ANTenna Blog -- Hardware & Software

As part of a wide range of product and service announcements, Dell today announced the new EqualLogic PS4000 storage array and PowerVault NX3000 network attached storage (NAS) device, along with the PowerEdge T410 and T710 tower servers and R410 rack server.

According to Dell, the EqualLogic PS4000 storage array includes "enterprise-class" storage virtualization, thin provisioning and management capabilities. It's designed to work with existing EqualLogic storage area networks (SANs) to enable server virtualization with VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer to dynamically balance workloads, allow storage consolidation, and support data protection and disaster recovery with full snapshot, replication and application and hypervisor integration features. And Auto-Replication allows users to replicate branch data to a centralized backup location. Prices begin at $10,000.

The PowerVault NX3000, meanwhile, shares files across Windows and non-Windows clients and uses Single-Instant Storage (SIS) technology to reduces duplicate file storage .

On the server side, the PowerEdge T410 and T710 tower servers and R410 rack servers are designed for general business applicaitons in SMBs and remote office locations, Dell said. For one thing, they're small: the PowerEdge T410 is just 24" deep, so you can squeeze it into the closets and shallow racks that many SMBs call "Data Centers." If scalability is the issue, the PowerEdge T710 can hold up to 16 drives. Prices for the T410 and R410 servers start at $999 and they are available now. The T710 will be available in a few weeks, the company said.

To get it all up and running, Dell's new ProConsult service uses "electronic discovery, Web based surveys, best practices, comparative data and reference architectures" to bring down the cost consulting services. The new services cover Platform Optimization and Virtualization, Data Center Planning and Management, Disaster Recovery, Data Management, and Facilities Efficiency.

Bruce Anderson, senior VP for Dell's Enterprise Product Group, said in a Webcast that Dell is trying to take a "dramatically different approach to services," with faster, cheaper, lower-touch offerings that make them especially attractive to smaller companies.

For example, if you're thinking of virtualizing your servers but aren't sure if it's the right move for your company, ProConsult offers "a simple tool to remotely evaluate business' existing IT environment and quantify the return on investment for implementing virtualization." The company has also pre-configured virtualization solutions for Data Centers and SMBs: The Small and Medium Business Virtualization Configuration includes he PowerEdge R710, Dell PowerVault MD3000i, PowerVault DL2000 powered by Symantec for backup, and PowerConnect networking technology -- all running on Microsoft's virtualization suite, including Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and System Center Essentials and System Center-Virtual Machine Manager 2008 .

Other virtualization solutions include Enhanced Hypervisors with support for VMware vSphere 4, Citrix Essentials for XenServer 5.0, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V as well as disaster recovery and application virtualization. And there's more, including the Dell Virtualization Management toolkit, virtual infrastructure capabilities, and virtual server remote monitoring and reporting.

The other big change at Dell these days is that SMBs can also buy these products through Dell's network of 49,000 resellers, not just direct from the company. According to Greg Davis, who leads Dell's channel operations, speaking in the Dell Webcast, that's another source of help and assistance for SMBs who don't have enought time, money, or expertise to devote to their IT operations.

Don't Miss: Dell Rolls Out New Servers, Storage, Services In Drive For "Efficiency"

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