As more organizations look to develop and deploy generative AI models (LLMs) on their own infrastructure, the technology partnership between F5 and NetApp offers a powerful combination of security, performance, and intelligent data management. Together, their solutions enable the deployment of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures across hybrid and multicloud environments, ensuring data protection in transit while maximizing the use of on-premises resources.

Through the expertise of Datanet Systems, organizations in Romania can design and implement intelligent IT infrastructures that seamlessly support both traditional applications and generative AI workloads, without compromising on security, performance, or data sovereignty.

 

Accelerating Applications and Data: Smart Security and Infrastructure with F5 & NetApp

 

Recently Datanet Systems, in partnership with F5 and Alef Distribution Romania, hosted the event “Accelerating Applications and Data: Smart Security and Infrastructure with F5 & NetApp.” The opening keynote, delivered by Alexander Serebryakov, Principal Solutions Engineer at F5, presented a unified F5–NetApp perspective on optimizing application performance across distributed environments. The session also offered insights into Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Web Application Scanning, and advanced methods to prevent bot-driven access to web applications.

 

 

According to Serebryakov, the way applications are deployed has evolved dramatically over the past decade. In 2017, traditional on-premises environments accounted for 65% of deployments, with SaaS making up just 11%. By 2025, deployments are expected to be far more evenly distributed — across public cloud (19%), SaaS (20%), edge (13%), colocation (13%), on-premises cloud (17%), and traditional on-premises environments. This shift reflects a clear trend toward diversification, flexibility, and scalability in deployment strategies. Yet, as infrastructures diversify and cyber threats grow more sophisticated, traditional security models are no longer enough.

 

Addressing findings from the “F5 State of Application Strategy 2024” report (link), Alexander Serebryakov noted that rising complexity in application and infrastructure management has become one of the top challenges facing organizations today. These challenges are particularly evident in multicloud environments, where managing disparate security tools and daily operations can quickly become overwhelming. Consequently, nine out of ten organizations are now turning to a platform-based approach to simplify and streamline operational management.

Within this context, Alexander Serebryakov introduced the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) — a comprehensive solution for application delivery and protection across hybrid and multicloud ecosystems. The platform enables centralized management through unified policies, in-depth analytics, and end-to-end automation of the application lifecycle.

The event also provided attendees with an exclusive look at the latest innovations from F5 and NetApp, demonstrating how their combined technologies empower organizations to enhance performance, resilience, and operational intelligence across modern infrastructures.

 

NetApp ONTAP: Unified Data Storage

 

The second guest of the day, Alexandru Vasile, NetApp Senior Systems Engineer within ALEF Distribution Romania, spoke about how NetApp ONTAP enables organizations to build intelligent, efficient, and secure data infrastructures. The solution unifies data management and protects critical information while meeting today’s performance and flexibility requirements.

 

ONTAP provides unified storage for both file-based (NFS, CIFS) and block-based (iSCSI, FC) data, simplifying data management and ensuring consistency across environments. It represents NetApp’s response to the growing complexity of IT systems, a reality that continues to affect the productivity and efficiency of technical teams.

By contrast, siloed infrastructures, where applications, data, and cloud environments are managed independently, have proven inefficient, costly, and risk-prone. This fragmentation is particularly visible in modern ecosystems that combine virtual machines, databases, Kubernetes clusters, AI and ML workloads, modern data lakes, and cloud storage. In such environments, management and automation are often inconsistent, data protection and security lack uniformity, and performance and user experience fluctuate considerably.

In this context, the ALEF Distribution Romania representative presented the evolution of the NetApp ONTAP architecture, describing it as the industry’s most comprehensive data storage software suite. He also emphasized that NetApp is the only enterprise storage provider validated to handle top-secret classified data, in accordance with international standards including the Classified (CSfC) Component List, FIPS 140-2, Department of Defense Approved Product List (DoDIN APL), and Common Criteria.

Among the key functionalities discussed were automated data tiering through FabricPool, predictive analytics and corrective actions powered by AI via ActiveIQ, regulatory-compliant data retention with SnapLock, data encryption both in transit and at rest using NSE, NVE, and Encryption, autonomous ransomware protection through ARP, near-instant backup restoration with SnapRestore, and built-in data compression, deduplication, and compaction for improved efficiency and resource utilization.

 

All the solutions presented are available through the Datanet Systems portfolio, an authorized F5 and NetApp partner, via ALEF Distribution Romania. To discover the full range of benefits these technologies can offer, Datanet Systems provides dedicated consulting sessions and personalized demonstrations. For more information, contact us at sales@datanets.ro.