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Storage and Server Virtualization

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"The EqualLogic PS arrays work beautifully with our virtualization software, allowing us to respond to a server failure in minutes with the click of a mouse. We wanted to build a dynamic data center infrastructure, and that required an unusually flexible and resilient storage system."

Phillip Skeete, Plains Exploration & Production Company IT Director


Today’s IT managers spend significant time and energy dealing with an unwieldy assortment of applications, operating systems, and server environments. Increasingly, managers are employing virtualization technologies to re-engineer their IT infrastructures; results include reduced operational complexity, increased flexibility to address new business needs, and significantly lower costs. With a Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SAN, you can:

  • Leverage virtual storage for virtual servers
  • Experience enterprise-class reliability and availability
  • Go from zero to SAN in under an hour
  • Increase flexibility and scalability with advanced features
EqualLogic Storage Scores Highest in Value

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Leverage virtual storage for virtual servers
Dell’s EqualLogic iSCSI storage technology virtualizes the entire SAN to simplify deployment and ongoing management. Volumes are automatically provisioned as a single, scalable pool of storage that leverages all storage resources within the SAN. Even as workload demands shift or migrate between virtual machines and their physical host servers, a virtualized EqualLogic PS Series SAN automatically applies storage resources where and when they are needed without intervention or manual tuning.

Experience enterprise-class reliability and availability
With many workloads aggregated on fewer resources in a virtualized environment, enterprise-class reliability, performance, and features cannot be compromised. EqualLogic PS Series solutions are built for enterprise deployment, providing 99.999% availability through a fully-redundant, hot-pluggable system architecture. Volumes are RAID-protected, and through advanced system and disk monitoring, faults can be quickly recognized and addressed without downtime. Each array includes a robust set of data protection tools including snapshots, clones, replication, and online migration, all bundled into the system at no additional cost.

Go from zero to SAN in under an hour
EqualLogic PS Series arrays are simple to deploy, manage, and grow. Systems go from out of the box to production deployment in less than an hour using an intuitive, wizard-based GUI to integrate easily into the Ethernet backbone of the virtual infrastructure. iSCSI connectivity leverages the IP networking skills of traditional IT staff, eliminating the need for special training. In addition, through the PS Group Manager - a centralized graphical management interface - volumes are quickly provisioned and securely accessible by all servers within the virtual infrastructure.

Increase flexibility and scalability with advanced features
An EqualLogic PS array complements virtual server environments with advanced features that reduce complexity, increase flexibility, and minimize application downtime due to infrastructure changes. Capacity and performance of the virtual SAN are easily expanded, seamlessly and without disruption. Workloads from across all virtual servers are automatically load-balanced, efficiently utilizing all available storage resources. Non-disruptive, online migration of data volumes among storage tiers and pools allows physical storage resources to be re-allocated to meet changing business needs or to be specifically dedicated to individual workloads.

Dell EqualLogic Consulting Services – Expert guidance and a proven process
Dell believes that well planned and maintained storage infrastructures can support growing data requirements without corresponding increases in costs and complexity. Dell Infrastructure Consulting Services can help customers design storage infrastructures that satisfy data availability, retention and recovery requirements and help you to get the most out of your EqualLogic PS Series. We utilize Dell and Dell partner’s best practice such as Microsoft®, VMware®, Oracle® to help accelerate integration into the data center. Features now present in the EqualLogic PS6000 Series such as increased performance, integrated snapshots with Hyper-V™ and Virtual Storage capabilities are utilized as part of our design and implementation service.

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Citrix

Snapshot, clone and replication features enhance the value of EqualLogic SANs in Citrix-virtualized environments by protecting mission-critical data otherwise made more vulnerable by consolidation and centralization.

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Microsoft (Hyper-V)

In the Microsoft Hyper-V environment, advanced IO multipathing integrated into standard Microsoft iSCSI drivers enables EqualLogic SANs to automatically monitor and load balance I/O across multiple arrays, network ports, and storage connections to deliver optimal performance automatically and easier management.

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VMware

As Global Alliance Partners, Dell and VMware provide integrated enterprise solutions that enable the virtualized environment, both servers and storage, within a customer's IT environment.

Storage Consolidation
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Centralize storage and reduce administrative overhead.

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Data Protection
Learn more about how EqualLogic arrays come with all backup and protection capabilities built in to ensure reliability and availability.

Ensure data protection via built- in backup & restore functions.

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Simplifying Storage
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Virtualize storage with PS Series SANs to simplify IT operations.