Delivering breakthrough storage software innovations
Dell Technologies continues delivering breakthrough storage software innovations to its customers with the availability of Dell Unity XT’s latest Operating Environment (OE) 5.2.
This software release delivers several critical storage technologies designed to simplify how users address capacity expansion, recover data faster, expand disaster recovery topologies, increase storage utilisation, and cost-effectively upgrade Unity XT systems while lowering capex/opex.
As important, the 5.2 release brings feature/function parity across the Unity XT Hybrid Flash and All-Flash arrays. The new features, which also apply in part to Unity XT AFAs, target the continuing market relevancy for HFAs as a compelling storage solution for small to mid-size enterprises (SMEs) with general purpose workloads that don’t need the speed and low latency of All Flash/NVMe architectures.
With Unity XT HFAs, these workloads greatly benefit from how Unity XT balances the performance of flash with the cost-effectiveness of disk without compromising availability, affordability or features — including multi-cloud interoperability. For the right workloads, Unity XT HFAs offer practical and economic advantages relative to (and sometimes in conjunction with) AFAs.
The OE 5.2 release will have an immediate impact on 80,0001+ Dell Unity, and Unity XT installed systems worldwide with significant software enhancements enabling users to:
- Perform online data-in-place controller upgrades2 when more performance, capacity and system limits are required ensuring their initial investment is protected
- Support for new synchronous file replication configurations with fan-out and cascading topologies enhancing disaster recovery operations for the business
- Deliver additional system efficiencies with dynamic pool and inline data reduction software for both hybrid and all flash pools on Unity XT HFAs
Hybrid Flash Arrays remain a compelling storage solution for many enterprises. IT managers with a good understanding of their latency requirements can deploy lower-cost solutions such as Unity XT HFAs to meet the needs of general-purpose workloads that run their organisation. Through effective workload evaluation, businesses can potentially lower their storage infrastructure costs significantly without compromising performance, availability and features while benefitting from a markedly more aggressive TCO profile.
“In a relatively short time using Dell Unity XT storage, we’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in the Hybrid Flash Array performance based on the workloads we run in comparison to the previous generation of Dell Unity x50 models. All of the Unity XT performance and efficiency features will definitively help NC State lower IT capex and opex spending.” Jeremy Meeler, Systems Programmer/Specialist, North Carolina State University
According to IDC, the HFA market is projected to grow 5.1 per cent CAGR through 20253 due to economics, flexibility, and management familiarity as key reasons customers are still buying HFAs. Unity XT 5.2 is well positioned to take advantage of this growth and presents a clear choice for global customers and channel partners in search of an all-inclusive hybrid flash array solution.
Additionally, Unity XT HFA customers have access to the broad functionality within the Dell storage ecosystem, including:
- AppSync for integrated copy data management
- Connectrix for enterprise network performance
- PowerPath to enable intelligent multipathing
- CloudIQ with predictive storage analytics
- metro node appliance that enables synchronous replication over metro distances
-
Storage Automation & DevOps Resources for integrating workload automation flow
Unity XT customers also benefit from Dell Technologies Services to help overcome obstacles and navigate digital transformations. Dell Technologies Services helps customers discover true organisational agility by identifying goals, measuring progress, streamlining costs, and accelerating innovation.
What’s most important for Dell is to consistently enable customers with leading-edge software capabilities that provide greater agility to facilitate a seamless digital transformation process and remain competitive. Dell Unity XT has certainly lived up to this mission since its inception with world-class software innovation helping customers confidently meet and exceed their expected outcomes.
Unity XT OE 5.2 is available now for existing customers to download. With valid configurations starting at $10,000, customers can order new Unity XT HFA systems with OE 5.2.
We invite you to look at our leading midrange storage solutions — Dell Unity XT Hybrid Flash Array and Dell PowerStore All Flash Array at www.dell.com/storage.
1 Dell Technologies internal system tracking
2 IDC Technology Spotlight April 2022
