Dell has announced a pair of new hybrid storage arrays with enhanced integration with VMware, the EqualLogic PS6510ES and PS6500ES. The iSCSI arrays are designed for highly virtualized environments, with these two platforms designed specifically with virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI) in mind. The 4U rack enclosures bring EqualLogic’s customary ease of use and the benefits of high throughput, low latency SSDs to bear in the dense 48-drive array.
Dell has announced a pair of new hybrid storage arrays with enhanced integration with VMware, the EqualLogic PS6510ES and PS6500ES. The iSCSI arrays are designed for highly virtualized environments, with these two platforms designed specifically with virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI) in mind. The 4U rack enclosures bring EqualLogic’s customary ease of use and the benefits of high throughput, low latency SSDs to bear in the dense 48-drive array.
Dell’s EqualLogic PS6510ES and PS6500ES offer 41 7,200 RPM 3.5" nearline-SAS hard drives paired with 7 400GB SSDs for auto load balancing across the pool and automatic tiering. The inclusion of SSDs for tiering net a 360% improvement in IOPs, and a reduction in latency of 75% compared to the PS6510X. Automated tiering offers great benefits for VDI environments, coping more naturally under load during traditional boot storms when hundreds of users log into virtual desktops at the same time. Instead of loading hundreds of instances of Outlook from hard drives for instance, the auto tiering policies capture hot file requests accelerating Outlook loads for everyone.
Both arrays offer up to 85TB of raw capacity, and can be expanded beyond 2PB per EqualLogic group. Multiple arrays in a storage pool automatically load balance across the arrays, even if from different EqualLogic generations. Structurally the difference between the two units is interface, the PS6510ES leverages 10GbE while the PS6500ES uses 1GbE.
EqualLogic Host Integration Tools (HIT) for VMware 3.5
With 75% of EqualLogic users pairing their arrays with VMware, Dell continues to invest heavily in their host integration tools that provide integration between all EqualLogic arrays and VMware; delivering enhanced protection, performance and management.
The new HIT release includes Virtual Storage Manager (VSM) vCenter plugin that provides simplified administration through a single pane. Highlights include easier centralized management of multiple EqualLogic groups, streamlined replication configuration, and easier maintenance of recovery replicas across two EqualLogic groups. The update also includes the virtual desktop deployment utility that provides automated VDI deployment and provisioning tools through the vCenter interface.
Pricing and Availability
Dell EqualLogic PS6510ES and PS6500ES arrays will be available this fall, pricing has not been announced. The Host Integration Tools for VMware 3.5 will be available in November without additional licensing fees.
