EMC launches 'next-gen' storage architecture

By Liz Tay on Aug 11, 2008 1:00AM

EMC last week introduced a new series of mid-range storage systems that it expects to be compatible with its previous and future products.

The new EMC Clariion CX4 series features enhanced support for virtualization, power-saving features, and the ability to be easily upgraded or integrate with hardware up to four generations old.

According to EMC's Director of Product Marketing ANZ, Clive Gold, mid-tier storage systems traditionally have been ‘fixed’.

He expects the CX4 series to deliver cost savings to customers by being compatible with hardware that could be up to eight years old.

The series currently supports dual-protocol Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage area network (SAN), and can be dynamically upgraded to add I/O ports to extend the flexibility of VMware environments.

Through what EMC has dubbed ‘UltraFlex’ technology, the series also is able to incorporate future connectivity technologies such as 8Gb/s Fibre Channel, 10Gb/s iSCSI and FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet).

The devices run on Intel’s Xeon processors that improve on the energy efficiency of their predecessors.

New support for solid-state disks (SSD) also is expected to improve the speed and energy efficiency of the mid-range storage systems.

SSDs are said to be more than 30 times faster than traditional drives and 98 percent more energy efficient on an Input/Outpot operations per second basis.

“This system has been designed with the ability to be a very low-powered device,” Gold told iTnews, estimating the CX4 series to be 30 percent more energy efficient than competitor devices.

EMC’s Clariion brand currently occupies the lion’s share -- 30 percent -- of the Australian storage market, Gold said.

He expects the CX4 series to drive the uptake of EMC products by offering improved performance and capacity at similar costs.

“This being a generational shift, we believe it’s putting more space between us and our nearest competitor,” he said.

“We’ve received some feedback on the pricing; there’s been a lot of surprise that it’s very competitive.”

“There’s also been a lot of interest around features like virtual provisioning, and [how] we’ve enhanced our ability to provide support for virtualisation as well,” he said.