EMC is also switching up the way it delivers its new storage boxes. In the
EMC formally launched its newest high-end storage array, a
tiered storage box that can store one petabyte
onto one machine.
The company dropped
the code name Symm 7 for the moniker Symmetrix DMX-3, a logical follow-up to
the DMX-2 unveiled
in February 2004.
DMX-3 comprises a single system bay and separate storage bays. Each bay is
powered independently and contains sufficient power and battery backup.
Users can easily boost system capacity by another storage bay or more disk
drives. Additional performance can be added by installing extra director
boards.
EMC President and CEO Joe Tucci said on a conference call Monday that the
machine is loaded with new technology, including a design that doubles the
processing power of the chips and bandwidth to shuttle data at greater
speeds. DMX-3 also has global memory directors based on Dual Data Rate (DDR)
Highlighting what Tucci said he expects to be an ongoing trend in the
storage space, DMX-3 will support up to 960 disk drives when it launches in
early September, expanding to 1,920 disk drives in the first half of 2006
and more than 2,000 by the end of 2006.
“Since [the DMX line] launched
in February 2003, customer demand has clearly and consistently moved toward
our larger DMX systems with bigger drive counts,” Tucci said. The chief
attributed the demand for the highest of EMC’s high end to the systems’
increases in performance, scalability and functionality.
While not all analysts agree that speeds and feeds boosts will help EMC sell
more boxes in the high-end storage space, there are a few undeniable
variables that can work in the company’s favor.
Corporate data volumes seem to be growing anywhere between 50 percent and 60 percent each year, triggering the need for storage gear equipped to handle massive data loads.
Tucci said this is what is propelling customer demand for systems with more
drives. DMX-3 is that trend. At the least, the new product
should help EMC stay ahead of rivals IBM and Hitachi Data Systems on the high-end curve.
past, the company introduced a new machine along with a new operating system
and enhanced software functionality. This essentially gave customers a few
different things to worry about. For example, the hardware had to be tuned
and tested before the software was installed on it.
Not anymore, Tucci said. DMX-3 will run on an operating system called
Enginuity 5071 code. The OS will power EMC’s three generations of DMX, providing
a form of investment protection previously unheard of from EMC.
In 2006, all of the DMX systems will support Low Cost Fibre Channel (LC-FC)
disk drive technology, comparable in cost to ATA technology. LC-FC will
allow multiple tiers of storage to be run on a single DMX system. This is
symbolic of the Hopkinton, Mass, company’s information lifecycle management
strategy for managing data from its creation to its demise.
Analysts who have studied the specs for DMX-3 concluded that the ability to
rev from 7,500 to 10,000 or 15,000 RPM drives gives the tiered storage look
and feel not found on comparable products from IBM or HDS.
The first DMX-3 will support FICON-attached IBM mainframes and iSCSI
or Fibre Channel-based systems running AIX, HP/UX, Linux, Solaris and
Windows.
Separately, EMC said it also took steps to improve data migration from older
machines to new ones, unveiling its Open Migrator/LM software. This utility
automated data migration between different Windows and Unix-based storage
systems.
EMC/Softek Logical Data Migration Facility software, developed by EMC
and Softek Storage Solution, enables online relocation of mainframe data at
the dataset level.