PS4000 and PS6000 Side by Side

It was only a couple of months ago when the Dell EqualLogic PS6000 replaced the PS5000 as the new EqualLogic flagship. We were excited to see Dell moving upstream with a faster controller and more connection speed, but we felt something was missing. Many potential customers wanted to get on board the EqualLogic train but could not afford it.

Until now.

Dell just announced the release of the PS4000 which fits nicely in the Small-Medium sized business niche. Remaining true to EqualLogic’s tradition of waiting until a product was ready before announcing it, the PS4000 hit the ground running. Quite honestly, we got more than we could have hoped for.

The PS4000 comes with the same enterprise SAN features built directly into the firmware; the only difference is a revved up controller on the PS6000 and a higher number of supported attributes. I thought a side-by-side comparison might help those that are familiar with the PS Series (either the original PS100 et al or the PS5000).

	PS4000	PS6000 (PS5000)

GbE Connections	2 Per Controller	4 Per Controller
Members Per Group	2	12
Volumes	256	1024
Snapshots/Replicas	2,048	10,000
Snapshots Per Volume	128	512
Volumes For Replication	32	192
Replicas Per Volume	128	512
Replication Partners	16	16
	PRICING	PRICING

Here’s an interesting point. Although you cannot have more than 2 PS4000s in a Group, if you add a single PS6000 to the group the limits disappear and there are no restrictions. Site to site replication implies 2 groups.

July 1, 2009 · Filed Under Design Considerations, Legacy Gear, PS4000, PS6000, Setup and Operation

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Stop Replacing Disk Drives

For all those IT professionals out there fed up with Technology Obsolescence, this post is for you. Having been in enterprise IT as both a provider and consumer, there is nothing more frustrating than being forced to get rid of perfectly good equipment because it is no longer supported or because something better is now available. Nowhere does this play out more often than data storage.

As mentioned in a previous post Frame vs. Frameless, there several well documented issues with traditional storage systems. We should have added Planned Obsolescence to the list of shortcomings of Frame based systems. As new drives technology marches forward the controllers that feed those drives fall further back until they will no longer work.

Now the good news. You don’t have to take it anymore! Stop replacing those disk drives!

EqualLogic is on the verge of releasing it’s newest array dubbed, quite modestly, the PS6000. With few details until the official launch later this month, all we can say for sure is this: The 2009 Model will work right out of the box with the 2002 Model (their first year). The shiny new PS6000 will boot up and melt right into an existing storage pool without even taking your servers down.

The Peer Storage Operating System “glues” the arrays together virtually under a single Group IP address. You no longer have to burn up your spring-time weekends by coming to work to stand-up a new array, create LUNs, migrate data and then stay on call to make sure you didn’t forget something. Older equipment that formerly was decommissioned to the EZ-Shredder can continue to add extra spindles, and speed, to the data set.

Isn’t virtual fun…and earth friendly!

March 24, 2009 · Filed Under Design Considerations, Legacy Gear, PS4000, PS6000, Setup and Operation

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Frame vs. Frame-LESS SAN Architectures

Have you heard of the Frame vs. Frame-less SAN debate? In the 10 years that I’ve been designing and implementing Storage Area Networks (SANs), I never considered an alternative to the traditional frame architecture, until I discovered EqualLogic - a frame-less SAN architecture. First, some legacy SAN background.

Frame based SANs

Most of us are familiar with frame based SANs that are assembled much like lego sets starting with an empty “frame” (the physical manifestation may be a rack). These are the well known products from companies like EMC, Hitachi (HDS), Network Appliance (NetApp) et al. To build out a “frame based” SAN we first need to assemble the components as follows:

Head unit (1 or 2)
1 or 2 storage processors (SPs)
Cache
Network connections
OS software
Add-on software
Disks - varying capacities and performance characteristics

Frame Issue 1 - Over Provisioning
Since Frame-based SANs contain individual components that scale independently (you can add more cache, Read more

July 7, 2008 · Filed Under Design Considerations, Legacy Gear, Pricing

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There’s money in SAN complexity; and it’s yours

Have you ever tried to decipher a SAN pricing proposal from one of the “big” guys? There are more part numbers than I would expect when building the space shuttle. It is not enough to have the basic hardware broken down into dozens of pieces but then you have to select a dizzying array of software licensing options for both the array and any hosts using array features.

Here’s a sample SKU list from a major NAS/SAN vendor for a simple storage array:

FAS3050HA-IB-BASE-1 GF-RAS53050HA,IB,1B CF,OS,R5         2
X70015A-ESH2-R5-C   DS14MK2 SHLF, ACPS,14×144GB,15K,HDD 5
X6524-R6-C          CBL, 2M, Optical, Pair, LC/C,-C,R6   2
X6530-R6-C          CBL,0.5M,PATCH,FC SFPTO SFP-C,R6     6
X1941A-R6-C         CBL,5M,CLUSTER4X,CU-C,R6             2
X871A-R6-C          20A Storace Equipment Cabinet,-C,R6 1
X875A-R6-C 20A      PWR CORD (4),CABINET, NEMA-S,R6      1
X800-42U-R6-C       Cabinet Component Power Cable, R6    14
X5517-R6-C          Storage cabinet, Rail Set,42U,-C,R6 1
X6529-R6-C          SFP, Optical, Pair, LC/LC, -6, R6    4
X8773-R6-C          Multiple Product Tie-Down Bracket,- 2
DOC-3XXX-C          Documents, 3XXX,-C                   1
Software (Base Unit)
SW-T4C-CIFS-C CIFS   CIFS Software, T4C-C                2
SW-T4C-ISCSI-C iSCSI iSCSI Software, T4C-C               2
SW-T4C-NFS-C NFS    NFS Software, T4C-C                  2
SW-T4C-SRESTORE-C   SnapRestore Software,T4C,-C          2
SW-T4C-SME-C        SnapManager Software, Exchange, T4C 2
SW-T4C-SMSVS-C      SnapMirro-SnapVault Software Bndl,   2
Software (Host Side)
SW-SDR-WIN          SnapDrive, Windows                   10
SW-SSP-SDR-WINDOW   SW Subs SnapDrive for Windows 3.0    10
SW-SMBR-1000PK      Single Mbox Recovery, 1000pk         1
SW-SSPVN-SMBR-1000PKendor SW Sub SMBR, 1000pk            1
SW-SDR-SOL-TIER1    SnapDrive, Solaris, Tier 1           10
                    1-2CPU
SW-SSP-SDR-SOL-TIER1SW Subs, SDR Solaris Support, Tier   10
SW-SDU-CPU          SW, SnapDrive UNIX, CPU              5
SW-SMO-CPU          SW, SnapManager Oracle, CPU          5
SW-SSP-SMO-CPU      SW, SUB, SnapManager Oracle          5
Services and Support
CS-S-INST           Initial Installation-DS14            1
CS-A                SupportEdge Standard-FAS270 Mths: 3 2

Wow. All we wanted was a simple array to store some data. Instead, we got a dissertation on what the sales Read more

June 22, 2008 · Filed Under Legacy Gear, Pricing

1 Comment

Scarce upgrades

Dell is quickly assimilating EqualLogic and that means change. Most users already know that the model numbers have changed from the the Legacy PS50, PS100, etc. to a standard PS5000E-X-XV with a capacity differentiator.

What is not commonly known is that many customers with legacy equipment may not be able to upgrade those boxes (add a second controller to a single controller box for example) because of scarce replacement parts.

Here’s why:

Dell knows that to maintain EqualLogic’s strong history of customer satisfaction, it must be able to supply field replacement parts for years to come. The fact that EqualLogic boxes defy the traditional storage mantra of “planned obsolescence” within 3 years, the Peer Storage operating system means that new boxes are easily integrated with older gear; easily extending the life, and value, of the equipment. This means boxes may have a useful life beyond 4, or even 5 years.

Dell doesn’t want to get into a situation where Legacy customers can’t get replacement parts well into the future…and that is a good thing. What is needed is an aggressive trade-in program to help legacy customers migrate to the newer platforms.

June 10, 2008 · Filed Under Legacy Gear, Pricing, Setup and Operation

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Welcome EqualLogic End-Users

Now that Dell has successfully acquired EqualLogic we thought it might be nice to have an area where EqualLogic customers can share their knowledge and experiences.

Enjoy.

March 27, 2008 · Filed Under Legacy Gear, Pricing, Setup and Operation

2 Comments

PS4000 and PS6000 Side by Side

Stop Replacing Disk Drives

Frame vs. Frame-LESS SAN Architectures

There’s money in SAN complexity; and it’s yours

Scarce upgrades

Welcome EqualLogic End-Users

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