EMC goes disk mad with storage bonanza

As previously anticipated, EMC is rolling out a major storage initiative, upgrading almost every storage platform the company offers. Today's announcement covers the Symmetrix, Celerra, Centera, and Clariion lines, as well as a new entry-level file management application.

Symmetrix

EMC is introducing a new flagship model of its high-end storage system with the Symmetrix DMX-4 series. The new array features an end-to-end 4Gb/s design, supporting both 750GB SATA II disk drives alongside 4 Gb/s Fibre Channel drives. EMC claims customers who properly manage data with the DMX-4 can reduce the amount of power it takes to store a terabyte of information by up to 91 per cent.

Through architecture and software improvements, EMC said it is increasing the overall Symmetrix throughput by up to 30 per cent. In addition, the new systems are up to 30 per cent faster in RAID 5 and RAID 6 configurations.

The speed and distance of Symmetrix's replication is getting a boost, with the new line claiming 33 per cent faster synchronous replication at distances up to 100km or the ability to synchronously mirror data up to 200km at the current speed using Symmetrix Remote Data Facility software. Local replication, including point-in-time backups, online restores and volume migration will also be 10 times faster using EMC TimeFinder software.

The entry point for the hardware series will be the Symmetrix DMX-4 950 system. It supports FICON for connecting in mainframe environments, in addition to iSCSI and Fibre Channel connections.

EMC also plans to introduce thin provisioning for the DMX in the first quarter of 2008.

The Symmetrix DMX-4 will be generally available in August 2007, with support for 750 GB SATA II disk drives later in the year.

Celerra

The Celerra line sees the introduction of the new entry-level Celerra NS20 storage system and an enhanced version of the larger NS40 system.

Both boxes support NAS, iSCSI and Fibre Channel connections. The new systems also support Unix, Linux and Microsoft operating environments, as well as major applications from Microsoft and Oracle.

The storage systems are compatible with 750 GB SATA II disk drives, which EMC said can reduce Celerra power consumption by up to 33 per cent. Additionally, EMC is also introducing the Celerra Startup Assistant software which the company claims can let the NS20 and NS40 to go from power up to production in only 15 minutes.

The EMC Celerra NS20, multi-protocol support for the NS40 and Celerra Startup Assistant software will be available August 2007.

And on we go with the rest of the show.