What are the major NetApp storage platforms and their purposes (FAS vs AFF)?

• A. FAS is cloud-native; AFF is tape storage.
• B. FAS is general-purpose storage (HDD-based or hybrid); AFF is All-Flash for high performance and low latency.
• C. FAS is high-performance all-flash; AFF is archival.
• D. FAS is only for archival; AFF is for database workloads.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is how NetApp’s storage platforms are positioned for different workload needs. FAS is general-purpose storage that can be HDD-based or hybrid (combining HDDs with SSD caching) to balance cost and performance for a variety of workloads such as file services, virtualization, backups, and mixed SAN/NAS traffic. AFF is All-Flash FAS, built entirely on solid-state drives to deliver the highest IOPS and the lowest latency for performance-sensitive workloads like databases and online transaction processing. So this pairing—FAS for general-purpose, HDD-based or hybrid storage and AFF for all-flash, high-performance, low-latency workloads—best matches how NetApp differentiates these platforms. The other descriptions don’t fit NetApp’s design: FAS isn’t cloud-native or tape storage, and AFF isn’t archival storage.