Data Sheet

Dell EMC PowerStore

Designed for the data era

ESSENTIALS

 New data-centric, intelligent, and adaptable Modern data center challenges require a new approach to
infrastructure supports diverse requirements storage infrastructure
while simplifying IT operations
In the new data era, the combination of massive amounts of data and
 Innovative AppsON capability lets you run unparalleled technology innovation has given businesses of all sizes the
virtualized workloads directly on the array, opportunity to become disruptive, digital powerhouses. But despite this
making them portable, agile and fast potential, many learn that digital transformation can be complex and
 The only purpose-built array with a built-in challenging. Data has become more diverse than ever before – and it is now
VMware ESXi hypervisor.1 Complements and being created, processed and stored everywhere, from edge to cloud. Most
extends your current VMware investments. organizations have found that no single infrastructure can address all their data
requirements, so they utilize different architectures, creating siloes of IT
resources that are managed and consumed independently.
Data-centric
At the same time, IT is under increasing pressure to deliver greater levels of
• Any workload – single architecture for simplicity and agility on the business side. Enterprise-grade, on-premises
physical, virtual, and container-based apps storage must now provide the same operational flexibility as cloud, becoming
and databases. Designed for “6 9s” ever more adaptable, automated and easier to integrate with existing
availability2 management frameworks.

• Performance optimized – end-to-end NVMe To meet these conflicting demands, a new architecture and approach to
design3 is up to 7X faster4 than previous storage is required. Dell Technologies introduces PowerStore – a modern
arrays with up to 3X better response time.5 storage appliance designed for the data era. This game-changing new platform
unlocks the power of data, regardless of its structure or location, helping you
• Scale up and scale out – independently add adapt and transform your IT without disrupting current operations.
capacity or processing power.
• Efficiency without compromise – always-on Start with best-in-class
inline data reduction with guaranteed 4:1 Purpose-built storage arrays have evolved over the years to fill an essential
average DDR6 role in the datacenter, providing ever-expanding levels of performance,
capacity, and resiliency for mission-critical workloads. PowerStore begins with
the very best of modern storage technology, delivering a new kind of storage
Intelligent
appliance with advanced services to complement and extend existing on-
• Programmable infrastructure – end-to-end premises environments.
automation streamlines IT and DevOps Any workload
• Autonomous appliance – built-in machine PowerStore’s single architecture for block, file, and VMware vVols leverages
learning optimizes resources the latest technologies to support an enterprise-class variety of traditional and
• Proactive healthy analytics – smart modern workloads – from relational databases, to ERP and EMR apps, cloud
monitoring reduces risk and predicts needs native applications, and file-based workloads such as content repositories and
home directories.
The ability to accommodate application, multi-protocol network and multi-format
Adaptable storage diversity (physical and virtual volumes, containers, traditional files)
within a single 2U appliance provides business-enabling flexibility and helps IT
• Flexible architecture – container-based
simplify and consolidate their infrastructure.
software stack enables application mobility
Performance optimized
• Flexible deployment – modernize the core,
edge and cloud without disruption Designed to leverage next-gen innovations such as end-to-end NVMe3 and
dual port Intel® Optane™ solid state drives (SSDs) as Storage Class Memory
• Flexible consumption – choice, predictability
(SCM), PowerStore delivers up to 7x more IOPs4 and 3x lower latency5 for real-
and investment protection with pay-per-use
world workloads compared to our previous storage generation, giving you all
solutions and data-in-place upgrades
the headroom you need to ensure long-term value through multiple solution
lifecycles.

© 2021 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Scale up and scale out
Expanding the capabilities of your initial PowerStore configuration is simple and
extremely efficient, as capacity and performance may be scaled independently.
Each active-active PowerStore appliance can grow to over 2.8 PB effective
capacity,6 and multiple appliances can be clustered for greater performance.
Efficiency without compromise
Regardless of how you grow, PowerStore costs remain consistently low.
Deduplication and compression are 100% inline and “always on,” thanks to
Intel QuickAssist hardware acceleration. PowerStore systems provide a
guaranteed average 4:1 data reduction7 without compromising performance.

Make it simpler, and more intelligent

But it’s not just performance and scale. PowerStore also delivers
unprecedented levels of intelligence and automation, eliminating complexity,
while enabling faster delivery of new applications and services with up to 99%
less management interaction.8
Programmable infrastructure
PowerStore streamlines application development and automates storage
workflows through integration with VMware and a broad ecosystem of leading
management and orchestration frameworks. You can provision PowerStore
services directly from the application toolsets you use most. For example, IT
and DevOps users can take advantage of plug-ins for VMware (vRO Plugin),
Kubernetes (CSI Driver) and Ansible (Ansible Module), reducing deployment
timeframes from days to seconds.9
Autonomous appliance
PowerStore includes built-in intelligence to eliminate dozens of time-consuming
tasks and decision points. Labor-intensive processes like initial volume
placement, migrations, load balancing and issue resolution are automated by
PowerStore’s onboard machine learning (ML) engine, which fine-tunes both
individual and clustered appliances, optimizing performance and reducing cost,
even as your environment evolves unpredictably.
Proactive health analytics
Dell EMC’s CloudIQ, included with PowerStore, gives administrators faster time
to insight,10 with all the intel they need to take quick action and more efficiently
manage their storage environment. By combining machine learning, advanced
analytics and human intelligence, the cloud-based app reduces risk, spots
anomalies before trouble occurs, and helps even IT generalists plan for future
storage needs with powerful forecasting. CloudIQ makes storage management
tasks easier, so you can get back to focusing on your business goals.

Ready to adapt when you are

If the advantages stopped here, PowerStore would already offer incredible
storage value with a powerful lineup of enterprise-class features. However, the
PowerStore difference goes much deeper with revolutionary new capabilities
that not only support current needs, transforming the way you run your data
center today, but also empower you to evolve your infrastructure as your
business evolves – as unpredictable as that may be.
Flexible architecture
PowerStore’s container-based software architecture, known as PowerStoreOS,
improves performance, fault tolerance and security by isolating individual OS
components as microservices. It also enables feature portability and rapid
delivery of new or enhanced services over time.
Administrators can choose to deploy PowerStoreOS in a bare metal
configuration directly on the PowerStore hardware, or within a virtual machine
(VM) running on PowerStore’s optional built-in VMware hypervisor, providing
yet another layer of isolation, intelligence and abstraction.
When PowerStoreOS runs on a VM, administrators can also access the
hypervisor to deploy their own applications directly on the appliance, using the
same VMware tools and methods they use with external hosts. This game-
changing capability, known as AppsON, is ideal for data-intensive workloads in
core or edge locations where infrastructure simplicity and density is required,
as well as for “infrastructure applications” such as anti-virus or monitoring
software.

With AppsON, PowerStore can provide both storage capacity for applications
running throughout the enterprise and a VMware-based environment for
hosting applications locally.

Best of all, since VMware ESXi is the underlying foundation, administrators can
move seamlessly between these services. PowerStore cluster management,
combined with VMware tools including vMotion and storage vMotion, enables
easy application mobility in and out of PowerStore to other VMware targets.
Using a single storage instance, applications can be deployed on networked
servers, hyperconverged infrastructure, or directly on the PowerStore
appliance, and migrated transparently among any of them, allowing IT and
application owners to quickly deploy and reassign workloads to the most
effective environment based on current requirements and available resources.
Flexible deployment
PowerStore’s compact footprint and adaptable design is ideal for:
• Edge-based IoT data analytics and remote office applications where ease
of deployment and advanced replication is required
• Core data center modernization, when flexibility, application mobility, and
VMware integration is critical for consistent operations
• Multi-cloud access, including hybrid solutions that allow customers to
integrate on-premises infrastructure with public cloud while maintaining
management and operational consistency.
Leveraging Dell Technologies Cloud Validated Designs, PowerStore can
provide an ideal landing zone for data intensive workloads on VMware Cloud
Foundation (VCF). PowerStore is also supported with Dell EMC Cloud
Storage Services, which directly connects PowerStore to the users’ cloud(s) of
choice, as a managed service. Cloud Storage Services can provide DRaaS to
VMware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with full operational
consistency using VMware.
Within any of these scenarios, PowerStore may be deployed as a standalone
appliance complementing existing infrastructure, or as a storage option within
Power One, the new Dell Technologies all-in-one autonomous infrastructure
cloud platform.
Flexible consumption
PowerStore introduces the Anytime Upgrade program, a new optional
advantage within the overall Dell EMC Future-Proof offering. Anytime Upgrade
is the industry’s most flexible controller upgrade program,11 allowing you to
continually modernize your PowerStore infrastructure without forklift upgrades,
downtime, or application impact.
Unlike other programs, Anytime Upgrade lets you upgrade on your own terms,
with multiple ways to enhance your PowerStore system.
• Data-in-place node upgrades: Upgrade the nodes (controllers) in your
existing appliance to Next Gen or Next Gen + Higher Model versions.13
• Scale-out upgrade: Apply a discount credit to expand your PowerStore
cluster with a second system equal to current model. 13
 Each Anytime Upgrade redemption option is completely non-disruptive,
Metro Area Solutions preserving existing drive and expansion enclosure investments. Upgrades may
be executed at any time within your contract,12 and you are not required to
PowerStore metro node renew your maintenance contract to receive the upgrade. PowerStore’s
Metro node is a hardware add-on feature for adaptable architecture combined with Anytime Upgrades effectively ends the
PowerStore that provides true active-active traditional cycle of platform migration and forklift disruption.
synchronous replication over metro distances,
enabling seamless data mobility to non-disruptively Finally, Dell Technologies On Demand provides a range of options to easily
relocate workloads without application downtime. purchase and scale storage – as you grow it, as you use it, or as a service.
These flexible consumption models combine flexible payment solutions and
Metro node allows simultaneous writes at both sites
value-added services to align spending with usage and optimize both financial
and supports Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and
Recover Time Objectives (RTO) equal to zero and technological outcomes. In environments where capacity demands are
downtime. cyclical or variable, usage-based consumption models deliver clear cost-
savings and business advantages.

The future of storage is here

PowerStore both complements and advances your current infrastructure. Built
Moving to PowerStore from the ground up to provide unprecedented capabilities leveraging next-gen
technology, the adaptable new platform simultaneously offers a familiar context
and mature, comprehensive ecosystem support.
Native migration tools included
PowerStore offers more ways to migrate than ever,
Whether your current environment includes traditional 3-tier solutions (servers,
including new native tools that let you automate networks, arrays), hyperconverged infrastructure, hybrid or public cloud, or a
entire migrations directly from the PowerStore mixture of everything, PowerStore helps you simplify and modernize without
Manager wizard. If you have an existing Dell EMC adding another management silo, allowing your IT staff leverage current
storage platform, you can complete a non-disruptive skillsets while investing confidently in the future.
array-to-array transfer in as few as seven clicks.14
Hosts are remapped transparently, and completely
offloaded, keeping workload performance high See PowerStore Spec Sheet for additional details.
throughout the process.

Cross-platform solutions 1 – Based on Dell analysis of publicly available information on current solutions from mainstream storage vendors, April 2020.

2 – Based on the Dell Technologies specification for Dell EMC PowerStore, April 2020. Actual system availability may vary.
PowerStore also gives you access to a range of
3 – Initial PowerStore release includes NVMe drive support within the base appliance. NVME-oF on existing PowerStore
other migration methods, from VPLEX and appliances will be provided as non-disruptive upgrade in a future release.
PowerPath/ME to host-based tools such as vMotion
4 – Based on Dell analysis comparing IOPS on PowerStore 9000 4x cluster vs. Unity XT 880 running 70/30 random read/write
and Linux LVM, as well as comprehensive migration mix, 8K block size with compression and deduplication active, March 2020. Actual results will vary.
offerings from Dell Technologies Services.
5 – Based on Dell analysis comparing latency with PowerStore 9000 vs. Unity XT 880 at 300K IOPS, 8K random, 70/30 read/write
Whatever storage platform you’re running today, mix, compression and deduplication active, March 2020. Actual results will vary.
we’ll make sure you get to PowerStore quickly and 6 – Assumes 4:1 average data reduction. Actual results may vary, depending on data types.
smoothly – keeping your data fully secure along the
7 – 4:1 average rate guaranteed across customer applications. Rates for individual applications may vary. See Future-Proof
way. program terms and conditions for details.

8 – Based on Dell analysis of staff time required to maintain balanced PowerStore cluster vs. traditional multi-array deployment,
March 2020. Factors in effort required to monitor, plan, define and execute volume migrations. Actual results will vary.

9 – Based on Dell analysis of effort required to deploy workloads with and without Ansible and vRO orchestration integrations,
Dell Technologies Services March 2020. Factors in effort required to monitor, plan, define and execute volume migrations. Actual results will vary.

10 – Based on an April 2020 Principled Technologies Report commissioned by Dell EMC, "Dell EMC CloudIQ streamlined the
Choice and flexibility throughout the life of user experience in five cloud-based storage preventive management tasks", compared to HPE InfoSight with an HPE Primera
array vs. CloudIQ with a Dell EMC Unity array. Actual results may vary. Full report: http://facts.pt/m8a5u3v
your appliance 11 – Based on Dell analysis, April 2020 using publicly available data to compare the highest available program/subscription offers
for controller upgrades. Requires purchase of Anytime Upgrade Standard or Select option and minimum 3-year ProSupport or
End-to-end services help you configure, support ProSupport Plus contract at point of sale to qualify. Upgrade eligibility begins 180 days after invoice.
and optimize PowerStore, making your new 12 – Anytime Upgrade is available for purchase with PowerStore at POS only, and requires a ProSupport or ProSupport Plus
infrastructure solution easy to adopt and manage. contract with a 3, 4 or 5-year term. Upgrades available 180 days after program purchase.

13 – The Anytime Upgrade STANDARD offer provides an upgrade to Next Gen nodes when available. Anytime Upgrade
SELECT adds “Next Gen + Higher Model” and “Scale-out” upgrade options. See rep for details..

14 – Based on Dell analysis of minimum effort required to execute non-disruptive migration of volume group using PowerStore’s
built-in migration tools for Unity, SC Series, PS Series and VNX arrays, March 2020. Actual results will vary.

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owners. Reference Number: H18234.10