Dell details hardware and software updates for its midrange unified file and block PowerStore storage architecture.
The upgrades come two years after Dell launched the PowerStore platform, which it claims has had 12,000 deployments during that time. That’s a pretty good performance considering it competes with NetApp, HPE, Hitachi Vantara, IBM, and Pure Storage in the block storage market.
Shannon Champion, product marketing leader for Dell Technologies in converged infrastructure and hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), detailed the upgrades in a blog post.
The refresh of the Gen 2 platform is a significant upgrade over the older hardware. The new PowerStore systems now use Cascade Lake-era Intel processors and deliver up to 50% more IOPS for mixed workloads, up to 70% faster writes and up to 10 times better copy operations. Maximum capacity has increased by 66% to over 18 PBe per cluster, thanks to a 24-bay, 2U rack NVMe expansion chassis, supporting up to eight times more volumes per device.
PowerStore also supports 100Gb NVMe/TCP deployment through Dell’s SmartFabric Storage Software, which automates deployment and connectivity of SAN fabrics. Organizations without Fiber Channel infrastructure can now connect PowerStore to NVMe/TCP networks, which Dell claims can deliver up to 73% better performance at a 50% lower cost per port.
On the software front, PowerStoreOS 3.0 offers more than 120 new features and more new capabilities than its original launch in 2020. It adds native files, VMware virtual volumes (vVols), and metro-area synchronous replication to the existing asynchronous block replication to support any workload. (block, vVols, or file) within the PowerStore environment. (Metro volume synchronous replication allows enterprises to create a shared storage environment across a metropolitan area, according to Dell.)
PowerStoreOS 3.0 also significantly updates VMware integration with end-to-end VMware visibility within the PowerStore Manager GUI, plus the ability to deliver VM-level PowerStore services such as snapshots and replication directly from vSphere.
In terms of security, PowerStore 3.0 adds Hardware Root of Trust and Secure Boot, thanks to the new Xeon chips, for silicon-based protection against malware manipulation. It also enables third-party key administrator support, end-to-end FIPS 140-2 compliance, and CEPA-enabled ransomware detection.
Dell says PowerStore Gen 1 customers who enroll in Dell’s Anytime Upgrade Program will receive Gen 2 hardware upgrade, 3.0 software, and ProDeploy deployment services — which provide rapid deployment and configuration of client systems — at no additional cost .
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.