Module 01 EqualLogic PS Series Storage Array

EqualLogic PS Series Storage Array 1-1


The PS Series has received many industry awards.


The value of the PS Series to the IT organization:

Easy to configure to reach operational status – 20 minute setup after installation

No host based software

Full storage virtualization

Easy management

Single management point per group

Integrated features

Snapshot

Replication

Scheduler

Scalable

Easy to add more capacity

Real time growth with no interruption to applications services

All PS Series Storage arrays work together.

Customers can easily upgrade to the latest hardware online, they can get all of the latest software features at no extra cost, simply by maintaining their support agreements.


Original EqualLogic arrays or the latest generation all work together.

Customers can expand with second, third, or more arrays – without downtime. This saves our customers time and a significant amount of money that is normally spent on forklift upgrades and data migrations.

Dell EqualLogic is a full storage solution with all inclusive software features. As new features and enhancements are added, customers under support agreement receive upgrades for as long as they own the array.

Features on Dell EqualLogic offer: Performance, Scalability, Automation and enhanced virtualization integration

EqualLogic is a portfolio of integrated storage solutions to meet a full range of data storage needs. The EqualLogic solution model is unique in the industry and is based on providing customers with everything they need with all inclusive software, ease of use, management and application integration.

Dell has a comprehensive portfolio of Data Management services to help them assess, design and implement EqualLogic storage solutions.


All PS Series array models contain the following components:

Control Module (CM) –

There are two CMs: one is active and the other a standby in a redundant configuration

Each CM has one of the following interface

Two 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, only the active controller ports are active

Four 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, only the active controller ports are active

Two 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, only the active controller ports are active

Power supplies and Cooling –

Responsible for monitoring the fans, drives, power, and temperature

Disks –

Variety of disk types and sizes:

Near-Line SAS

SATA 7200 rpm

SAS 10,000 and 15,000

Solid State

PS6500 and PS6510 also have the following additional components:

Channel Interface Card - different card for SATA than for SAS

EIP card



The PS Series array provides a variety of options when looking at storage capacity. Each model can be combined within a single group allowing for capacity scaling


Mix and match drive capacity and performance profiles to meet your business needs, by Department, Application, or Physical Location

This shows by application.

• Group members are managed, accessed, and appear as a single storage system

• Members can have the same or different RAID configurations (R5, R6, R50, R10)

• Volumes (LUNs) can be moved from Pool to Pool or different members on the fly with no interruption in service

Keep most data on the least expensive disk.

Prioritize the most important data on the most expensive disk.

Tier 1 – 1.6 TB raw



Tier 4 – 144 TB raw









PS Series supports Tiered Storage, which enables you to define multiple tiers — or pools of storage in a single PS Series group (SAN).

PS Series SAN is comprised of a what is known as a Group. A Group is that component of the SAN that the Host will initially access to reach their volumes and it is also what is managed using either a Browser GUI interface or via a Command Line Interface

A group is comprised of arrays, known as members. A group could be a single member group or it could be a multi-member group. To add additional storage all that needs to be done is to add a new array, member, to the group. This can be done while the applications are running with minimal to no impact to the application servers.

A member is added to the group and belongs to a pool. A pool is comprised of the storage that the members within that pool provide. Additional storage can be added to a pool by simply adding another member to the desired pool.

Pooling is logical segmentation of the SAN and provides a capability to perform tiered Storage. This provides administrators with greater control over how disk resources are allocated. While online, volumes can be allocated and moved between tiers of storage, providing high levels of service.

You can create multiple tiers of storage within a single, multi-member PS Series group by creating multiple storage pools. Pools allow you to control where data is located.

Pools - A pool consists of one or more group members (PS Series arrays). At any one time, a member can be assigned to only one pool — or storage tier. It is easy to assign a member to a pool and also to move a member between pools, with no impact on data availability, providing administrators with the flexibility needed to meet their business needs.

Volumes are also assigned to a pool and can be easily moved between pools, with no impact on availability. In addition, automatic data placement and load balancing occurs within a pool, based on the overall workload of the storage hardware resources within the pool.


The PS Series supports and exists in all major environment areas. Some examples are:

For Operating Systems:

Windows – NT, Server 2000, Server 2003, Server 2008

Linux – Red Hat, SUSE, etc

AIX

Novell

HP

Apple

Solaris

For HBA and NIC’s:

HBA’s - Qlogic and Adaptec

NIC – Server based, like the Intel and Broadcom

For Gigabit Ethernet Switches:

Cisco – like the 3750

HP – 2824

Extreme


The PS Series supports all major applications and application environments:

Databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, and Informix

Email Systems such as Exchange and Lotus

Business Servers

File Servers – Windows, Corel , Xerox


All the major back up and recovery applications are supported as well:

Backup vendors such as Veritas, CA, CommVault, and Legato.

Tape library vendors such as adic, Spectra Logic, StorageTeK, and Quantum.



Documents

Module 01 EqualLogic PS Series Storage Array