ANTenna Blog -- Storage

Data here, data there, data, data everywhere, that has become the mantra in many small and medium businesses. Consequently, trying to manage their data storage systems has moved up the ladder of management concerns, something Dell tried to address.

Traditionally, data storage solutions have been high priced and based on proprietary technologies. In the past few years, vendors have been moving to simplify deployment through the use of TCP/IP based solutions, dubbed iSCSI. The new storage networking option is garnering a lot of attention because of its modern design, familiarity with IP, and low cost.

Dell underscored the growing importance of this approach with its $1.4 billion purchase of start-up Equallogic in November 2007. At the beginning of this week, the acquisition was finalized and the first products from the new venture (the Dell EqualLogic PS5000 Series) were released. These storage systems are available now, with prices starting at $19,000 per system.

The products feature an integrated virtualization architecture designed to provide flexibility, automation of routine processes and dynamic performance optimization. Users have flexibility in configuring their storage systems. Each modular storage array functions as an autonomous Storage Area Network (SAN), and arrays can be added to a group incrementally. Dell Equallogic’s storage management functions feature remote replication for storage systems that are located in branch offices and thin provisioning, which helps to lower overhead.

Dell has been a computer industry trend setter. The company’s focus on delivering easy-to-install, low cost products has resonated with many small and medium businesses. In addition, Dell has been a step ahead of competitors in recognizing the growing importance of iSCSI solutions, which also fit nicely with small and medium businesses’ data centers. Consequently, small and medium enterprises should take a closer look at Dell’s storage solutions.

How much of a problem has managing storage become in your company? How much interest do you have in iSCSI? What have your experiences been in dealing with Dell?