Network Appliance, Inc. announced worldwide availability of the Cisco® MDS 9020 Series Fabric Switch for NetApp storage area networking (SAN) solutions.

Combined with the Cisco MDS 9020, NetApp SAN solutions provide high performance, robustness and ease of use for Microsoft® Windows®, SUNTM SolarisTM, HP/UX, IBM AIX, Novell NetWare, and Linux® computing platforms. The Cisco MDS 9020, a 20-port autosensing Fibre Channel SAN switch, compatible with the entire family of Cisco MDS 9000 switches and NetApp storage appliances, offers the scalability and investment protection needed for organizations planning to deploy and grow their SANs over time.

“NetApp and Cisco are committed to expanding our portfolio of joint SAN solutions for the data center,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Products and Partners at Network Appliance. “The Cisco MDS 9020 will offer NetApp customers an excellent balance of cost, performance, and enterprise-class functionality for their SAN deployments.”

“Together, Cisco and NetApp are delivering SAN storage solutions for small to midsize enterprises that deliver the flexibility, scalability, and ease of deployment needed to consolidate and better manage their data storage environment,” said Ed Chapman, senior director of Product Management, Data Center and Storage Technology group, Cisco.