Dell EMC PowerStore breaks ground in storage infrastructure performance and flexibility

News summary

• Dell EMC PowerStore is up to seven times faster, three times more responsive than previous Dell EMC midrange storage arrays.
• AppsON capability is the only way that VMware virtualised workloads and software applications can run directly on a purpose-built array for faster access to data and quicker response times.
• Dell EMC Future-Proof Program expanded to include Anytime Upgrades, giving customers the freedom to enhance their infrastructure on their terms.
• Supported by Dell Technologies On Demand with flexible consumption options to acquire storage capacity as needed with a low annual commitment.

Full story

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL), the leader in enterprise storage[i], announces Dell EMC PowerStore – a modern infrastructure platform built from the ground up with superior technology and expertise to address the challenges of the data era.

“Customers tell us a main obstacle keeping them from achieving their digital transformation initiatives is the constant tug-of-war between supporting the ever-increasing number of workloads – from traditional IT applications to data analytics – and the reality of cost constraints, limitations and complexity of their existing IT infrastructure,” said Dan Inbar, president and general manager, storage, Dell Technologies. “Dell EMC PowerStore blends automation, next-generation technology and a novel software architecture to deliver infrastructure that helps organisations address these needs.”

Modern infrastructure for the data era

Organisations can accelerate decision-making, data access and application performance with PowerStore, which is designed for six-nines (99.9999%) availability[ii]:

• Any workload: PowerStore simplifies IT infrastructure by supporting a wide range of traditional and modern workloads with its scale-up, scale-out architecture for block, file and VMware vVols.
• Performance optimised: PowerStore is seven times faster[iii] and three times more responsive than previous Dell EMC midrange storage arrays[iv] because of its end-to-end NVMe design and support for Storage Class Memory as persistent storage powered by dual port Intel Optane SSDs.
• Efficiency without compromise: Customers can save on IT budget and capacity with always-on deduplication, compression and a guaranteed 4:1 data reduction. [v]

Machine learning and intelligent automation allow for faster delivery of applications and services, with up to 99% less staff time to balance volumes.[vi]

• Programmable infrastructure: Streamlines application development and reduces deployment timeframes from days to seconds,[vii] with VMware integration and support for leading management and orchestration frameworks, including Kubernetes, Ansible and VMware vRealize Orchestrator.
• Autonomous infrastructure: Built-in machine learning automates labour-intensive processes like initial volume placement, migrations, load balancing and issue resolution.
• Infrastructure insights: Dell EMC CloudIQ storage monitoring and analytics software combines machine learning and human intelligence for real-time performance and capacity analysis and historical tracking for a single view of Dell EMC infrastructure. Dell Technologies will integrate CloudIQ across the full Dell Technologies infrastructure portfolio for even greater insights.

PowerStore transforms data centre operations and allows organisations to evolve their infrastructure in lockstep with ever-changing business needs:

• Container-based architecture: PowerStoreOS, the system’s container-based software architecture, enables feature portability, standardisation and rapid time-to-market for new capabilities.
• Introducing AppsON: The only purpose-built storage array that includes a built-in VMware ESXi Hypervisor[viii], administrators can deploy apps directly on the array for greater flexibility. An industry-first, AppsON is ideal for data-intensive workloads in core or edge locations and infrastructure applications.
• Ease of migration: New native tools within the PowerStore Manager wizard allow customers to automate entire migrations in fewer than 10 clicks.[ix] Customers can take advantage of a number of non-disruptive options to migrate from existing storage like Unity, SC, PS Series, VNX and XtremIO.
• Dell Technologies On Demand (DTOD): With DTOD, PowerStore customers can respond to workload spikes and new service requests with elastic capacity and cloud economics. Organisations can choose between two flexible pay-per-use consumption models with short- and long-term commitment options, including a new one-year term for flexible consumption. Global support, deployment and managed services can be included to help simplify IT infrastructure management.

Dell EMC Future-Proof Program adds Anytime Upgrades

PowerStore is covered by the Dell EMC Future-Proof Program, which provides greater choice, predictability and investment protection through new Anytime Upgrades, the industry’s most flexible controller upgrade program.[x]

Cloud flexibility with PowerStore

Customers can deploy PowerStore in the way that best meets their cloud strategy and business needs:

• Dell Technologies Cloud Validated Designs for PowerStore for deployment flexibility of demanding workloads in hybrid cloud environments.
• Dell EMC Cloud Storage Services can directly connect PowerStore to all major public clouds including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure and Google Cloud as a managed service. Cloud Storage Services provide Data Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) to VMware Cloud on AWS.
• PowerStore can be deployed as a storage option within Dell EMC PowerOne autonomous infrastructure, which accelerates an organisation’s shift to cloud-like operations.

Availability

• Dell EMC PowerStore is now generally available globally.
• Dell EMC PowerStore will be available as an option for PowerOne autonomous infrastructure this summer.

Customer quotes

Steven Kuovo, technology architect, Core Technology Service Group, Boston Scientific
“Dell EMC PowerStore’s unique architecture and intelligent automation helps us ensure our resources are being used as efficiently as possible while also making sure we’re prepared to scale compute and storage as we need it. We’re excited at the potential that Dell EMC PowerStore has to transform our IT infrastructure.”

Heather Hitchcock, chief commercialisation officer, MIC
“At Medical Informatics Corp (MIC), scale and flexibility are critical to the success of our clinical surveillance and analytics solutions. Dell EMC PowerStore’s innovative AppsON capability gives us compute and enterprise-class storage in one system, simplifying our infrastructure while reducing our overall storage footprint. It’s a critical feature as we’re helping hospitals rapidly expand bed capacity and creating flexible, scalable remote monitoring of data across connected devices. Now our healthcare providers have the data they need to intervene faster and provide quality care from any location.”

Analyst quote

Eric Burgener, research vice-president, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies Group, IDC
“As organisations modernise their IT infrastructure, they must embrace technology that streamlines operations, eliminates complexity and can scale in the face of exponential data growth. By developing Dell EMC PowerStore through an infrastructure-centric lens, the company has created a platform that can tackle today’s IT challenges while being flexible and scalable enough to meet future IT needs.”

Partner quote

DeMond Sullivan, chief technology officer, Cumberland Group
“Dell EMC PowerStore’s unprecedented design, automation and flexibility are game-changers for external and midrange storage architectures. This new platform represents a massive opportunity for us in a key segment of storage and we look forward to our customers seeing it firsthand.”

Additional resources

• For information on Dell EMC PowerStore, visit www.delltechnologies.com/powerstore
• Blog: Inside Dell EMC PowerStore: AppsON Delivers Groundbreaking Application Flexibility and Mobility
• Blog: The Business Value of Dell Technologies On Demand for Storage
• Blog: Dell EMC CloudIQ: Enabling Faster Time to Insight
• Blog: Future Proof Your Dell EMC PowerStore Investment with Anytime Upgrades
• Connect with Dell via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn

[i] IDC WW Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker, 2019Q4, March 12, 2020 – Vendor Revenue.

[ii] Based on the Dell Technologies specification for Dell EMC PowerStore, April 2020. Actual system availability may vary.

[iii] Based on Dell analysis comparing PowerStore 9000 4x cluster to Unity XT 880 running 70/30 random read/write mix, 8K block size with compression and deduplication active, March 2020. Actual performance will vary based on configurations and usage and manufacturing variability.

[iv] Based on Dell analysis comparing latency with PowerStore 9000 vs. Unity XT 880 at 300K IOPS, 8K random, 70/30 read/write mix, compression and deduplication active, March 2020. Actual results will vary.

[v] 4:1 average rate guaranteed across customer applications. Rates for individual applications may vary. See Future-Proof program terms and conditions for details.

[vi] Based on Dell analysis of staff time required to maintain balanced PowerStore cluster vs. traditional multi-array deployment, March 2020. Factors in effort required to monitor, plan, define and execute volume migrations. Actual results will vary.

[vii] Based on Dell analysis of effort required to deploy workloads with and without Ansible and vRO orchestration integrations, March 2020. Factors in effort required to monitor, plan, define and execute volume migrations. Actual results will vary.

[viii] Based on Dell analysis of publicly available information on current solutions from mainstream storage vendors, April 2020. ESXi Hypervisor is available with PowerStore X models.

[ix] Based on Dell internal analysis of minimum effort required to execute non-disruptive migration of volume group using PowerStore’s built-in migration tools for Unity, SC Series, PS Series and VNX arrays, March 2020. Actual results will vary. XtremIO support for built-in migration tools has planned availability later this year.

[x] Based on Dell analysis, April 2020, using publicly available data to compare the highest available program/subscription offers for controller upgrades. Requires purchase of minimum 3-year ProSupport Plus with Anytime Upgrade Select or Standard add-on option at point of sale to qualify.

[xi] Upgrade available after 180 days. Requires purchase of minimum three-year ProSupport Plus with Anytime Upgrade Select or Standard add-on option at point of sale to qualify.