Eyeing virtualized data centers, EMC and QLogic have teamed to move VNX arrays into the storage area network (SAN) fast lane.
EMC VNX hybrid flash storage arrays are now available with QLogic’s high-speed 16Gb Fiber Channel (FC) technology, the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based provider of storage networking components and equipment announced today. VNX is EMC’s midrange line of flash-enabled, unified storage systems (NAS and SAN). The Hopkinton, Mass.-based data storage giant overhauled VNX in 2013, including enhancements to its underlying MCx software to improve flash integration.
Last year, the company borrowed from the VNX product portfolio to launch a new starter array that brings enterprise-grade data management capabilities to small and midsized businesses (SMBs) and branch offices, the VNXe3200. With a starting price just shy of $12,000, the entry-level array offers VNX-inspired features including Fibre Channel (FC) host connectivity and solid-state drive (SSD) caching.
Now, EMC and QLogic are aiming VNX at IT organizations that are tasked with demanding virtualized workloads.
QLogic’s fifth-generation FC technology is available in the company’s 2600 and 1800 series of PCIe 3.0 host bus adapters (HBAs). The high-end 2600 adapter provides 16 gigabits per second (Gbps) FC connectivity per port and supports over 1.2 million input-output operations per second for brisk data transfers to SSD-based storage, according to the company’s figures.
QLogic 2600 FC adapters, available in single- or dual-port configurations, also sip electricity, courtesy of StarPower, the company’s dynamic power management technology. StarPower uses the minimum number of PCIe lanes to maintain bandwidth, lowering power consumption.
Performance gains aside, EMC and QLogic are also offering VNX customers a degree of future proofing, according to Vikram Karvat, vice president of products, marketing and planning for QLogic.
“Continued advancements in the EMC VNX Series and the addition of QLogic Gen 5 technology provide customers with robust scalability, performance headroom and investment protection in their storage infrastructure,” said Karvat, in a statement. His company’s “technology complements the EMC VNX Series hybrid flash array capabilities with leading edge performance for today’s advanced computing environments and allows customers to accelerate time-to-deployment,” he added.
“Combined with QLogic Gen 5 Fibre Channel connectivity, VNX solutions provide the enterprise-class reliability and performance needed to satisfy the demanding requirements of both physical and virtual data center workloads,” remarked Jon Siegal, vice president of EMC Core Technologies, in a statement.