Dell EMC all-flash Unity-series of DWH

Dell EMC Unity is a line of storage systems of all-flash of the middle class.

2019

Dell EMC Unity XT

On May 21, 2019 it became known that Dell Technologies announced the next generation of systems hraneniyadell EMC Unity of the middle class. Dell EMC Unity XT works twice quicker, than the previous model, and is ahead of the closest competitor by 67%. A system is optimized for increase in efficiency of work with data at reduction of their volume up to 5:1 and increase in efficiency of DWH to 85%. The solution is developed for a multicloud environment. Dell EMC Unity XT can work in a public cloud, freely move data to a cloud and is available as service when using cloud services of storage of Dell EMC. Besides, Dell EMC Unity can become the construction block for Dell Technologies Cloud as a part of validirovanny architecture.

Arrays of storage of Dell EMC Unity XT allow not to look for a compromise between performance and efficiency any more. The Dell EMC Unity XT platforms provide all necessary computing power for applications launch, processing of files and operational reduction of amount of data at the level of blocks and also for providing operational services of data – and all this at the same time. Dell EMC Unity XT is the modern, active architecture ready to work with NVMe allowing customers to receive the maximum return from the investments and to move forward thanks to IT transformation.

Operating Environment 4.5 OS for DWH

On February 28, 2019 the Dell EMC company submitted OS for DWH of the middle class of Dell EMC Unity. The Operating Environment 4.5 operating system offers expanded program functions of protection and data management and also additional options of deployment Dell EMC Unity in a cloud. Read more here.

2017

Release of Unity 4.3 OS

The Dell EMC company announced on November 15, 2017 release of the updated software for Dell EMC Unity designed to reduce costs at data storage of the mixed type (data units and files).

Unity OS

Storage systems of Dell EMC Unity are intended for the infrastructures combining SAN and NAS. They give advantages a flash memory and are easy-to-work, allow customers to reduce terms of implementations, to simplify management and it is easy to receive hybrid storages with connection of a cloud, claim in Dell EMC.

In the Unity operating system of version 4.3 there were several key features, including the deduplication promoting cost reduction and a number of the functions allowing to execute upgrade without equipment downtime and to make file synchronization.

So, according to developers, Dell EMC Unity 4.3 offers:

• The optimized flash performance and the built-in deduplication;
• Synchronous replication of files for protection against losses and ensuring continuity of business processes;
• Upgradeability of controllers of DWH in real time without loss of data access.

Future-Proof Storage

Also submitted to Dell EMC the loyalty program of Future-Proof Storage within which the company provides a three-year quality assurance, along with access to all necessary software, protects investments into the equipment, guarantees efficiency of data storage, saves from difficulties at data transfer and provides free oblakovirtustream Storage Cloud. The loyalty program is available upon purchase of arrays of Dell EMC Unity or SC, regardless of whether they are purchased directly at Dell EMC or her authorized suppliers. Read more here.

Availability

Unity 4.3 OS will appear in January, 2018. Clients of Dell EMC with the corresponding service provision agreement of support will be able to get access to the updated operating system.

The total volume of orders for arrays of Dell EMC Unity reached $1 billion

The Dell EMC company announced on July 18, 2017 that in only 419 days from the moment of the beginning of deliveries of arrays of the class All-Flash and hybrid storage systems of Dell EMC Unity the total volume of orders of these products reached $1 billion that does the Dell EMC Unity family by one of the most fast-growing in a data storage segment for all history of the company.

According to the company, all since May, 2016 about 6 thousand clients selected Dell EMC Unity for solving of tasks with block and file access — such loadings as databases, file systems, server virtual machines and virtual work places.

"All in a year from the moment of product output of Dell EMC Unity their implementation purchased improbable dynamics, thus, it is one of the most fast-growing families of arrays of storage in the history of the company — Jeff Boudreau, the president of Dell EMC on storage systems said. — Thanks to high performance a flash systems and simplicity, inherent cloud model, the products Dell EMC Unity actively win the market of storage systems of the middle class, helping thousands of the companies of small and medium business and large enterprises to upgrade the data processing centers".

Unity All-Flash 350F, 450F, 550F and 650F

On May 16, 2017 the Dell EMC company provided four models of storage systems Unity All-Flash: 350F, 450F, 550F and 650F.

Devices provide effective capacity up to 500 TB in high density chassis 3U with 80 drives.

As a part of the Dell EMC Unity models:

• the big file system with the built-in compression of files,
• iCDM with mobility of pictures of data,
• the simplified protection at the level of RAID
• support of management of foreign keys of enciphering using KMIP (Key Management Interoperability Protocol).

Line of Dell EMC Unity, (2016)

Unity has by eight times the bigger density of storage and more than vosmikratno the file system increased by effective capacity, than the previous model. Is established less than in 10 minutes.

2016: EMC released the next generation of the most popular DWH

In May, 2016 EMC provided a line of storage systems of Unity of the average level (mid-range) of the next generation which are held for use in small and medium-sized companies. It succeeded a line of DWH of the previous generation – VNX – products from which in EMC are called the most sold from all the portfolio of solutions in piece expression both in the world, and in Russia.

EMC released the next generation of the most popular DWH

The line of Unity is based on multinuclear architecture which was used in the VNX models earlier, but significantly processed, many algorithms were written from scratch. Now the architecture of systems is optimized especially for work about a flash memory. These are developers call one of key differences of a new line from previous

Unity is offered in two options – completely on a flash disks and hybrid option in which also magnetic hard drives are used. These systems filled up a line of DWH of EMC constructed with use only a flash memory such as XtremIO, VMAX All Flash (for universal tasks) and DSSD D5 (for tasks where the minimum delays of data are required). Capacity of DWH of Unity constructed completely on a flash technology is up to 80 Tb in the chassis 2U high.

The solutions VNX were proposed in hybrid option and completely on hard drives. EMC explained TAdviser that at the request of the customer they could be filled only a flash memory, however it was integrated to some difficulties when using at architecture in the previous type.

EMC reported to TAdviser that development of architecture allowed to increase performance of systems significantly: according to statements of the developer, the solutions Unity are capable to provide three times the big performance, than the previous solutions VNX with a capacity up to 1000 hard drives - to 300,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second, number of input-output operations per second). Also twice capacity of a backend thanks to transition to the SAS 3.0 standard increased.

One more key difference from VNX in EMC call completely processed user interface: it "became simpler, is more sympathetic quicker", speak in the company. In the new version the user interface is based on HTML5 technologies instead of Java which installation caused an excess headache in customers earlier.

The prices of DWH begin approximately from $10 thousand for hybrid solutions and of $18 thousand for the solutions using only a flash memory. Together with the beginning of sales in the world market, the line of Unity became available to the order and in Russia, speak in EMC.

EMC told TAdviser that the considerable part of works on change of architecture of new DWH was performed by R'n'D the center of their company in St. Petersburg. The Russian developers, for example, wrote algorithms of the organization of pools and multilevel storage.

With an exit of Unity, the VNX model of the average level will remain available to the order within one and a half years then their sales will stop, told TAdviser in EMC. At the same time, the VNX models of initial and senior level will continue to exist in a product line of EMC so far.

The producer reports that Unity supports a system of proactive control and monitoring of cloud type based on the modern HTML5 interface created taking into account standard tasks and hints for the user about holding daily procedures. Also integration with ecosystems of VMware and Microsoft for management through the third-party systems of management is supported.

In addition the product supports new opportunities of Proactive Assist which give IT control, the overview and automatic control of Unity storage systems. Besides, service data of Unity are available via new EMC MyService360 online system which provides to users the overview of a status of environments of EMC in real time. MyService360 also gives to IT services an opportunity of the analysis of a status of firmwares of the products EMC, the statuses of connection, indicators of filling of capacity, service activity on platforms and so forth.

Thanks to increase in productivity in comparison with the previous generation of arrays of Unity company can provide work speed to 300K IOPS. In the solution the architecture with two active controllers, support of blocks, files and VVol, pictures of the file system and synchronous/asynchronous replication, the built-in enciphering at the level of the controller, the ready REST-API interface for automation and DevOps, the integrated management of copies of data (Integrated Copy Data Management) with EMC iCDM, background cleaning of cells of flash-memory without damage of performance is implemented.

Unity supports close integration with EMC Data Domain and EMC Data Protection Suite to provide seamless data protection of the customer.

DWH will begin to move ahead worldwide. Therefore the special attention is deserved by the fact that a considerable part of the code was written by the Russian programmers from the center of researches and development (RnD) EMC in St. Petersburg. They within several months most actively interacted with the elected clients of the company testing at themselves the beta of a new solution.

As the EMC system engineer Alexander Malandin notes, the development cycle of a product made about four years. However, for its further development, codes of the Russian programmers were transferred to one of the RnD-centers of the company in the USA. In total at EMC about ten similar centers worldwide: in Ireland, India, Israel and also in South America, Africa and Oceania.

Notes