Dell Storage, PowerStore, PowerFlex PowerMax & PowerScale, Virtualization & Containers Technologies
The foundation of PowerFlex is its software-first design. At the base, it is a software-defined block-storage service enabling a scale-out storage infrastructure using x86 nodes and TCP/IP networking. PowerFlex software […]
The foundation of PowerFlex is its software-first design. At the base, it is a software-defined block-storage service enabling a scale-out storage infrastructure using x86 nodes and TCP/IP networking. PowerFlex software runs on and integrates with a large number of hypervisors and operating systems.
PowerFlex provides flexible consumption options on the hardware infrastructure side. Nodes can be configured with any number of component options to meet varying customer needs.
PowerFlex rack is a fully engineered rack-scale system with integrated networking and intelligent cabinet design. The software and hardware components of a PowerFlex rack are managed through PowerFlex Manager, a comprehensive management stack for all layers of the deployment. PowerFlex rack is designed to simplify deployments and accelerate time-to-value.
PowerFlex appliance is flexible node-oriented option and provides a modest starting point with a massive scale potential. It allows you to utilize a broader set of networking options, either fully or partially managed. Like the rack, PowerFlex appliance supports the full set of PowerFlex functionality, and it is also lifecycle managed with PowerFlex Manager.
PowerFlex custom nodes are the name for the R650 and R750-based nodes that are not managed by PowerFlex Manager. (Note: the older R640, R740, R840-based VxFlex Ready Nodes were not rebranded to PowerFlex.) PowerFlex custom nodes provide an extremely flexible foundation with fully tested and optimized servers. Management of custom nodes is done through the individual management tools of each system component.
Main use cases for the Flex family:
Features that are unique to the PowerFlex family:
Flexibility – The PowerFlex family emphasizes the word “flex” indicating it accommodates a wide range of flexible options. The PowerFlex family offers flexibility in multiple ways:
Linear Scalability and Elasticity – A common misconception is that the PowerFlex family is for large, enterprise accounts only. This is not true. The PowerFlex family enables customers of all sizes to support their (growing and changing) environment with its scalability and elasticity:
Predictable High Performance and Resiliency – This builds on the scale and elasticity. The PowerFlex family provides unmatched performance and resiliency in the following ways:
Full Stack Architecture – another unique benefit of the Flex family is its M&O and single source of support:
PowerFlex is designed to operate as a mesh. Although storage gets logically subdivided, in every case, whether converged or 2-layer we’re going to see a data client communicating with multiple data servers (SDS), even if it only has a single volume provisioned from the PowerFlex storage pool.
The example here is a 2-layer topology.( The connecting lines for an HCI mesh would be much more complex to visualize. )
The approach is to maximize throughput and minimize round-trip times by distributing the load across all of the storage devices present. This wouldn’t work unless PowerFlex also worked to distribute the data evenly across all of the storage devices present, and the next section will deal with exactly how we accomplish that with data layout and maintain that balance as the storage system takes on more data.
A big release which unifies PowerFlex management and orchestration across the entire offering including SW customers, and adds new client connectivity and storage protocols.
Replication – Exposes asynchronous replication capability to be used with K8s
PowerFlex File – Design Principles
Inline Compression
PowerFlex – Transition to NVMe/TCP Host Connectivity (Front-End)
NVMe/TCP Deployment
SDC connectivity still outperforms NVMe/TCP
PowerFlex IO Path
PowerFlex 4.0 – Unified Management
Below, you can see a screenshot, showing the new, 4.0 dashboard
So, Why PowerFlex?
1 | Unbounded software-defined infrastructure for unconstrained consolidation
PowerFlex is a powerful platform for broad consolidation initiatives. PowerFlex unifies the delivery of block storage, file storage and compute resources in an engineered integrated system, while supporting a wide range of hypervisors and operating systems on a common platform. PowerFlex also utilizes standards based NVMe/TCP connectivity. These capabilities enable organizations to optimally consolidate a diverse set of workloads with varying requirements and operating environments.
2 | Adaptable architecture boosts IT responsiveness
PowerFlex scales compute and storage resources flexibly and non-disruptively to address specific bottlenecks. Rapidly compose and recompose resource pools to address changing business needs. Break through traditional limitations, scale your infrastructure, and grow and shrink resource pools as needs dictate, without complex planning.
3 | Smart optimization ensures extreme performance and scalability
PowerFlex software driven optimization consolidates resources across nodes while optimizing data path and placement, resulting in unrestricted IO and throughput performance with sub-millisecond latency. The architecture can linearly scale to 1000s of nodes, ensuring optimal outcomes whether you are modernizing a high-performance database or consolidating large application landscapes.
4 | Self-healing capabilities deliver uninterrupted services
PowerFlex systems are designed to sustain multiple subsequent failures without service outages or performance degradation. PowerFlex continuously monitors resources and rapidly rebuilds datasets residing on failed drives or nodes, ensuring uninterrupted service availability while delivering compliance with performance targets.
5 | Intelligent insights and unified management simplify operations at scale
PowerFlex Manager, a unified management toolset for PowerFlex systems, is designed to simplify IT Operations and lifecycle management tasks by providing extensive automation that reduces administrative time by up to 95% and the number of steps involved in operations by over 77%. Integration with CloudIQ intelligent insights further simplifies monitoring of distributed multi-location PowerFlex deployments by providing a seamless cloud-based AIOps mechanism.
6 | Broad hyperscaler support maximizes multi-cloud agility and flexibility
PowerFlex offers choice and freedom when it comes to multi-cloud deployments. With support for all major hyperscaler platforms, including AWS EKS Anywhere, Google Cloud Anthos, and Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes, you can simplify your multi-cloud operation across multiple hyperscaler cloud platforms with a unified on-premises PowerFlex infrastructure.
7 | Comprehensive tools enhance DevOps productivity and IT agility
In addition to hyperscaler support, PowerFlex supports a wide range of on-premises container orchestration platforms on bare metal or hypervisors including Red Hat OpenShift, SUSE Rancher, and VMware Tanzu. Through Dell Container Storage Modules (CSM) and CSI drivers, PowerFlex simplifies storage operations for Kubernetes. Additionally, PowerFlex offers a rich and out-of-the-box toolset that includes PowerFlex REST APIs, PowerFlex Ansible modules, and Dell AppSync to automate DevOps, infrastructure management, and DBA workflows.
8 | Rich validated ecosystem optimizes workload execution
PowerFlex is optimized and validated for a broad set of enterprise workloads to deliver exceptional performance outcomes. PowerFlex provides industry leading performance and predictability for IO-intensive transactional or throughput-intensive analytics workloads while minimizing hardware footprint.
9 | Enterprise data services simplify protection and compliance
PowerFlex provides enterprise data services that include compression, encryption, snapshots and replication to help meet specific workload and corporate requirements. The PowerFlex solution with Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery further enhances the resiliency and protection of these mission-critical IT assets.
10 | Dell Technologies – Your trusted partner for long-term success
PowerFlex is engineered, deployed, and supported as one system by Dell Technologies, minimizing risks in implementations and delivering predictable outcomes. PowerFlex customers benefit from Dell offerings in the following areas:
-Flexible on-demand OPEX consumption with APEX Flex on Demand and APEX Datacenter Utility
-Accelerated enterprise technology adoption with Dell ProDeploy Enterprise Suite
-Comprehensive support for complex environments with Dell ProSupport Enterprise Suite and Optional Support Services for Enterprise
-Maximize investments, safeguard the future and deliver guaranteed outcomes with Dell’s Future-Proof Program
