PowerVault MD3600i and MD3620i Series

Shared Storage Arrays

Product Training
RTS: March 02, 2011
Training Agenda
Customer Pain Points
Product Messaging
Technical Details
Performance
Premium Feature keys
Drives Supported
Thing You Need to Know
Interline Positioning
Competitive Comparison
Backup
What are Organizations Today Facing?
Virtual Infrastructure
Availability
Complexity
Increased reliance on consolidated storage
Productivity and competitiveness relies on it
Diverse infrastructure lack simplicity
Restrictive budgets Demands are increasing, budgets are not
Performance
Todays demands availability 24/7/365
Data value is increasing and protecting it is critical Reliability
Limited experience or resources IT resources
BC/DR and migration Slow or no plan leaves data exposed / reduced flexibility
Remote sites / Depts Simplicity and low-cost is key to support these sites
Product Messaging
The Market is Ready for 10Gb
Dell'Oro forecasts the 10GbE
adapter market alone to grow
from $200 million in 2010 to
nearly $800 million by 2014
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

The market demand for 10Gb iSCSI is real and growing.
The release of MD36X0i is just in time for this market growth.
The InfoPros Storage Networking
Technology Heat Index

which
gauges the immediacy of user needs
and planned spending for
technology shows significant
interest in 10Gbs iSCSI (now 3 from
16 in 2009)
Q4 '09
Rank
Q2 '10
Rank
Technology
1 1 Backup Data Reduction/Deduplication
3 2 Solid-state Disk Drives (SSD)
16 3 10Gbps Ethernet for Storage
9 4 Virtual Server Image Storage
6 5
Remote Block Mirroring and/or Wide-area Replication
(Async)
6 5 8Gbps Fibre Channel
4 7 Virtual Tape Libraries (VTL) for Open Systems
http://www.dellorogroup.com/
www.theinfopro.com
MD3200/3600i Series Family Highlights
Improving efficiency with a storage consolidation solution that is simple and
cost effective
Easier than ever to keep up with increasing performance and capacity
demands
Intuitive and simple management that doesnt sacrifice control
Improved flexibility to meet a wide variety of IT environments and application
demands
Energy efficiencies and security improvement to keep pace with demands of
your business


Reduced overall storage cost and
complexity with improved
performance, flexibility and
scalability all in a highly available
storage consolidation solution.
PowerVault MD36x0 Series 10Gb iSCSI Array
High-level Messaging
High performance IP SAN storage consolidation solution
First to Dell 10GbaseT solution = Simple and cost-effective
Utilizes a standard RJ45 cable without the need for a SFP
Reduce hardware and management cost and complexity
Expands iSCSI bandwidth performance
I/O bottlenecks are removed for improved performance and application response time
Utilize fewer ports to meet performance demands
Remove complexity and lighten IT administration resources
Reduce infrastructure cost



Improve operational efficiencies, performance and utilization and remove infrastructure cost and complexity
Great For
Consolidation of servers and networks to enable higher
utilization of IT resources
Effectively support virtual implementations and virtual
server migration
Ensuring data accessibility 24/7

MD36X0i Target Markets
SMBs and remote /branch offices that were previously hesitant to
deploy an iSCSI SAN
No more performance trade-offs!
Simple to deploy no need for a separate LAN for storage traffic
Customers with high-bandwidth applications that require strong
sequential performance
Backup-to-disk
Large file storage
Video capture/streaming
HPC
Sharepoint
CAD/CAM
Early adopters looking for 10Gb iSCSI storage but want to
leverage 10base-T infrastructure without adding costs of optical

For database applications, block sizes
between 32-128 KB have shown to be
effective.

For larger workloads, i.e. media streaming.
128 KB or more are recommended
Dell Brings 10Gb iSCSI to the Mainstream
First to market 10GbT solution using a
standard RJ45 cable w/o the need for a SFP
Keeps 10Gb iSCSI cost down, lowering CAPEX
No SFP removes complexity for higher ease of use
Compatible with installed Ethernet
Great distance capabilities
Standard RJ45 over CAT6 for up to 100m
cable length
Investment protection
Upgrade the rest of the infrastructure to 10Gb iSCSI
as needed
Backwards compatibility with 1Gb iSCSI environments


SFP vs. CAT5/6 (10GbT vs. 10GbE)
Differences:
Distance: 100m vs. 10km
Latency: 5.021 or 5.001 ms
Power: SFP lower power
MD36x0i dont support SFP whatever copper or Optical
10GbT / Optical 10Gb iSCSI with SFPs
10GbT Copper (MD36X0i) Optical 10Gb iSCSI
Distance Up to 100 Meters (However, if you
have a switch that can support
copper and optical, cant you get
the distance of optical on the
switch to server side?)
Up to 275 Meters (short
range over multi-mode)
Up to 10,000 Meters (long
range over single-mode)
SFP Cost N/A Starting at $85 and up*
Cable Cost (5
Meters)
~$8 ~$296
Backwards
Compatibility
Yes No
Bandwidth
Performance
10Gb 10Gb
Power Draw
Comparison
Almost negligible Almost negligible
* http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=bsd&c=us&l=en&cs=04&category_id=2999&k=10Gb+SFP&cat=snp
24 Port Switch 24 Port Switch
10GbT Copper (MD36X0i) Optical 10Gb iSCSI
Total Cost (excludes arrays and servers) =
$8,650
Total Cost (excludes arrays and servers) =
$15,586
Cost of a Typical Configuration
24 Port Switch 24 Port Switch
$1,349
$1,349
Switch
SFP
$85 $85
$85 $85 $85 $85
$85 $85
$85 $85 $85 $85
HBA
$728 $728 $728 $728
$728 $728 $728 $728
$903 $903 $903 $903
$903 $903 $903
Cable
$903
$8 X 16 $269 X 16
$1,349
$1,349
10GbT Networks Competitive on Cost
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
$10,000
$12,000
$14,000
$16,000
10GbT 10GbE
10GbT vs. 10GbE Optical
Total Expenditures*
SFPs
Cable
HBAs
Switches
* Does not include arrays of server costs
$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
10GbT 8Gb FC
10GbT vs. 8Gb FC
Total Expenditures*
SFPs
Cable
HBAs
Switches
10GbT
costs up to
$6K less!
FC is almost
3x more
than 10GbT!
Based on a highly available SAN connecting redundant
MD32X0i arrays, switches and four servers:
24 Port Switch 24 Port Switch
These cost comparisons do not take into account the complexity of implementing 10Gb Optical
or 8Gb FC which can increase IT resources expenditures and time.
PowerVault MD36x0i Series
Whats Different
PowerVault MD3600i Series iSCSI Array PowerVault MD3620i Series iSCSI Array
DELL CONFIDENTIAL
14
Two enclosure options
2U 12 drive 3.5 inch enclosure 2U 24 drive 2.5 inch enclosure
Common between the two
2- 10GBaseT iSCSI host ports per controller
Increase from MD32x0i to support up to 64 hosts
Expands to 96 drives
Mix and match drive sizes and speeds
7.2K, 10K and 15K SAS( Tiering)
SSD
Optional High Performance Tier
Premium Features, Snapshot and Virtual Disks
Deployment flexibility and scalability
Brief product
description
Highly scalable10GBaseT iSCSI storage
array
Industry leading performance/cost storage
solution
Entry level SAN for SMB customers
transitioning from direct attached storage to
consolidated storage systems
Tier 2 application virtualization platform
Highly configurable platform to meet a wide
range of application demands
Why we
developed this
product
To increase throughput for customers
needing higher capacity within their
application/environment
As a competitive answer to low end iSCSI
storage products from HP, IBM, Sun and
numerous 2
nd
tier storage players
How it fits into
the Portfolio
Enhancement to the current MD family
Positioned above the MD3200i/3220i storage
array and below the entry line of the
EqualLogic PS and Dell/EMC arrays

The Configurations to Achieve Performance
10Gb can achieve comparable
or better performance with half
the ports of 1Gb

Reduced infrastructure and
management resources
Fewer VLANs
Simpler
Less time-consuming
Cost-savings

The MD36X0i meets
performance demands of
multiple servers with
HALF the ports.

PowerVault MD32x0i Series iSCSI Array
PowerVault MD36x0i Series iSCSI Array
The MD32X0i used
eight 1Gb ports
The MD36X0i used
four 10Gb ports
SMB Enterprise Marketing
MD36x0i Supported Switches
16 Confidential
PowerConnect # of ports Combo ports Comments
8024 24x 10GBASE-
T
4x Combo Ports of SFP+
(10Gb/1Gb) or 10GBASE-T
Good for 10GbaseT environment with
small # of SFP+ connections
8024F 24x SFP+
10Gb
4x Combo Ports of SFP+
(10Gb/1Gb) or 10GBASE-T
Good for SFP+ environment with small
# of 10GbaseT connections
6248 48x 1GBASE-T 4x Combo Ports of
10GBASE-T
Good for 1GbaseT environment with
small # of 10GbaseT connections
6224F 24x SFP+ 1Gb 4x Combo Ports of
10GBASE-T
Good for 1SFP+ environment with
small # of 10GbaseT connections
6224 24x 1GBASE-T 4x Combo Ports of
10GBASE-T
Good for 1GbaseT environment with
small # of 10GbaseT connections
Note: By the end of March there will be a PowerConnect 7xxx series

MD36x0i supports the other Powerconnect J-series, B-series, W-series and Cisco
switches.
Is 10Gb Right for Me?
Why buy the MD36X0i

Effectively utilize resources and efficiently manage your virtual
infrastructure

Reduce host port quantities and complexity while achieving
scalable performance

Remain productive and competitive with continuous and quick
access to data

Start small, Grow Big scale data and performance for their
organization as it is required

Achieve ease of use with simple management and easy storage
array configurations

Why invest in the MD36X0i

Family Portfolio
MD Family Positioning
Ultimate virtual SAN simple shared
DAS
Integrated rack solutions
Single room data centers / Small server
consolidation
High processing power with no
tolerance for latency
Low cost IP SAN
Smaller departmental SAN use
Tier 2 server consolidation with limited IO
requirements
Centralized backup of remote locations with host-
based replication
High performance IP SAN
Helps to simplify infrastructures
Existing iSCSI implementations
New server deployments
Remote data backup implementations with host-based
replication
Virtualization, Cloud Computing, and Clustering
MD32X0 MD32X0i MD36X0i
6Gb SAS 1Gb iSCSI 10Gb iSCSI
Dell SAN Portfolio
MD3200i
Series
MD3600i
Series
AX Series PS Series CX Series
Complement
your
PowerEdge
server with
affordable
storage

Keeping pace
with ever
increasing
performance
demands
Remote site
and work-
group storage
with CX
management
Enterprise-class,
scale-out storage
optimized for
virtual servers
and data
consolidation
Enterprise-
class Multi-
protocol,
massive
capacity for
the core of
your business
Technical Deep Dive
MD36x0i Generational Differences
Feature MD36x0i MD32x0i MD3000i
Number of controllers Single or Dual Single or Dual Single or Dual
Host ports/controller 2 RJ45 4 RJ45 2 RJ45
Maximum hosts support 64 32 16
Cache/controller 2GB 2GB 512MB
Drives/enclosure 12, 3.5 in 2U 24, 2.5 in 2U 15, 3.5 in 3U
Maximum HDD count 96 96 45
Expansion enclosures MD1200 and MD1220 MD1200 and MD1220 MD1000
Enclosure mixing Yes Yes N/A
HDD supported SSD, SAS, NL-SAS SSD, SAS, NL-SAS SAS & SATA
HDD mixing in
enclosures
Yes Yes Yes
HDD carriers 11G server design 11G server design 9G/10G server design
SAS cables
8088 mini SAS
connectors
8088 mini SAS
connectors
8047 SAS connectors
High Performance Tier Premium Feature Premium Feature N/A
Hosts/Partitioning Explained
MS Windows
App Server
Active
Directory
Server
Microsoft
SQL Server
Microsoft
Exchange Server
SAP
Custom
Applications
= 6 Partitions
MS Windows
App Server
VM
Active
Directory
Server
VM
Microsoft
SQL Server
VM
Microsoft
Exchange Server
VM
SAP
VM
Custom
Applications
VM
Physical host
= 1 Partition
In this configuration the
max. Number of Physical
hosts Is 64
In this configuration the
max. Number of Host are
1012
Hosts/Partitioning Explained
MS Windows
App Server
VM
Active
Directory
Server
VM
Microsoft
SQL Server
VM
Microsoft
Exchange Server
VM
SAP
VM
Custom
Applications
VM
Physical host
= 2 Partition
Storage Direct
Connection from the
Custom Application VM
Acts like a physical host
connection

Max. number of supported physical
hosts/partitions is 64
MD36x0i Series Controller Architecture
Key Controller Features
Active/Active controllers w/ mirrored cache
Support for RAID 0, 1/10, 5 and 6
Up to 30 HDD per disk group in RAID 5 & 6
Up to 96 HDD per disk group in RAID 0, 1/10
Permanent cache retention to flash memory
Automatic HDD rebuild with global hot spares
Maximum of 256 Virtual Disks
Smart battery support
Online firmware upgrades (dual cntrl systems only)
Automated background data scrubbing
Maximum of 64 storage partitions
128 snap shots, maximum of 8/virtual disk
8 simultaneous virtual disk copies, maximum of 255
Dynamic expansion for disk groups, virtual disks and enclosures
Dynamic RAID level migration
Support 1012 total connections & sessions, but no more than 253 per port. Depending
on the number of connections per session, the total sessions supported gets
decreased.
Performance
IOPS Random Reads
Performance with 10Gb - Base


For bandwidth, 10Gb is
the clear leader
Performance is substantially
better than 1Gb
With 10Gb, the MD can
achieve its true performance
potential


For IOPs, both 1Gb and
10Gb deliver almost the
same performance.


.
MB/s Sequential Reads
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
3200i
3600i
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
3200i
3600i
Throughput improvements
with 10Gb/s iSCSI begin at
64 KB block sizes
For IOPs, 10Gb iSCSI is on
par with 1Gb iSCSI
40%
Premium Feature Keys
MD36x0i Premium Feature Keys
Optional software features
One license per box (tied to service tag)
Fullfillment
Common across MD3200 and MD3600 series
Snapshot Only 421-3438
Snapshot & VDC 421-3439
High Performance Tier421-3580
Optional Data Protection Features
Snapshot Virtual Disk
Creates a referenced image by
tracking changes to the original
virtual disk
Source
Virtual disk
Snapshot
repository
Copy of
pointers
1. Initial
snapshot of
virtual disk
2. Original data
blocks
replaced by
new writes
Physical data
Virtual data
Snapshot
reference
image
Background
copy process
Target -
Full copy of
virtual disk
Source
Virtual disk
Physical data
Physical data 3. Pointers
updated
Virtual-Disk Copy
Creates a full copy of a virtual-disk
Separately keyed MD Storage Manager functionality that enables users to add an
additional level of data protection and help improves production data utilization
Maximum of 8 snapshots per virtual disk
Maximum of 128 snapshots per system
Maximum of 8 simultaneous virtual disk copies
Maximum of 255 virtual disk copies per system
Only one license needed per MD unit
High Performance Tier
Sequential
Throughput
Random
IOPs
High Performance Tier 2X improvement
Base
High Performance Tier 20% improvement
Base
High Performance Tier is key for bandwidth-oriented and
mixed (consolidated) workloads and can make a
difference for larger-scaled transactional applications
High Performance Tier is an optional upgrade that can increase the performance
of MD3600i and MD3620i series arrays that have a high drive count, Solid state
drives (SSDs) or high data transfer workloads. This implementation is based on an
enhanced firmware algorithm and does not require any new hardware
dependencies. Several factors will determine the potential performance increase,
including the array configuration, host, operating system, HBA, number and type
of drives, and application workload.

Only one license needed per MD unit
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
RANDOM READ IOPS
Base
Turbo
Performance with 10Gb High Performance Tier


For bandwidth, 10Gb is
the clear leader
Performance is substantially
better than 1Gb
With 10Gb, the MD can
achieve its true performance
potential


For IOPs, both 1Gb and
10Gb deliver almost the
same performance.


.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
SEQUENTIAL READ (MiB/s)
Base
Turbo
Throughput improvements
with 10Gb/s iSCSI begin at
64 KB block sizes
When to use HPT
High Performance Tier will be most beneficial when the
workload intensity exceeds the controllers performance
capability in base mode and the system configuration will
support additional performance.


Enabling High Performance Tier improves the performance of
the array in both data transfer rate (bandwidth) and I/O
transactions per second (IOPS). The main advantages are
increased bandwidth for sequential and increased IOPS for
random workloads such as backup, video capture markets,
etc, etc
DELL CONFIDENTIAL 33
Drives Supported
Solid State Drives (SSDs)
Use solid state memory (flash) to store data
Pliant SAS SSD
149-GB capacity
Industry-standard SLC NAND flash memory technology
SSD benefits
Increased small-block I/O performance
2x the IOPs per watt, a third of the watts per drive and lower heat
dissipation
Faster start up (no spin up) and access to data (no rotational latency)
Higher reliability with fewer moving parts
Ideal for few writes and lots of reads applications
SSDs should be reserved for
high-end applications where the
cost can be justified
Near-line SAS Drives
Reduces complexity
No need for a SATA interposer
Comparably priced to SATA drives
Delivers the most capacity for the least money
SAS delivers up to a 38% IOPs per watt improvement over
SATA (Seagate datasheet)
Outperforms SATA
25% improvement in sequential reads
140% improvement in sequential writes
15% improvement in random reads
20% improvement in random writes

Secure Encrypted Disks (SED)
Powered-down drives are locked
Data is unreadable and useless to
anyone who attempts to access it

Establishes and manages a single authorization scheme for all the self-encrypting
drives in the storage array
Places SEDs in a secured state
Supports the decommissioning or repurposing of drives with Secure Erase
%$#@bdelijruil.skd%
$#@i&&6544ty899#@&$
Unauthorized
User Data
Data on Drive
Readingfrom the Drive
Decryption Process
Data
Encryption
Key
%$#@bdelijruil.skd%
$#@i&&6544ty899#@&$
K
e
y

M
a
n
a
g
e
m
e
n
t
%$#@bdelijruil.skd%
$#@i&&6544ty899#@&$
User Data
Data on Drive
Writing to the Drive
Encryption Process
Data
Encryption
Key
Ow +]~vC
_+Lg^!
Data Read from Drive
Reading from the Drive
Decryption Process
NewData
Encryption
Key Instant Secure
Erase
Change Data Encryption
Key
%$#@bdelijruil.skd%$
#@i&&6544ty899#@&$
The quick brown fox
jumps over the lazy dog
Data on Drive
Secure Erase
Less than 1 second sanitization of
hard drive data for secure disposal
of the drive
Why Encrypt Data-At-Rest?
- At some point, ALL storage leaves the data center
This year, between 20M to 30M hard drives will leave the warm
security of the glass house, either in systems or as bare drives

Compliance
42 states have data privacy laws with encryption safe harbors
New data breach bills have explicit encryption safe harbors
PCI DSS requires rendering stored cardholder data unreadable
Exposure of data loss is expensive
Data center disk drives are mobile
ALL drives/systems leave the security of the data center eventually
The vast majority of decommissioned drives are still readable . .

. . . and not all leave under the owners control
Source: Seagate Technology
Page 38
Qualified Drives
15K 10K 7200 SSD
Capacity 2.5-in. 3.5-in.
73 GB
146 GB SED
300 GB SED
450 GB SED
500 GB SED
600 GB SED SED
1 TB SED
2 TB SED
MD36x0i Controller Views
MD36x0i
Two 10-Gb Ethernet
ports per controller for
host connectivity
Two 6Gb/s SAS port for drive
expansion connectivity
Two 1-Gb Ethernet port for LAN
out-of-band management
Two PS/2 serial interface
for service
MD32x0i controllers cannot be
swap out with MD36x0i controllers
MD36x0i controllers will not plug
into MD3000 chassis
Expansion and Cabling



2U Controller Enclosure
Dual EMMs
24 2.5 Drives
8088 mini SAS connections
SAS drives
Hot-swappable CRUs









2U Expansion Enclosure
Dual EMMs
12 3.5 Drives
8088 mini SAS connections
SAS drives
Hot-swappable CRUs
MD1200
MD1220
MD1200 and MD1220
enclosures can be
intermixed behind an
MD3600i/MD3620i

Do not exceed 96 total
drive slots when
mixing enclosures
Enterprise Window
What is it?
Enhancement to the Modular
Disk Storage Manager
software that allows customer
to monitor the system status of
multiple arrays, including
previous generation arrays.
Why do customers care?
A single source to monitor
both MD3600 series, MD3200
series as well as the previous
MD3000 series.

DELL CONFIDENTIAL 42
Physical View Tab
What is it?
A new tab in the array
management window that
provides customers with
an image of the system
with key status of
controllers, power
supplies, enclosures and
hard disk drives
Why do customers
care?
A much more user friendly
way to see where
individual storage
resources are and perform
configuration activities
DELL CONFIDENTIAL 43
Integration into non-Dell management tools
What is this?
VSS and VDS providers are located on the resource DVD
SCOM and SMI-S providers are located on the Dell support web
site in the drivers and downloads area
Vcenter plugin
MD32x0i release 2/22, MD36x0i& MD32x0i release 3/15

Why do customers care?
Many customers prefer to use Microsofts tools to perform basic activities
like taking snap shots or creating a RAID group or even monitoring their
systems health status
In larger environments where storage management resource tools are
used, industry standard providers like SMI-S can allow our systems to be
managed with a 3
rd
party management tool
DELL CONFIDENTIAL 44
Operating System Support
Microsoft Linux Virtualization
Windows 2008 R1 & R2
Standard & Core
Enterprise Editions & Core
Data Center & Core
Foundation & Core
Small Business Server
Essential Business Server
Red Hat 5.4 & 5.5 VMWare
ESX 4.1 (SAS & iSCSI)
Windows Storage Server 2008
R1 & R2
SuSE Enterprise Server 10
with SP3
Windows 2008 w/Hyper-V
Windows 2008 HPC Server
R1 & R2
SuSE Enterprise Server 11 &
11 U1
Hyper-V Server 2008 & 2008
with R2
Windows Unified Data
Storage Server 2008 R1 & R2
(SAS Only)
Citrix Xen Server 5.5 U2
Windows 2008 Web Citrix Xen Server 5.6
Windows 2003 Standard,
Enterprise & Small Business
with SP2 and R2
Windows 2003 Standard &
Enterprise x64 with SP2 & R2
Windows Storage Server 2003
R2 & SP2
Certified
Generational Coexistence
You can put an MD3000i, MD32x0i and MD36x0i behind the same
server BUT
MD3000/MD3000i has the Dec 2010 release FW
Supported on all versions of Windows OSes via MPIO driver
Linux OSes are limited to Device Mapper (DM) support
MD3000 must run MPP for failover
MD32x0i/MD36x0i must run DMMP for failover

MD36x0i Series Key SKUs
MD3600i
Single Controller 225-0667
Dual Controller 225-0666
Optional Bezel 321-0071
MD3620i
Single Controller 225-0665
Dual Controller 225-0664
Optional Bezel 318-0486
Common across Both
Snapshot Only 421-3438
Snapshot & VDC 421-3439
High Performance Tier421-3580
Interline Positioning
PG Outbound Marketing
PowerVault MD family positioning
1/23/2011 49 Confidential
MD32XX MD32XXi MD36XXi
Best For
Support HA servers with high capacity, high
performance, energy efficient shared storage array
Storage consolidation designed for virtualized
environments in a high availability, high capacity,
general purpose networked storage array
Storage consolidation designed for virtualized
environments in a high availability, high capacity,
high performance networked storage array
Messaging
Built to support highly available servers with 6Gb/s
SAS performance. Ideal for consolidation of up to 4
clustered servers and virtual environments where:
1. Cost per GB is key (MD3200)
2. Cost per IOPs is key (MD3220)
Entry-level 1GbE iSCSI storage array designed
for: 1. Improved throughput , ideal for
consolidation of general purpose or capacity
intensive applications (MD3200i)
2. The best performance/U, ideal for consolidation
of high performance applications. (MD3220i)

iSCSI storage arrays are optimized to support
virtual server environments.
Entry-level 10 GbE iSCSI storage array designed
for: 1. Improved throughput , ideal for
consolidation of general purpose or capacity
intensive applications (MD3600i)
2. The best performance/U, ideal for consolidation
of high performance applications. (MD3620i)

iSCSI storage arrays are optimized to support
virtual server environments.
Key
Features
Single or dual active/active external controller
array
6Gb/s SAS
2U enclosure with 12 3.5 inch drives (MD3200)
2U enclosure with 24 2.5 inch drives (MD3220)
Power and cooling savings with 2.5 inch drives,
high efficiency power supplies and variable speed
fans (MD3220)
Supports up to 8 servers or 4 HA servers
7.2, 10 and 15K rpm SAS drives and SSD
Expands to 96 drives (leveraging MD1200 or
MD1220)
1GbE iSCSI array
Single or dual active/active controller
4 1 GbE ports
2U enclosure with 12 3.5 inch drives (MD3200i)
2U enclosure with 24 2.5 inch drives (MD3220i)
Power and cooling savings with 2.5 inch drives,
high efficiency power supplies and variable speed
fans (MD3220)
7.2, 10 and 15K rpm SAS drives and SSD
Expands to 96 drives (leveraging MD1200 or
MD1220)
10GbE iSCSI array
10GbaseT
Single or dual active/active controller
2 10 GbE ports
2U enclosure with 12 3.5 inch drives (MD
3600i)
2U enclosure with 24 2.5 inch drives
(MD3620i)
Power and cooling savings with 2.5 inch drives,
high efficiency power supplies and variable
speed fans (MD3620i)
7.2, 10 and 15K rpm SAS drives and SSD
Expands to 96 drives (leveraging MD1200 or
MD1220)
Up-sell
when
Up sell to MD32x0i when looking for network
based consolidation or the added value of VM
mobility
Stay with MD3200 when capacity is key
Up sell to MD3220 when IOPs performance or
power savings are key
Up sell to EQL PS4000 advanced management
features is needed or when want flexibility to add
to a PS pool of arrays
Stay with MD3200i when capacity is key
Up sell to MD3220i when IOPs performance or
power savings are key
Up sell to EQL PS4000 advanced management
features is needed or when want flexibility to add
to a PS pool of arrays
Stay with MD3600i when capacity is key
Up sell to MD3620i when IOPs performance or
power savings are key
Dell Storage Arrays
Dell Family Best For Key Specifications ASP Competitors
Dell/EMC
CX4
Best investment
protection, scalability,
flexibility (FC and
iSCSI)
Up to 960 drives (1900TBs)
iSCSI and FC host
Navisphere Mgmt Tools
4,096 HA hosts
>$50K
HP EVA

HDS
EqualLogic
PS6XX0
Storage Consolidation
High performance
Server virtualization
iSCSI Scale Out
No host limits
16 nodes/ group (768 drives)
$30K
NetApp

HP EVA

LeftHand
EqualLogic
PS4000
Entry point to
EqualLogic
Departmental and
Remote site
iSCSI Scale Out
Full EQL SW features
2 nodes/ group (32 drives)
Can grow with PS6k addition

$17k
LeftHand

NetApp
Dell/EMC
AX4-5

Entry point to EMC
Management
Departmental and
Remote site
FC4 or iSCSI
Up to 64 hosts
Up to 60 drives
$20K
EVA4100

HP MSA
PowerVault
MD36x0i
Simple iSCSI SAN
64 Hosts
96 drives
SAS /SATA
$10K
HP MSA

IBM DS
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g

F
u
n
c
t
i
o
n
a
l
i
t
y

S
t
o
r
a
g
e

C
o
n
s
o
l
i
d
a
t
i
o
n

E
n
t
r
y

E
n
t
e
r
p
r
i
s
e

Array Capabilities
51
Capability MD32x0i MD36x0i AX4-5 PS4000 PS6000 CX4
Product Architecture
Tradition
al
Tradition
al
Tradition
al
Scale-
Out
Scale-
Out
Traditiona
l
Number of servers 32 64 64 256 2048 4096
OS Support
WinLux
Solaris
Other

Y
N
N

Y
N
N

Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y

Y
Y
Y
Drive Count 96 96 60 32 768 960
Snapshots/Clones Y Y Y Y Y Y
Remote Mirroring/DR N N Y Y Y Y
Host Connectivity iSCSI 1G
iSCSI
10G
iSCSI
or FC
iSCSI 1G
iSCSI
10G
iSCSI
& FC
Thin Provisioning N N N Y Y Y
Application Aware Schedulers N N Y Y Y Y
Approx. Budget
$7K - $20K $15K - $55K $22K+ $50K+ $10K-52K
Competitive
iSCSI 10GbE Competitive Product Assessment
Feature
Dell
MD3600i / MD3620i
HP
P2000 G3 10Gb iSCSI MSA
IBM
DS3300/DS3500
NetApp
FAS2020
EMC
VNXe3100

Rack Height 2U 2U 3U 2U 2U
# of Controllers Single or Dual Single or Dual Single or Dual Single or Dual Single or Dual
Number of HDD bays
bays
12/24 12/24 12/24 12 12
Max. HDD 96
96 (3.5 HDD)
or
149 (2.5 HDD)
96 68 96(3.5)
Max. LUNs 256 512 256 1,024 256
Max. Host Support
Support
64 64 32 24 128
iSCSI Ports/Cntrl 2 2 4- 1Gb 4- 1Gb 4- 1Gb
Manageability
2
nd
Generation MD Storage
Storage Manager
MSA Storage Management Utility
Management Utility
DS3000 Storage Manager
Manager
Data ONTAP Unisphere
Drive Type
SSD, SAS and NL-SAS
SAS
SAS and SATA SAS and NL-SAS SAS or SATA SAS and NL-SAS
OS Support
Windows, Linux, VMWare, Xen
VMWare, Xen Server
Windows, Linux, VMWare
VMWare
Win, Linux, VMWare
Win, Linux, Netware, AIX, HP-UX,
HP-UX, Solaris
Win, Linux,Vmware,
Solaris
Mirrored Cache
Yes
(2GB/cntrl)
Yes
(2 GB/cntrl)
Yes
(2GB/cntrl)
Yes
(1GB/cntrl)
Yes
(4GB/cntrl)
RAID Support 0, 1, 5, 10, 6 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 50 0, 1 ,3, 5, 6,10 4, 6 5.6.10
Snapshot Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Volume Mirroring Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Resources
Salesedge
Training
Competitive information
Whitepapers
Soucrebook
www.dell.com/md3600i

Backup
VMWare ESX
MD3xx0i
All failover types supported vmotion, data path failover and
controller failover
If running the iSCSI initiator at the guest OS layer (iSCSI storage
direct) there is a limit to the number of virtual machines
The MD3xx0i has support for up to 32/64 storage partitions and in
this case each virtual machine requires a storage partition as well as
each physical host (for example: 2 servers can have a maximum of
14 VMs)
If running the iSCSI initiator at the ESX layer (more typical
configuration) there is a limit of 32/64 physical servers
In this case, the storage partitions are used at the physical server
layer and not the virtual machine layer
56
ESX iSCSI
Virtualization layer provides
intermediate file system service
Understanding of the virtual disk
format is virtualization layer
dependent
Virtualization Layer
(ESX/MSVS)
Physical
Server
D
A
S

(
S
A
T
A
,

S
C
S
I
,

S
A
S
)
F
i
b
r
e

C
h
a
n
n
e
l
I
P

O
v
e
r

E
t
h
e
r
n
e
t
File System Services for Physical Disk
DAS
Driver
FC
Driver
Contro
ller
HBA NIC
Physical
Block
Interface
Virtual Disks on NTFS or VMFS
Filesystems
Transport
iSCSI
Target
iSCSI
Initiator
.VMDK or
.VHD
.VMDK or
.VHD
.VMDK or
.VHD
Virtual
Machines
IDE/SCSI Driver
Virtual IDE/SCSI
HDD
File System Services
for Virtual Disk
Application
Virtual
Block
Interface
iSCSI Storage Direct
iSCSI initiator runs in the guest OS
utilizing shared NIC resource
Allows for more advanced storage
functionality
Performance improvement versus
running iSCSI in ESX depending on
application workload

Network
Accessible
Storage
Device
Virtualization Layer
(ESX/MSVS)
Physical
Server
NIC
Driver
Transport
Network Virtualization Services
I
P

o
v
e
r

E
t
h
e
r
n
e
t
iSCSI Target Selection Layer
iSCSI
Target
P
h
y
s
i
c
a
l
D
i
s
k
.VMDK or
.VHD
iSCSI
Target
V
i
r
t
u
a
l
D
i
s
k
Virtual NIC
Virtual
Machines
File System Services
for Virtual Disk
Application
iSCSI
Initiator
Virtual
Block
Interface
Physical
Block
Interface
NIC
Initiator Location Comparison
Initiator in ESX Layer
Allows for easy VM creation
VMWare consolidated backup for
simple, mass backup of VM disks
Basic snap shot functionality via
VMWares tools
Requires little I/T interaction with guest
operating systems
Numerous caveats when using array
based functionalities like snap shot and
virtual disk copy
Initiator in Guest OS
No caveats when using array based functionalities
like snap shot and virtual disk copy
Snaps/clones integrated with apps (SQL, Exchange)
Allows for better VSS/VDS integration
More robust multi-pathing (failover & load balancing)
More granular snaps and clones
Easier migration of applications from physical
machines to virtual machines and back
Performance benefits with some application
workloads
Nothing new to learn for customers with ISV backup
applications
Secure OS to target connection
Seamless VM mobility
59