NetApp has told many of their customers that it will cease support on their NetApp F760’s in the summer. While I was at the storage conference at CES, I spoke about this with many folks. It was suggested that perhaps NetApp should outsource the support to Zerowait, since we are supporting so many of their systems anyway. Although many of our customers have told us that our service and support exceeds that of their OEM’s, I would not hold my breath waiting for NetApp to formally recommend Zerowait for their legacy hardware support.
If you are looking into a NetApp purchase, I would suggest that you request your license transferability documents when you make your Purchase Order, and also that you plan for your equipment’s support in the period from 3 to 7 years. NetApp typically raises their support prices substantially at 3 years to motivate customers to replace their equipment. Zerowait affordably supports NetApp equipment that has been serving data reliably for 7 years or more. You may want to consider the costs of your ongoing support and service alternatives when you purchase your next NetApp filer.