I didn't take your post as recommending it, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew what was going on with NetApp.
I have the same canned response from them. I would be very curious to know where they learned to read the English language. I don't see how they could possibly take the verbiage in those Q articles and come up with MSFT supports Exchange on NAS. In particular, E2K on NAS. The one I like the most is the SnapManager Block Mode Access solution. Block Mode Access through a network stack. Neat trick. The key word being trick. Somehow I just don't see it. Tom. -----Original Message----- From: Akerlund, Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 6:07 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: NAS support for Exchange 2000 No argument from me. Net even the Network Appliance F800 series is on the WHQL. I didn't not recommend this, I only provided the links to the Q articles. Here is some additional information from the Netapp Sales rep for the PNW region. After reading this, the note back to my boss was let the finger pointing begin. Answers to some common questions are as follows: Q. As a NetApp customer will I receive full support from Microsoft for my Exchange software environment when NetApp Exchange solutions are implemented? A. Yes - Microsoft will support customers Exchange software and any problems associated with the Exchange software. NetApp, as well as other vendors, are responsible for supporting their hardware and software solutions. NetApp will support customers in parallel with Microsoft. Q. As a NetApp customer will I receive full support from Microsoft for my Exchange 2000 environment since NetApp is not on the WHQL (HCL) support list? A. Yes - NetApp is not currently on the HCL and SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange 2000 is supported as a block mode storage solution. Q. Will Microsoft provide full support for both Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000? A. Yes - In order to receive full support from Microsoft for your Exchange 2000 environments, you must be running SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange 2000. Also, SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange 5.5 is supported for Exchange 5.5, but customers looking to upgrade to Exchange 2000 must upgrade their NetApp solution to SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange 2000 in order to be supported by Microsoft. Q. Will NetApp continue forward with the Exchange support arrangement with IBM Global Services with this change in Microsoft's support position for Exchange? A. NetApp will continue the IBM Global Services Exchange support arrangements while setting up a support process with the Microsoft Exchange PSS group. This transition should be transparent to you, in that NetApp is still responsible for ownership and resolution of the problem in these cases, although the customer may also interact with Microsoft personnel as part of the problem solving process. Q. Which NAS vendors are included in the WHQL certified group in Knowledge Base Q317172? A. Vendors who provide NAS boxes using the Microsoft OS; IBM, Compaq, Dell, Maxtor, etc. Q. Which NAS vendors are included in the non-WHQL certified group? A. Vendors who provide NAS boxes that do not use the Microsoft OS; NetApp, EMC IP4700 and Celerra, Auspex, and Procom, etc. What are the key sections in Knowledge Base Article Q317173? Pay special attention to the point about Microsoft requiring "block mode access to network attached storage" - this is what SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange 2000 delivers to NetApp customers. Also, the section that addresses using non-WHQL certified storage devices with Exchange 2000 Server. Non-WHQL certified storage devices may also work with Exchange. Check with your storage device vendor to ensure that any storage device has been designed for use with Exchange 2000, and that you deploy and configure it for Exchange database use. If a customer uses a non-WHQL certified storage device with Exchange Server, Microsoft will provide full support for Exchange application issues. However, if customers encounter storage related issues with Exchange that are caused by the use of non-WHQL certified storage devices, Microsoft will refer them to their storage vendor for support. What are the key sections in Knowledge Base Article Q317172? Pay attention to section that addresses using non-WHQL certified storage devices with Exchange 5.5. Storage devices that are not WHQL certified might also work with Exchange Server. Check with your storage device vendor to ensure that any storage device has been designed for use with the version of Exchange Server that you are using, and that you deploy and configure it correctly for Exchange Server database use. If you use a storage device that is not WHQL certified with Exchange Server, Microsoft will provide full support for Exchange Server application issues. However, if you encounter storage-related issues with Exchange Server that are caused by the use of storage devices that are not WHQL certified, Microsoft will refer you to your storage vendor for support. -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Di Nardo [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 2:39 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: NAS support for Exchange 2000 Read these articles carefully. One notable vendor is trying to tell some of my customers that these articles mean MSFT now supports NAS. I don't see how that conclusion can be drawn from the language in the articles. Until a NAS device is WHQL, you need to go to your NAS vendor if your database gets pooched. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. I have yet to see a NAS device with WHQL certification (though I admit I've not checked in the last couple weeks, so things could have changed). Another thing to keep in mind is that NAS devices have multiple single points of failure (fans, processors, etc.) and as the size of the NAS increases your probabilities of multiple disc failures in the same RAID set increases. Also bear in mind that all data transfers must ride the network stack; I would be very concerned with database integrity in this scenario (even if you are directly attaching the NAS to Exchange via fiber) - no matter what your vendor says, it's not the same as SCSI or SAN. I would be very careful if you are thinking of doing this. Tom. -----Original Message----- From: Akerlund, Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 5:25 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: RE: NAS support for Exchange 2000 The Knowledge Base articles can be found at the following links: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q317173 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q317172 -----Original Message----- From: RB [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 2:22 PM To: Exchange Discussions Subject: NAS support for Exchange 2000 Has Microsoft changed it's stance on NAS attached devices for Exchange at all? My understanding was that any NAS attached storage for Exchange 2000 is not supported as all Exchange 2000 data needs to be local to the server (i.e. Local disks or a SAN via a dedicated connection is supported). If this is still the case does anyone have a reference to a web page that makes this statement about NAS. If it has changed a reference to this would be appreciated also. 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