Citing “solid performance, flawless failover, exceptional scalability, and a jack of all trades,” the NetApp FAS3020c was named “Best NAS Solution of the Year” in InfoWorld’s 2006 Technology of the Year honors. This marks the second consecutive year that Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) has won Best NAS from InfoWorld. In 2005, the NetApp FAS200 series also received the award.

The FAS3000 series delivers up to twice the price/performance and supports more users per system than previous generation FAS storage systems for greater storage architecture capability. As part of the unified NetApp architecture, these midrange systems support file services, FC SAN, IP SAN, and multiple network configurations, while offering scalability to higher performance systems with seamless, painless upgrades without requiring the “forklift” data migration needed by most other offerings currently on the market. With storage capacity of up to 84TB and 336 disks, the FAS3000 series brings high-end capabilities with a midrange price tag.

The InfoWorld awards recognize significant technologies of the past year that promise to make the greatest impact on enterprise IT strategies as well as the products that best exemplify the implementation of those technologies. The InfoWorld Technology of the Year awards are not open to outside nominations; only products reviewed by InfoWorld’s Test Center during the previous year are eligible. The final selections are made by InfoWorld’s Test Center analysts and editors.

“After reviewing the FAS3020c, my conclusion is that the system is hard to beat and is an excellent choice for companies looking for high functionality at moderate pricing levels. The clustering capabilities of the FAS3020c are something to behold, and the support NetApp offers is the stuff of legend,” said Paul Venezia, senior contributing editor at InfoWorld’s Test Center.

“Network Appliance is honored to be selected by InfoWorld for our FAS3000 series,” said Elisa Steele, vice president of Worldwide Integrated Marketing at Network Appliance. “InfoWorld is a top technology publication and is recognized for its editorial excellence, strong industry analysis, and solid news coverage. This award validates our technology innovation and the customers who have chosen the FAS3000 series to consolidate storage, maximize data protection, and streamline backup/archiving in order to get more value from IT investments.”

Details on all winners of the InfoWorld 2006 Technology of the Year awards are available online at www.infoworld.com/article/06/01/02/01FEtoyawards_1.html?s=feature.