Data Center

Reimagine HCI with VxRail

Reimagine what your IT operations can look like with a single, flexible operational model across your core, edge, and cloud.
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VxRail Hyperconverged Infrastructure, driving data center modernization

Since we introduced VxRail Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) five years ago, I’m proud to say we’ve been helping customers reimagine IT and address complexity head on by reducing infrastructure silos, driving more efficient operational teams, and delivering payback in as little as 10 months.1 Our exclusive joint-engineering relationship with VMware enables us to deliver unique automation and orchestration features that simplify operations across core, edge, and cloud deployments.

As business continues to evolve, the solutions around them must evolve as well. Our users tell us they are looking for ways to simplify their infrastructure, scale when and where they need to, and address more workloads with the same operational models while simultaneously adopting next generation technologies.

Today I’m excited to share new advancements in our VxRail hardware and software and ask you to reimagine how a simplified operational model, seamless technology integration and agility, and transformational storage flexibility can help you rapidly and confidently modernize your IT environments.

Reimagine simplicity with software to enhance VMware

VxRail HCI System Software continues to be our biggest differentiator driving more value for VMware HCI environments.  It is the one-stop shop for automation, orchestration, and management of your entire VxRail environment. We have made several improvements to put more functionality into the hands of users as well as curate, simplify, and automate the overall experience.

  • Single click, automated lifecycle management is a key differentiator for VxRail, and we continue to drive that automation higher up the stack to align with larger VMware ecosystem updates, bringing NSX-T and Tanzu all into a single upgrade cycle.
  • The ability to self-deploy through the configuration portal provides more control over the deployment process especially for larger enterprise customers with multiple locations. This means you’ll be able to perform the installation based on your timelines and within your guidelines, expanding the freedom and flexibility of VxRail.
  • Reimage and reallocate nodes between clusters or create new clusters to meet workload demands.
  • Plan for updates more easily with the ability to pause and resume updates and perform partial updates to clusters.

Reimagine agility with next generation PowerEdge

Our next generation PowerEdge servers were launched in March. Today we are announcing fully curated support for those PowerEdge servers in our P, V and E series. The seamless integration of PowerEdge and the ability to run multiple generations of nodes side by side has long been a cornerstone of VxRail value. Users do not have to rip and replace clusters or perform the integration and validation to take advantage of new technology because Dell Technologies has already done it for them with over 100 dedicated test engineers and 25,000 hours of lab testing per release. We will be publishing a complete technical review of next generation PowerEdge on VxRail, until then, here are a few highlights:

  • Address more workloads with 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, providing up to 42% more cores than the previous generation.
  • Run more AI and ML workloads with the NVIDIA A40 and A100 GPUs for the P Series.
  • Power up applications with a 166% increase in Intel Persistent Memory
  • VxRail systems with 3rd generation AMD EPYC™ processors, offer customers flexibility and scalability with up to 64 cores per processor.

Reimagine transformation with VxRail dynamic nodes

To address more workloads and scale IT infrastructure with more flexible storage options we are introducing new VxRail dynamic nodes. These dynamic nodes integrate into the VxRail solution just like any other VxRail node, they have the full complement of VxRail HCI System Software and the lifecycle management you would expect with one seemingly small (but actually pretty big) difference. They are designed to utilize shared storage.

By adding new VxRail dynamic nodes combined with VMware HCI Mesh technology or external storage arrays (Dell PowerStore, PowerMax and Unity XT), users can address new workloads and scale as needed without fundamentally changing the HCI operational model. This gives you the ability to:

  • Share vSAN between VxRail or VCF on VxRail clusters, building pools of compute to utilize vSAN storage in cross cluster architectures
  • Attach external storage to workload domains with clusters of dynamic nodes, extending the VCF on VxRail operational model to run data-centric workloads dependent on array-based services
  • Discreetly add the resources needed to drive your business, scaling compute and storage separately

What would reimagining HCI with VxRail change for you?

Feedback from our customers is clear: the ability to automate day to day tasks and lifecycle management frees them to focus on their business. The seamless integration of new technology de-risks their solutions and enables them to innovate. And that innovation helps them accelerate differentiation, delivering new applications and features faster.

As I look back at the advancements, the efficiencies, and the pace of change over the last five years, I can’t help but wonder what we will see over the next five, and what data center, cloud and edge operations will look like.

Join me in reimagining what your IT operations and business opportunities could look like with VxRail as we continue to evolve, integrating new technology, enabling more storage options, and enhancing your VMware experience.

  1. IDC Business Value White Paper, sponsored by Dell Technologies and Intel, December 2020

About the Author: Chad Dunn

Chad Dunn is a seasoned technology executive with over 17 years of experience at Dell Technologies, where he currently serves as the Vice President of Product Management for Artificial Intelligence and Data Management. In this role, Chad leads a dynamic team responsible for defining and delivering cutting-edge AI solutions that cater to a wide range of applications, including generative AI, model training, digital assistants, content and code generation, and data virtualization. His leadership in this domain is helping drive innovation in AI across Dell's global customer base. Previously, Chad held the position of Vice President of Product Management for Dell APEX, where he played a pivotal role in transforming Dell’s portfolio through cloud-like consumption models, subscription services, and as-a-service offerings. He also drove the development of the APEX Console, enabling customers to seamlessly manage their infrastructure across multi-hybrid cloud environments. Earlier in his career, Chad led the product management efforts for Dell’s Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), Converged Infrastructure (CI), and Software Defined Storage (SDS) product lines. Under his leadership, these product lines grew to an impressive $4B run rate, with flagship offerings like VxRail, PowerFlex, Microsoft Azure Stack Hub, and VxBlock. Prior to joining Dell, Chad held various senior roles at innovative companies such as TAZZ Networks, Invento Networks, WaveSmith Networks, and Ciena, where he specialized in product marketing, product management, and driving early-stage technology solutions. Chad is known for his strategic vision, deep expertise in AI, cloud computing, and infrastructure technologies, and his ability to guide products from concept to market success. He is based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he continues to push the boundaries of what technology can achieve in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.