Dell launches EqualLogic array
After closing the acquisition of networked storage supplier EqualLogic last week, Dell has launched the first EqualLogic storage systems with the new owner's name attached.
The Dell EqualLogic PS5000 Series comprises three iSCSI arrays with differing capacities. The entry-level solution is the PS5000E, which offers a maximum of 16TB of capacity in 16 1TB Serial ATA II drives for €19,669 or £14,120 excluding VAT.
Moving up, the PS5000X uses 10,000rpm SAS drives for 6.4TB of storage, while the top-end PS5000XV uses 15,000rpm SAS drives for up to 4.8TB capacity.
Only a few weeks have elapsed between Dell announcing the purchase of EqualLogic and the appearance of the first Dell-branded drives, so Dell has had little time to influence the design of the PS5000 Series. The company did hint that there would be new products delivered "soon", although executives at Monday's announcement would not be drawn on details.
The EqualLogic arrays promise to bring some innovation to Dell's mid-range storage options. Dell's storage sales engineer, Liam Farrell, demonstrated that, despite having 16 drives in each grid, the whole unit works as one: remove two drives from the array and it will continue to work. Apart from an increase in the noise of the air conditioner, there was little sign that anything had changed as the unit reconfigured itself. For greater performance, flexibility and reliability, several 16-drive arrays can be combined.
"The whole is greater than the parts," Farrell expained. "So the growth in performance as you add to the array is not mathematical but much more than that."
The Dell EqualLogic PS5000 Series is available immediately.
