StorageReview.com has published an in-depth and thoughtful review of the Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS iSCSI SAN array based on their extensive hands-on testing. StorageReview.com reviewers discovered many of the high value attributes that have made Dell the #1 supplier of iSCSI storage arrays worldwide for the past 22 quarters, according to IDC. This particular review covers our hybrid approach, a response to customers seeking the best of speed, performance and capacity.
Many companies are seeking flash storage solutions for faster performance in data-intensive and virtual environment. The pros and cons weighed when buying a flash solution are similar to those you think about when buying a car. Speed for a high price with little capacity like a sports car? Cost efficient capacity without the speed like a minivan? Or do you meet in the middle of the road and go for the SUV, where you can get the speed and capacity you are looking for at the right price? Hybrid flash arrays can present an efficient and economical flash storage solution, but like cars not all hybrid flash arrays are created equal. Some solutions may offer speed, but lack enterprise-class functionality and sufficient ROI. Our EqualLogic Hybrid Array can give you both the performance and capacity necessary to run an efficient data center while remaining cost efficient.
StorageReview.com’s review of the Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS “hybrid” flash array contains 7 solid state drives (SSDs) and 17 hard disk drives (HDDs) with EqualLogic firmware doing the magic of automatically tiering data between the high-performing SSDs and capacity-oriented HDDs depending on the I/O pattern. Data that is accessed frequently (aka “hot data”) gets moved to the SSDs while less frequently accessed data is being served from HDDs with no administrator intervention required. These arrays are extremely suitable for workloads like online transaction processing (OLTP) databases and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments where performance needs are relatively huge, but the most active data set is usually contained within a relatively small capacity used by the workload.
StorageReview.com not only understood the uniqueness of PS6110XS but also clearly demonstrated it through their thoughtful, detailed test results. Their viewpoint about our hybrid PS6110XS array is in the review: “When we look at a hybrid array like this, we want to see clear indications that flash is being used efficiently and is properly accelerating workloads. This requires a few elements that Dell hit the nail on the head with, an area which quite a few hybrid array vendors miss entirely with their goal of maximizing their IOPS/dollar potential.”
The review also highlights several areas of EqualLogic family strengths: ease of use, linear scalability of both performance AND capacity with scale-out architecture, sophisticated integration with VMware vSphere virtualization and Microsoft applications like Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint etc.
“The Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS is versatile, easy to administrate, and engineered to be used with more than one generation of storage technology. For small businesses and midmarket buyers who need their storage to be flexible and can take advantage of Dell's wide application and OS support via host integration tools, the PS6110XS is an industry leading solution,” says StorageReview.com
Check out the complete StorageReview.com PS6110XS review here. Like finding the perfect car to fit your needs, we want you to help you find the right solution for your datacenter. Contact your Dell representative to discuss your requirements and how Dell EqualLogic hybrid arrays can improve efficiency and simplify performance in your datacenter. As always continue the conversation by following @Dell_Storage and #EqualLogic.
