The purpose-built Dell Unity system is offered in multiple different physical hardware models in both Hybrid configurations and All-Flash configurations. For Hybrid systems, the platform starts with the Dell Unity 300, and scales up to the Dell Unity 880 while for All-Flash systems, the platform starts with the Dell Unity 300F and scales up to the Unity XT 880F. The models share several similarities in form factor and connectivity, but scale in processing and memory capabilities (See Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3).

For software-defined offerings, Dell Unity Family offers a virtual deployment of Dell Unity called Dell UnityVSA which can be installed on applicable VMware ESXi hosts. There is also the option of a dual-SP deployment of Dell UnityVSA called Dell UnityVSA HA which provides greater resiliency against disaster. Lastly, there is a cloud-specific deployment of Dell Unity called Dell Unity Cloud Edition that customers can leverage for file synchronization and disaster recovery operations in the cloud. More information about these available virtual deployments can be found in the sections Dell UnityVSA and Dell Unity Cloud Edition.

Additionally, the system limits will change depending on the Dell Unity model. More information about system limits can be found in the Dell Unity Simple Support Matrix on E-Lab Navigator.

Note that this white paper document focuses specifically on the Unity XT Series systems which include the Unity XT 380/F, 480/F, 680/F, and 880/F models. For more information about other Dell Unity models, see the white paper Dell Unity: Introduction to the Platform  on the Dell Technologies Info Hub.

Table 1.      Dell Unity X00/F Model Comparison

Table 2.      Dell Unity X50F Model Comparison

Table 3.      Unity XT X80/F Model Comparison

Drive Model Comparison

Multiple drive types are supported on the Dell Unity system. All Flash models support Flash drives, while Hybrid Dell Unity models support Flash, SAS, and NL-SAS drives. All drives operate at 12Gb/s speeds. SAS and NL-SAS drives utilize a 4KB drive formatting size, while Flash drives utilize a 520-byte block size. A list of all supported drives can be found on Dell Online Support.

Data-in-Place Conversions

Dell Unity OE Version 5.2 introduced the ability to perform both offline and online data-in-place (DIP) conversions which allows users to convert physical Unity XT 480/F and 680/F systems to any higher model of the same type without losing any data or system configurations. Unity XT 380/F systems are exempt from DIP conversions because the Unity XT 380/F systems use a different physical chassis than the 480/F, 680/F, and 880/F models. The DIP process involves swapping the storage processors in a given system with new storage processors of a higher model while reusing the same I/O modules, SFPs, and power supplies from the replaced storage processors. For Unity XT system that use low-line power (100v-120v) and are being upgraded to an 880/F model, a step-up transformer is required since Unity XT 880/F systems only support high-line power (200v-240v). If installing a step-up transformer within a rack, the step-up transformer will require additional rack space.

This conversion process supports both offline and online procedures and is fully customer installable. The estimated time for a full data-in-place conversion is 150 minutes. For an online conversion, each storage processor is upgraded one at a time and data remains accessible during the procedure. For an offline conversion, data will be inaccessible during the procedure as the system is completely powered down and both storage processors are upgraded simultaneously. Typically, the offline conversion will complete faster as both storage processors upgrade simultaneously. Customers can choose online or offline conversion based on their preference. The target model must be the same type as the source model. For example, you can convert from a Unity XT 480 to Unity XT 880, but not from a Unity XT 480 to a Unity XT 880F system.

For more information about the Dell Unity and Unity XT model data-in-place conversions, see the technical guide titled Dell Unity Family Data-in-Place Conversion Guide on Dell Online Support.

I/O Module Conversions

Dell Unity OE version 5.2 introduced the ability to perform an online conversion of the 16Gb fibre channel I/O module to the 32Gb fibre channel I/O module. The 32Gb I/O module was introduced in Dell Unity OE version 5.1. The I/O module conversion feature allows customers to upgrade their existing 16Gb fibre channel I/O module and benefit from a 32Gb fibre channel environment while data remains online and accessible. The process involves replacing the existing I/O module one storage processor at a time with the new I/O module. The procedure is Command-Line Interface (CLI) driven using the svc_change_hw_config service script and it is recommended to use Dell Deployment Services to perform the upgrade on behalf of the customer. The upgrade procedure is supported for Unity XT systems, including the 380/F, 480/F, 680/F, and 880/F models.