New Entry Level EMC VNXe3200 Array

EMC Corporation added new products and capabilities to its VNX family of hybrid storage solutions, including a new entry-level VNXe3200 storage array.

The VNXe3200 is 3X more efficient than previous VNXe solutions, and is based on the VNX series that was launched in September 2013. Powered by EMC MCx (Multicore optimization) and EMC FAST (Fully-Automated Storage Tiering) software, the new VNXe is designed to unleash the power of flash, thereby accelerating virtual applications and file performance by 3X compared to its predecessor in the same small footprint.

The VNXe3200 supports major unified protocols – including FC. It builds upon the trademark ease-of-use that VNXe is designed for across the entire storage lifecycle – from setup to management to support.

By leveraging MCx and the FAST Suite, the new VNXe system exceeds previous VNXe solutions in power, efficiency, and ease-of-use.

VNXe technology highlights include:

• Turbocharging mixed workloads by supporting 3X more VMs, 3X more virtual desktops, 3X more SQL transactions and 3X more Exchange mailboxes.
• Simplified management with the ability to setup NAS or SAN in under 15mn with EMC Unisphere. Users can also manage and deploy Microsoft applications 3X faster. There is also a new ‘get help anywhere’ support feature through EMC Connect Proactive Support, as well as ‘set it and forget it’ functionality through automated tiering with FAST, eliminating the need for manual performance tuning.
• More power in a small and efficient footprint. The new VNXe system supports hundreds of VMs and virtual desktops in a 2U configuration. It reduces capacity requirements by up to 50% with thin provisioning and file deduplication, and leverages space-efficient snapshot technology to create copies of production data directly from Unisphere.

The VNXe3200 is also available in new VSPEX Proven Infrastructures, which delivers up to 125 VMs and 500 virtual desktops in a VNXe3200. These new VSPEX solutions can store up to 2,000 Exchange mailboxes and over 20,000 SharePoint users.

The VNXe3200, which starts at under $12K, will be available in the second quarter of 2014 primarily through EMC’s global channel partners. The VNXe3200 is supported by the EMC Business Partner Program, which offers a set of partner-ready collateral, Express Solution bundles, and VSPEX reference architectures for simplified ordering, selling, and support.

Project Liberty
EMC also announced Project Liberty, virtualized storage software that is based on the VNX Family. It leverages the data services and ease-of management that VNX provides, and offers this in a variety of flexible deployment models, whether on a virtual server or in a hybrid cloud for example, to meet varied and changing workloads and service levels.

To address increasingly shorter development cycles, IT must deliver a way to enable rapid application prototyping for quicker time to market. One use case for Project Liberty will be to empower IT to spin up several virtual array instances quickly, at a moment’s notice, to speed development of new applications such as test and development. Project Liberty will enable these new applications to be deployed on physical VNX storage systems with higher service levels – all while enjoying a consistent management and rich user experience.

These applications could reside anywhere – whether it’s remote office, central office, or in a cloud. With Project Liberty, customers will benefit from the agility and efficiency of a hybrid cloud.

Redefining Security in Midrange
In addition, EMC also announced Data-At-Rest-Encryption for VNX – VNX D@RE. Since the introduction of the new VNX, customers are now consolidating more and more critical data on a single VNX, making security a higher priority. This is true in industries such as healthcare, financial services and federal and state governments that require more control over sensitive information from increased unauthorized data access. VNX D@RE, is expected to be available on the new VNX Series as a non-disruptive software upgrade in the third quarter of 2014. It is designed to help customers protect data written to disk to eliminate data access from unauthorized drive removal, D@RE uses controller-based encryption, which provides the flexibility to support any drive type, speed and capacity.

Brandon Robinson, executive director of network services, Aces Power, said: “The VNXe allows us to leverage industry-leading technology at an affordable price point. The VNXe3200 has improved our efficiency while improving our performance, allowing us to meet internal SLAs. With the VNXe, we can easily scale our infrastructure as our business grows, or offer new services that our company can provide.”

Jeff Boudreau, SVP and GM, enterprise and midrange systems division, EMC, said: “We are thrilled with the market response to our new VNX- which has become a mixed workload workhouse for thousands of companies globally. Today, we’ve delivered on our ongoing commitment to our partners and customers to extend key enterprise capabilities, like FAST, MCx, and D@RE, to our entry level and midrange platforms – enabling our customers to further stretch their IT dollar and protect their investments. We’re especially excited about Project Liberty, which will give our customers more agility as they transition to hybrid cloud deployments, while still enjoying the same consistent VNX user experience.”