performance disk shelf and assign ownership to a
and decrease storage cost The power supply units (PSUs) used
new controller or you can migrate these
• Is priced to fit any budget in the FAS2220 are the same as those
disks into a FAS2240-4.
used in the DS2246 disk shelf and
Hardware the FAS2240-2. Processor Controller Software Enhancements
The FAS2220 features a new 2U, 12-disk Modules (PCMs) use the same form All FAS2220 systems run Data
chassis capable of accommodating factor and conform to the Storage ONTAP 8.1.1 or later and include
one or two controller modules for Bridge Bay (SBB) standard. the Data ONTAP Essentials bundle
standalone or high availability (HA) with NFS, CIFS, and iSCSI support
configurations (see Figure 1). Each PCM provides two 6Gb/s SAS
at no additional cost. Data ONTAP
ports and four Gigabit Ethernet ports
Service Analytics Essentials gives you immediate access
(see Figure 2). Two additional ports
to key NetApp technologies including
The 12 large-form-factor drive carriers provide connectivity for the service
deduplication (http://communities.
are the same as those used in the processor and ACP (discussed later).
netapp.com/docs/DOC-9949), thin
DS4243 and DS4246 disk shelves and
Configuration Options provisioning (http://communities.
the FAS2240-4 and are offered with
• Standalone. FAS2220 standalone netapp.com/docs/DOC-8122),
three disk options:
configurations contain a single PCM compression (http://communities.
• Performance HDD. 10K RPM SAS in the main chassis with a controller netapp.com/docs/DOC-14329),
drives blank in the second PCM slot to Snapshot™ copies, RAID-DP® (http://
• Capacity HDD. Large-capacity SATA provide proper cooling. Both 6- and communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC-
disks 12-disk configurations are available. 12850) technology, Open Systems
• SSD. Solid-state disks • HA. FAS2220 HA configurations SnapVault, MultiStore® technology
use two PCM modules in the main (https://communities.netapp.com/docs/
The capacity and SSD options are the chassis and assign a minimum of 6 DOC-4915), and core management
same as those used in the DS424x. disks per controller. tools including OnCommand Manager
Existing SSDs and capacity HDDs from and OnCommand System Manager.
these disk shelves can be migrated to In either configuration, up to 2 external
a FAS2220. disk shelves (DS424x and/or DS2246)
can be added.

3. Figure 2) Rear view of FAS2220 PCM showing connectivity.
Figure 1) FAS2240-2 rear view.
Figure 3) NetApp Flash Pool.
Ease of Management. OnCommand Figure 3. (With Flash Cache the cache ACP
System Manager lets you manage has to be “rewarmed” during HA For out-of-band management of
NetApp storage without being takeover events.) NetApp SAS disk shelves, all FAS
a “storage expert.” Wizards systems provide NetApp Alternate
and intuitive graphics guide you Expect to see more details about Flash
Control Path (ACP) technology. ACP
through configuration and ongoing Pool technology in Tech OnTap® in
enhances data availability by giving a
administration tasks. Dashboards coming months.
storage controller the ability to reset
provide at-a-glance views of capacity, Reliability, Availability, a storage channel without having to
notifications, and performance. Serviceability, and Manageability communicate over that channel. If a
On the resiliency and availability front, channel is down or misbehaving, a
NetApp Flash Pool Technology.
we’ve added a number of features to quick reset can bring it back online
The FAS2200 series (FAS2220 and
enhance the FAS2220, bringing it on without external intervention. ACP
FAS2240) supports Flash Pools, an
par with the FAS2240 and the FAS3200 allows a storage system to recover from
exciting new feature that NetApp
and FAS6200 series. faults that might otherwise require it to
introduced in Data ONTAP 8.1.1.
reboot, and that’s a big advantage.
Flash Pools extend the NetApp Service Processor
Virtual Storage Tier (VST) (https:// ACP gives you a “back door” into your
Previous entry-level platforms had
communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC- disk shelves. It is completely separate
a more basic service processor
10322) approach to provide both read- from the SAS data path and provides
than our midrange and enterprise
and write-level caching in a NetApp new options for nondisruptive recovery
storage platforms. Both the FAS2220
aggregate and can be used by FlexVol® of shelf modules, including the ability
and FAS2240 use the same service
volumes contained in the aggregate. to reset or power cycle an individual
processor design as our higher-end
By adding SSDs to an aggregate, you I/O module or an entire domain. We
platforms. The service processor
can use economical, capacity-oriented designed in the ability to power cycle
remains operational even when the
HDDs and achieve great performance. an entire shelf as well. ACP technology
rest of a storage system is down and
provides capabilities such as remote enhances the ability of Data ONTAP
Flash Pool technology shares many
power cycle, call-home notification of to automatically reset a misbehaving
features with Flash Cache: It works at
a down system, and always-on access component in order to return it to a fully
a granularity of 4KB, provides real-time
for troubleshooting. operational mode without disruption.
caching that adapts automatically to
changes in usage, and works seamlessly Internal Processor State
Additional features include:
with key Data ONTAP features From an engineering standpoint, the
like deduplication and FlexClone® • FRU reporting and tracking resiliency feature I’m most excited about
technology. In addition, Flash Pool • Advanced current/voltage and is the ability to go into the processor
caches random writes to enhance write temperature sensor reporting and read out its internal state even
performance and provides consistent • Monitor LED status when it’s not running. The combination
performance across HA events. See • Force core dumps (replaces NMI of core dumps and internal processor
button on controllers)

4. Table 2) The FAS2200 series.
FAS2220 FAS2240-2 FAS2240-4
Form Factor 2U 2U 4U
Chassis Depth 20.5 in. 19 in. 24 in.
Maximum Storage 180TB 374TB 432TB
Maximum Drive Count 60 1448 x GbE 144
Flash Pool Support Yes Yes Yes
Optional I/O Ports N/A 4 x 8Gb FC or 4 x 8Gb FC or
4 x 10 GbE 4 x 10 GbE
Conv. to Disk Shelf N/A Yes Yes
OS Version Data ONTAP 8.1.1+ Data ONTAP 8.1+ Data ONTAP 8.1+
state gives us the detailed forensics to overall storage resiliency, and it also design supports either standalone
understand exactly what is happening enables Data ONTAP to perform or HA configurations and up to 12
when a problem occurs so we can maintenance activities such as shelf disk drives in just 2U of rack space.
correct it. We can even single step the firmware upgrades nondisruptively. The new version of OnCommand
main CPU to pinpoint failure modes. Performance improves because MP-HA System Manager simplifies setup and
Although you may never need to take provides twice the bandwidth to your ongoing management, while Flash Pool
advantage of these capabilities, they can storage. MP-HA also load-balances technology lets you combine SSDs with
help us isolate hardware failures much the two storage paths with every GB HDDs to optimize both read and write
more quickly, reducing their potential of data transferred to maintain optimal performance.
impact. This type of capability is not performance.
common on entry-level storage.
The FAS2220 is capable of providing About NetApp
System-Level Diagnostics MP-HA for all attached disks, both NetApp creates innovative storage
We’ve also included the same system- internal and external, for dual-controller and data management solutions that
level diagnostics used on FAS3200 and configurations, reducing the chance of deliver outstanding cost efficiency and
FAS6200 to help you better identify a failover occurring as the result of path accelerate business breakthroughs.
hardware problems. You can run failures. Having a second path to reach Discover our passion for helping
system-level diagnostics after one of storage protects against a variety of companies around the world go
the following events: possible faults, such as: further, faster at www.netapp.com.
• Initial system installation • Port failure Go further, faster ®
• Addition or replacement of • Controller-to-shelf cable failure
hardware components (in configuration with multiple disk
• System panic caused by an
unidentified failure
• Access to a device that becomes
shelves)
• Shelf module failure
• Dual intershelf cable failure
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The FAS2220 is designed to deliver at https://communities.netapp.com/
Multipath HA for Internal more value for smaller requirements community/tech-ontap
and External Disks than we’ve ever offered in an entry-
MP-HA is the capability to provide level platform while providing a level
redundant paths between storage of resilience normally found only in
controllers and disks. MP-HA increases enterprise storage. The unique chassis
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