End of Sale or End of Life…What Exactly Does That Mean…?
Every six to nine months or so, Dell EqualLogic will release a new EqualLogic product line. Heck, some of you might even still have an EqualLogic PS300E or PS5000E. Out with the old and in with the new…right?
Wrong!
That’s the beauty of an EqualLogic iSCSI SAN solution. You never tear out, rip-out-and-replace, or forklift upgrade your storage area network (SAN). Remember that old PS50E or PS100E? Keep it! The EqualLogic iSCSI SAN architecture is built to add and expand what you currently have to the newer models.
So, when EqualLogic announces an “End of Sale” on their current product line, it simply means that they’re phasing into the new product line and that the old product line (in this case, the EqualLogic S4000, PS6000, PS6010, PS6510, and PS6500 series) will no longer be actively sold or positioned.
In fact, Dell EqualLogic still has a good amount of inventory left on the PS4000, PS6000, PS6010, PS6510, and PS6500 units, all of which still maintain aggressive EqualLogic pricing models. Once Dell ceases manufacturing parts for a particular EqualLogic product line, then this product becomes “End of Life.”
But please note that support for these products will NEVER diminish. Ever. Best advice? Keep up with your ProSupport contracts through Dell EqualLogic. Get these renewed each and every year because if you ever get into a position where you have a very old EqualLogic iSCSI SAN array that needs a replacement part, Dell EqualLogic MUST send you the replacement part or upgrade your entire array at no charge. Not bad, eh?
So, keep that old EqualLogic array in your network…and buy that new one, virtually add it to your existing group or use the old one to replicate to…either way, it’s still good.
Do I really need ProSupport with my EqualLogic SAN…?
Well, you tell me. You and / or your company have just invested more money in an EqualLogic SAN than the cost of your own vehicle. Heck, probably several vehicles. In other words, you’ve invested – or are about to invest – a lot of money into a premium EqualLogic iSCSI SAN solution…a solution that actually does what it says it’s gonna do. So, yeah, you need ProSupport…but now a couple of questions arise:
What kind of ProSupport do I need…and how much does EqualLogic Support Cost?
Okay, let me break it down for you.
There are two major types of ProSupport – Mission-Critical (MC) and Next Business Day (NBD). From these two options, you have a choice between 1, 3, 4 or 5 years of ProSupport when you initially purchase your EqualLogic SAN in addition to different response times (2-hour, 4-hour, 6-hour).
So which do you choose…? Simple. Listen closely…actually, read closely…
Mission-Critical – select this option for one or multiple reasons:
- The EqualLogic SAN will be placed in a location where there will be no technical staff available to physically manage it
- Your organization has true mission-critical applications that rely heavily upon the EqualLogic SAN being up always…you know, the kinds of applications you’d get a pink slip for if they ever go down
- You simply need the peace of mind that someone will show up within two or four hours with spare EqualLogic parts and a red cape to come and save the day and fix it for you
- Your company can afford it, you have some free money (let’s talk…I can help you here…ha!) and / or your company simply has a business requirement that all applications be serviced with mission-critical support agreements
- Lack the technical confidence of changing out hot-swappable parts and would rather allocate just a bit more time on “other” projects
Next Business Day – select this option for one or multiple reasons:
- None of the above reasons under Mission-Critical really apply
- The location where the EqualLogic SAN is to be located is surrounded with technical gurus
- Your technical confidence and competence is through the roof
- You really don’t have the money for Mission-Critical…but, hey, don’t worry about it…most companies are in this spot as well…
- You like to get your hands dirty and exercise those technical skills once in a while…trust me, swapping out hot-swappable parts and configuring a SAN in under 20 minutes can be hard work…
That’s really just about it. But don’t forget…we have EqualLogic Pricing available through our self-service pricing model to give you the options. Honestly, Dell doesn’t do this…you know what they do…? They tuck the cost of ProSupport in with the cost of the array…we don’t do that, we give you ProSupport choices and break it out through our EqualLogic Pricing model. Give me a call or email…I’ll explain it all that ProSupport stuff to you from what’s in it, the differences, etc. All of it.
And, oh, there’s another reason why you need ProSupport. Dell requires it. Yup, that’s right…
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.
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!
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
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,14x144GB,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
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.
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.
