New Dell/EMC CX4 Family Delivers Unprecedented Flexibility in Enterprise Data Storage

Dell announced the fourth-generation Dell/EMC CX family of storage systems with multi-protocol flexibility and massive scalability, doubling the number of drives up to 960 in a single array. The Dell/EMC CX4 family offers four models that form the foundation of an enterprise storage architecture that is easy to deploy, manage and upgrade.

• UltraFlex I/O technology allows anytime customization of iSCSI and Fibre Channel ports
• Energy efficient solutions include virtual provisioning and flash drives

"Dell and EMC have successfully worked together for nearly eight years to make it easier for customers to simplify, scale and manage storage," said Michael Dell, Dell chairman and CEO. “Through our combined leadership we will continue to expand solutions to the datacenter, including servers, storage, virtualization, and a full range of services."

Dell/EMC CX4 storage arrays feature UltraFlex I/O, the latest in I/O technology that gives customers excellent flexibility and control. With UltraFlex I/O, the number of front-end and back-end ports and the network interconnect needed can be customized for an individual user’s needs, both now and in the future. Each of the four CX4 models can be configured with both 4-gigabit Fibre Channel (FC) and 1-gigabit iSCSI ports and, as new technologies emerge, new I/O modules can be added, such as 8-gigabit FC and 10-gigabit Ethernet.

“The Dell/EMC CX4 family is a further example of our commitment to provide leadership storage solutions,” said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager of Dell Enterprise Storage. “Coupled with our recently announced storage consulting services, this is an important step in our mission to simplify IT for customers.”

New Models for Midrange to Large Enterprise Deployments

The Dell/EMC CX4 family gives customers the power to choose the SAN configuration they need today while providing a clear path to more capacity, performance and protocol options. The Dell/EMC CX4 family supports data-in-place upgrades from the previous two CX generations and from one CX4 model to another.

• The Dell/EMC CX4-120 offers enterprise-class features to help customers who require high capacity and modularity in a small, scalable footprint. It accommodates 120 FC or SATA disk drives, connections for to up to 128 highly available servers and six I/O slots – with two available for customized connectivity.
• The Dell/EMC CX4-240 and -480 offer the small footprint of the CX4-120 but support 240 drives and 480 drives plus 8 I/O slots and 10 I/O slots, respectively, with four available for customization. Both systems support FC and SATA drives with the CX4-480 also including flash drive capabilities.
• The Dell/EMC CX4-960 supports a mix of up to 960 FC, SATA or flash drives for the greatest performance and power efficiency. It supports connections for to up to 512 highly available servers and has 12 available I/O slots – with six available for customization. The CX4-960 can be configured in multiple tiers, from the high-performance flash drive tier to an archival tier employing 5,400 rpm 1-terabyte SATA drives for high capacity and more efficient power usage.

The CX4 family leverages Navisphere manager, the same intuitive management interface that has governed the CX storage family from its inception. Applications providing advanced data protection, replication and migration, and data path management and optimization available on CX3 arrays are also supported on CX4 arrays. These include SnapView , MirrorView A/S, SAN Copy , Replication Manager, PowerPath , Navisphere Analyzer, and Navisphere Quality of Service Manager.

Green Power and Cooling Features

Virtual provisioning, intelligent fan modulation technology and new disk drive options reduce power consumption in the CX4 arrays. All models will support virtual provisioning, which allows IT managers to optimize storage resources by automatically allocating capacity on an as-needed basis. Adaptive cooling – variable-speed fans that consume only the power required for optimal cooling – intelligently keep the array at the right temperature. Energy efficient one terabyte SATA drives that rotate at 5,400 rpm use 32 percent less power than standard 7,200 rpm drives. Additionally, the CX4-480 and CX4-960 models introduce high-performance flash drives that consume 98 percent less power than equally performing Fibre Channel drives.

Dell Solutions for Key Applications

Dell/EMC storage arrays are integrated into Dell’s solutions for key applications, offering tested and validated reference architectures to help solve customers’ messaging and database challenges. Solutions for Microsoft Exchange , Microsoft SQL Server , and Oracle Database are available. In addition, Dell’s complete product line addresses all aspects of data management and protection needs including services, switches, tape drives and media, and software.

Pricing and Availability

The Dell/EMC CX4 family replaces the Dell/EMC CX3 product line. As with all Dell storage products, the Dell/EMC CX4 family will be sold through all Dell sales channels worldwide, including Dell’s direct sales force and growing network of channel partners. The CX4 family is available immediately.