NetApp has announced expanded collaboration with Google Cloud, introducing new block storage capabilities to Google Cloud NetApp Volumes. The company claims these upgrades are intended to enhance unified storage for data-intensive workloads, including virtualized environments, self-managed databases, and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
NetApp reports that the addition of block capabilities means NetApp Volumes now supports both network-attached storage (NAS) protocols, such as Network File System (NFS) and Server Message Block (SMB), and storage area network (SAN) protocols through iSCSI. Enterprises can use the new block support—now generally available upon request—to host virtualized workloads and manage databases within Google Cloud, addressing a broad set of data center requirements.
Technical enhancements include new integrated caching with FlexCache in NetApp Volumes, designed to unify data across on-premises and cloud infrastructures. According to NetApp, this now allows data stored in ONTAP-based storage systems across multiple clouds or data centers to be visible and writeable in NetApp Volumes, while transferring data only when accessed. The platform also now enables migrations and snapshot transfers between environments with SnapMirror, facilitating hybrid cloud use cases like disaster recovery, workload balancing, and cloud migrations.
The service has also launched deeper integration with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise. According to NetApp, this allows AI workloads to natively use data stored in NetApp Volumes without the need for custom code or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. This integration, now available for preview upon request, is aimed at simplifying enterprise AI implementations by enabling direct, context-specific data access for model training or inference.
Addressing unified management, NetApp claims that customers benefit from low-latency performance, advanced data management with features like snapshots and replication, and operational simplicity—managing both file and block storage from a single interface within the NetApp Volumes service.
“With the enhancements to Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, including the addition of block storage capabilities, we’re giving enterprises more flexibility and power, without added complexity,” said Pravjit Tiwana, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Storage and Services at NetApp. “Our customers will benefit from consistent low-latency performance, enhanced data management with features like snapshots and replication, and the operational simplicity of managing both file and block storage all from the NetApp Volumes service.”
Source: NetApp
