Dell Upgrades Performance of PowerStore Enterprise Storage Systems With Software and Automation Capabilities

Summary:

Dell EMC PowerStore software improves workload performance by up to 25%
AI and ML enhancements drive cost savings and up to 15% lower workload latency
PowerStore 500 model offers lower cost, enterprise performance to businesses of all sizes
Nearly 20% of PowerStore buyers are new to Dell storage

Dell Technologies, Inc. is upgrading the performance of PowerStore enterprise storage systems with new software and automation capabilities.

The company is also introducing the PowerStore 500, a lower-cost model suitable for a broader range of businesses and use cases with enterprise performance and features.

“PowerStore is the fastest-growing new architecture in Dell history. New and existing storage customers are seeing first-hand how its unique design, extreme performance and standout automation capabilities help them innovate and maintain a competitive advantage,” said Jeff Boudreau, president and GM, infrastructure solutions groups. “With today’s announcements, we’ve made PowerStore faster and smarter while making it easier for a broader range of businesses to get started with the platform.“

Dell, the enterprise storage provider ⁽¹⁾, has shipped more than 400P of PowerStore storage – roughly the same as storing 136 billion songs as MP3 files-in more than 60 countries in industries such as education, gaming, transportation, healthcare, retail and financial services. PowerStore users include Columbia Southern University, Habib Bank, RealPage, Tech Data, The University of Pisa, Tilly’s and Ultraleap.

“Our hand tracking and mid-air haptics technologies are transforming industries like XR, automotive, kiosk and out of home advertising. Dell EMC PowerStore’s performance, automation, de-dupe and scalability capabilities are helping to transform our IT infrastructure,” said Richard Goodwin, group director, IT, Ultraleap. “With PowerStore, we are realizing a 450% performance improvement on some applications and are seeing data reduction rates well above Dell’s 4:1 data reduction guarantee. In our world, speed is a key differentiator and PowerStore is helping accelerate access to the critical data and applications we need to bring our innovations to life.“

Software innovation

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Enhancements in PowerStoreOS 2.0 can be applied to new and existing PowerStore appliances with zero disruptions to customer operations:

Performance improvements: PowerStore supports a range of workloads with its scale-up, scale-out architecture for block, file and vSphere Virtual Volumes. Businesses now get better performance from workloads on their PowerStore, achieving up to 25% more IO/s .⁽²⁾
Infrastructure modernization: It extends the advantages of NVMe across the data center by adding the option of NVMe over FC, which requires a simple software update and no additional hardware.
Scale-out with AppsON: Storage array with a built-in VMware ESXi hypervisor ⁽³⁾ allows customers to run applications directly on the system using the AppsON feature for better performance, mobility and workload consolidation. Scale-out and appliance clustering additions to AppsON provide additional compute power for storage-intensive applications at the edge in areas such as healthcare and big data analytics.

“Enterprises undergoing digital transformation are looking for performance and flexibility to better help them accommodate demanding new workloads and better consolidate existing ones in distributed environments,” said Eric Burgener, research VP, infrastructure systems, platforms and technologies group, IDC. “The incorporation of new technologies and enterprise storage management capabilities into lower cost storage like the Dell EMC PowerStore 500 provide additional options for customers even as they drive more value for the money.“

Increased intelligence
PowerStore updates automate data processes and deliver greater cost savings:

Intelligent data reduction: PowerStore simplifies storage management by optimizing capacity and performance while delivering a guaranteed 4:1 data reduction. ⁽⁴⁾ The array’s Intelligent Data Reduction functionality is always running without impacting performance.
Greater resiliency: Its Dynamic Resiliency Engine (DRE) helps customers maintain performance while safeguarding vs. dual drive failures. DRE provides up to 98% less management effort compared to traditional RAID configurations.⁽⁵⁾
Smarter tiering: It uses storage class memory (SCM) as persistent storage and differentiates between SCM and standard NVMe drives within the system, speeding metadata access for up to 15% lower workload latency ⁽⁶⁾ with an investment as low as a single Intel Optane D4800X drive.

PowerStore’s automation capabilities are complimented by Dell EMC CloudIQ, storage monitoring and analytics software that uses artificial and human intelligence to deliver real-time performance and capacity insights.

Introducing PowerStore 500

It delivers enterprise performance and storage services at an accessible price point. It is suitable to businesses of any size and can be used in remote or branch locations, edge environments or larger IT deployments. It’s also available through Flex On Demand, allowing customers to acquire the technology they need with payments that scale to match actual usage.

The array’s 2U form-factor stores up to 1.2PB and is capable of handling demanding enterprise workloads, supporting up to 2.4 million SQL transactions per minute ⁽⁷⁾ and 1,500 VDI desktops per appliance. ⁽⁸⁾ Customers can combine multiple PowerStore 500 appliances for an affordable cluster that is managed with automation and data mobility capabilities. For larger configurations, customers can mix and match PowerStore models to scale as IT needs change.

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The Dell EMC Future-Proof Program includes Anytime upgrades, a flexible controller upgrade program. ⁽⁹⁾ Unique to the company, customers can enhance or expand their PowerStore performance and capacity after only 180 days. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Anytime Upgrades, combined with PowerStore’s adaptable architecture, effectively eliminates costly, disruptive platform migrations.

“Dell EMC PowerStore’s unique architecture, automation capabilities and performance help our customers tackle today and tomorrow’s IT challenges,” said Bob Olwig, VP, business development and marketing, WWT (World Wide Technology). “The PowerStore 500’s low cost and extreme performance make it a compelling addition to the PowerStore family from a partner perspective and new performance and automation updates give customers even more reasons to choose Dell Technologies storage.“

Availability:

PowerStore software updates are available for download on June 10, 2021.
PowerStore 500 is available for ordering on May 4, 2021 with global shipments starting June 10, 2021.

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Resource:
PowerStore appliances DS

⁽¹⁾ IDC WW Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker, 2020Q4, March 11, 2021 – Vendor Revenue.
⁽²⁾ Based on Dell internal test of PowerStore 5000 running typical 70/30 random R/W mix, 8K block size on PowerStoreOS 2.0 vs. 1.0, March 2021. Actual performance will vary.
⁽³⁾ Based on Dell analysis of publicly available information on current solutions from mainstream storage vendors, April 2020. VMware ESXi Hypervisor is available with PowerStore X models.
⁽⁴⁾ 4:1 average rate guaranteed across customer applications. Rates for individual applications may vary. See Future-Proof program terms and conditions for details.
⁽⁵⁾ Based on Dell analysis of staff time required to deploy and maintain HA array with Dell’s Dynamic Resiliency Engine (DRE) vs. traditional RAID.
⁽⁶⁾ Based on March 2021 internal Dell tests comparing PowerStore 500 latency with and without SCM metadata tiering, running with 70/30 R/W mix, 8k block size. Actual performance may vary.
⁽⁷⁾ Based on Dell tests of PowerStore 500T, running SQL Server OLTP (TPC-C-like) workloads. Actual performance may vary by configuration and workload
⁽⁸⁾ Based on Dell analysis of PowerStore 500T test results, March 2021. Calculations reflect typical knowledge worker profile demands.? Actual performance may vary by configuration and workload.
⁽⁹⁾ 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.
⁽¹⁰⁾ Upgrade available after 180 days. Requires purchase of minimum 3-year ProSupport Plus with Anytime Upgrade Select or Standard add-on option at point of sale to qualify.