Dell goes iSCSI with new SAN products

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 05 February 2008 08:16

Business IT - Technology

Following its acquisition of EqualLogic, Dell has released a new series of iSCSI storage arrays.

The Dell EqualLogic PS5000 series is designed for use in data centres using IP-based storage networks. Virtualisation is built into the products, allowing an array to serve up to 512 hosts.

The PS5000E can be fitted with eight or 16 SATA drive drives for a maximum total capacity of 16T; the PS5000X is fitted with 16 10,000rpm 400M SAS drives giving 6.4T capacity. Up to 12 arrays can be combined, and the two models (and drive capacity in the case of the PS5000E) can be combined to balance performance and capacity.

Like other products in the EqualLogic range, the PS5000 series includes an extensive collection of software for replication, load balancing, snapshotting, pooled and tiered storage, volume management, and more. There are no software options and no ongoing licence fees - the entire suite is included in the purchase price.

The company claims a PS5000 can often be installed and running within an hour. "Networked storage has been too complex for too long. Dell EqualLogic helps solve that problem," said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager.

"This is virtualized, consolidated storage that is self-managing, affordable and easy to use, regardless of scale. We're automating complex tasks, enabling fast and flexible provisioning while seamlessly integrating into the existing IT network. That's simplifying IT and this is the future of storage," he added.

Prices start at $US19,000.