Updates to VMAX³ Platform

EMC Corporation announced updates to the VMAX³ platform, changing what has been possible with enterprise storage by delivering new levels of automation, modernization and consolidation to customers.

It is extending enterprise data services to multiple platforms with the launch of FAST.X, automating storage tiering across the data center.

VMAX³ is a new approach to enterprise storage architecture, separating software-based data services from the underlying hardware, allowing the hallmark VMAX capabilities – local replication, remote replication, and storage tiering – to extend to other platforms from EMC and third-party vendors.

VMAX³ also simplifies management at scale through service level objectives (SLOs), improving overall staff productivity and allowing them to focus on the needs of the business, rather than the management of technology.

This VMAX³ data service platform architecture allows customers to build a flexible storage infrastructure in which decisions are not bound by what is possible within a single ‘frame’.

Customers can now choose the optimal platform for each workload while consistently protecting and managing them based on their service levels, using VMAX capabilities.

EMC is announcing an expanded set of VMAX³ data services and capabilities that further automate, consolidate and protect mission-critical IT operations.

Key highlights include:

• VMAX³ Introduces FAST.X – Next Wave of Storage Tiering: VMAX³ offers automated tiering beyond and across the data center with FAST.X, extending enterprise data services to multiple platforms and extending service level objectives from VMAX³ to other storage devices.
• ViPR Controller and VMAX3 Integration: VMAX³ integration with EMC ViPR Controller software allows organizations to automate delivery of differentiated classes of storage services through the ViPR Controller self-service catalog. EMC is showing a proof of concept of ViPR Controller running in a VMAX³ guest container for simple SDDC deployment.
• Automated Storage Tiering to XtremIO: VMAX³ integration with XtremIO flash storage allows customers to benefit from the data reduction of XtremIO while leveraging VMAX³’s reliability and simplicity. EMC is also previewing an option to purchase a VMAX3 platform with integrated XtremIO X-Brick building blocks for easier deployment and management of low latency, compressed data tiers.
• Automated Storage Tiering to the Cloud: VMAX³ integration with EMC CloudArray cloud-integrated storage moves less active workloads to more cost-efficient cloud storage resulting in up to 40% lower storage costs and highly scalable back-end capacity.
• VMAX³ Active-Active Replication: Later this year, VMAX³ will deliver active-active HA for non-stop data access and resource balancing with newly enhanced SRDF/Metro functionality.

FAST.X for VMAX³ with support for XtremIO is planned for release this quarter. SRDF/Metro and FAST.X support for CloudArray and third-party storage is planned for release later this year.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen the demands of our IT department increase as our business continues to try and evolve. Coupled with tremendous data growth, the ability to automatically tier data across multiple platforms frees time and provides us the ability to respond rapidly to the business as they take advantage of market trends and implement more pieces of their omni-channel strategy. And with the ability to automatically tier data to the cloud, we are able to save money by selectively offloading cold data to low-cost cloud storage,” said Tony Harte, director of infrastructure and business solutions, Lids Sports Group.
 
“Tiering data across multiple storage platforms is a compelling capability both operationally and financially, and should enhance the way IT looks at tiered storage. Organizations today are constantly looking for new ways to improve business operations and drive efficiency everywhere – IT included. By automating application data service level objectives across platforms, IT organizations can spend more time focusing on their business and less time on tiering their data,” said Mark Peters, practice manager and senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.

“VMAX³ is a truly transformational solution that can change the way that businesses build their data centers. Separating software data services from the underlying hardware allows organizations to take advantage of fundamentally different ways of delivering enterprise storage architectures. As the industry’s first enterprise data service platform, VMAX³ delivers new levels of automation and consolidation while redefining what is possible within, and beyond the data center,” said Guy Churchward, president, core technologies, EMC.