Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced that its new virtualization engine—NetApp V-Series—is part of a technology demonstration in the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) Interoperability and Solutions Demo showcase at Storage Networking World (SNW) being held in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 13 and 14. In that showcase, NetApp V-Series will be virtualizing a variety of third-party hardware storage, including, for the first time on public display, systems from storage rival EMC.

“Customers have overwhelmingly told us that they want a common management environment for use with multi-vendor storage to power their data center, workgroup, and department needs,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Products and Partners at Network Appliance. “One of the most compelling value propositions that V-Series systems bring to customers is this common management, along with the full suite of NetApp storage management solutions to help simplify multi-vendor enterprise storage administration.”

Rogers continued, “I want to be clear that the V-Series virtualization of EMC storage is not a configuration that is sold and supported today. This is not due to lack of technical feasibility, power, or flexibility–all of which the NetApp V-Series solution could bring to the EMC conventional array products. We are only lacking a cooperative support agreement from EMC. Most importantly, this demonstration shows NetApp fulfilling customer demand for NetApp Data ONTAP™ software running on other vendors’ storage arrays to provide simplified storage management.”

Announced on March 29, NetApp V-Series enables customers to extend the complete suite of dynamic virtualization capabilities delivered in NetApp Data ONTAP 7G software and to benefit from advanced data management solutions for third-party storage products from HDS, HP, IBM, and Sun. The unique virtualization capabilities of V-Series systems translate directly into customer cost savings and a more intelligent, fluid approach to storage asset utilization that accommodates shifting business demands.

More information on NetApp V-Series is available online at http://www.netapp.com/products/virtualization/index.html or by visiting the NetApp exhibit at SNW at booth G17. Additionally, the NetApp V-Series demo “Virtualizing EMC Storage” can be experienced at SNW in the Interoperability and Solutions Demo, which is open on Wednesday, April 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and on Thursday, April 14, from 12:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.