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Dell VxRail System Tech Book
Preface IT’s transformation challenge Hyperconverged infrastructure: Building block for modern infrastructure Dell VxRail VxRail HCI System Software VxRail licensing VxRail hardware
VxRail platforms
VxRail nodes
VxRail models and specifications
VxRail nodes running vSAN OSA
VxRail nodes running vSAN ESA
VxRail dynamic node cluster
VxRail satellite nodes
Hardware delivery options
VxRail scaling
VxRail networking VxRail ecosystem VxRail solutions Additional product information Additional resources

VxRail platforms

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VxRail platforms

  • The Dell VxRail family is the standard in HCI. It provides extreme flexibility to granularly add capacity and performance on demand and enables customers to easily extend use cases across the VMware virtualized environment. The system-based design allows IT centers to scale capacity and performance nondisruptively, so they can start small and grow incrementally with minimal upfront planning. VxRail environments can be designed to support a small number of virtual machines and scale to thousands.

    The VxRail architecture enables a predictable pay-as-you-grow approach that aligns with changing business goals and user demand. Dell Technologies and VMware are continuously innovating, and Dell has introduced new Dell PowerEdge-based VxRail systems that offer configuration flexibility. This flexibility allows customers to choose performance, graphics, and capacity as required for VMware environments, and supports more use cases.

    The Dell VxRail family of systems offers a range of platforms:

    • E Series—Low-profile, cost-effective, go-everywhere 1U platform with hybrid, all-flash and all-NVMe storage. Offered in single-socket and dual-socket options powered by Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC processors, and capable of slotting NVIDIA GPUs, the E Series is ideal for remote, branch office, or edge locations where space is at a premium. Use cases include high-performance computing (HPC), VDI, AI/ML, and in-memory databases.
    • P Series—Performance-intensive 2U platform configurable with single, dual, or quad Intel Xeon Scalable processors, or a single AMD EPYC processor with up to 64 cores. P-Series configurations can be optimized for accelerator support or additional storage capacity, making it ideal for business-critical workloads requiring high performance. Use cases include in-memory intensive database applications such as SAP HANA, HPC, and AI/ML.
    • V Series—Virtualization-extended 2U platform with GPU hardware for graphics-intensive desktops and graphics-compute workloads. The V Series is ideal for specialized use cases such as high-end 2D/3D visualization using NVIDIA Data Center GPU cards. Use cases include VDI, AI/ML, large or complex CAD models, computer-aided engineering (CAE), seismic exploration, complex DCC effects, 3D medical imaging, photorealistic rendering, high-end virtual science, and data analytics.
    • D Series—Durable, ruggedized, 2U platform with a filtered bezel for dust resistance. MIL-STD and NEBS Level 3 certifications enable additional protections against extreme conditions such as intense heat and cold, shock, vibration, humidity, and EMI. The D Series is offered in two short-depth chassis configurations: a traditional rackmount chassis and a smaller flex-mount chassis optimized for space constrained environments. Both are configurable with an optional embedded vSAN witness node, enabling 2-node vSAN clusters in a self-contained footprint.  Use cases include mobile command centers, retail POS systems, video surveillance, and GPS mapping on the go.
    • S Series—Storage-dense 2U platform available with single-socket and dual-socket options and with hybrid storage options to deliver a maximum capacity of 144 TB per node. The S Series is ideal for dense storage workloads, where storage capacity scales faster than CPU or memory. Use cases include demanding applications such as virtualized Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, big data, analytics, and video surveillance.

    VxRail systems are built using a distributed-cluster architecture consisting of modular blocks that scale linearly as the system grows from as small as 2 nodes to as large as 64 nodes. Nodes are available in different form factors, including single-node deployments for a low-profile footprint, accelerator-optimized systems with GPUs, and storage-optimized configurations with support for high-capacity drives.

    For applications that benefit from asymmetrical scaling of processing power and storage capacity, customers may choose VxRail dynamic nodes, which provide customers the ability to attach external storage resources as their primary storage. VxRail dynamic nodes decouple compute and storage scaling. As processing demand grows, customers can add dynamic nodes to the cluster. As storage capacity demand grows, customers can provision more storage from external storage resources to dynamic nodes.

    Extensive compute, memory, and storage options are designed to fit multiple use cases. Customers can choose from a range of next-generation Intel and AMD processors, variable memory sizes, storage, and cache capacity to provide the right balance of compute, memory, and storage. Single-node scaling and a low-cost entry point let customers buy the right amount of storage and compute for today’s requirements and effortlessly scale to accommodate tomorrow’s growth. Systems are available with all-flash storage configurations that deliver the industry’s most powerful HCI for applications that demand maximum performance and low latency.