Network appliance (NetApp) Inc.'s NearStore R200 is the first disk-based backup product that achieved a critical mass with users. Shipped in December 2003, our judges didn't forget it.

"The NearStore R200 allows the user to take advantage of all of the wonderful replication capabilities of Network App's snapshot applications using very low-cost disk. They were one of the first, if not the first, with this technology," said one judge.

The R200 comes with a 14-drive disk shelf with SATA/FC-AL disks and scales from 8TB to 96TB. Prices start at $7.00/GB for a low-end system, but it's flying out of NetApp's door. According to ESG, NetApp shipped nearly 35PB of R200 storage since the product's inception.

SearchStorage.com and Storage magazine editors