Dell APEX delivers multicloud by design, by connecting technology innovation in public cloud and on-premises environments, bringing together the best of both worlds.

Dell APEX cloud platforms extend familiar cloud experiences on-premises to maximize performance and mitigate risk, so you can boost workload agility and empower unrestrained software innovation, wherever applications and data live.

Dell is able to deliver our technology as-a-Service in any environment, including data centers, colocation facilities, and edge locations with quick provisioning, flexible scaling, and pay-as-you-go subscriptions across our broad portfolio.

When subscribing to a service, the Dell APEX Console provides:

• Simple, curated configuration options
• Choices for capacity, performance, and term
• A concierge service experience with a trusted advisor as the primary point of contact
• Accelerated time-to-value

In addition, customizable, customer-driven configuration options are available with APEX Custom Solutions.

• Choice of products across the ISG portfolio
• Customizable service experience
• Standard time-to-value

Dell APEX has support for any workload, the industry’s broadest portfolio, choice of management, and the ability to run it anywhere.

APEX Private Cloud

Dell APEX Private Cloud is an on-premises cloud experience that provides a simple and cost-effective solution for VMware workloads across both virtual machines and containers.

• Includes vSphere for compute and vSAN for storage resources
• Subscription-based offering that is built on Dell VxRail 15G architecture jointly engineered with VMware
• Owned by Dell and managed by the customer with a dedicated Customer Success Manager that guides them on their APEX journey

APEX Private Cloud, based on Dell VxRail hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), delivers a small and cost-effective footprint which is perfect for customers that are just getting started with their cloud strategy or expanding their edge deployments and want a consistent operating model across their data center and edge locations.

• Customers get a tailored application-ready solution to deliver business outcomes through four node-based configurations with standardized combinations of compute and memory resources.
• Using VxRail as the foundation, customers can go cloud-native with a single platform covering a wide range of workloads across both virtual machines and container-based workloads.
• Deploy the storage component, vSAN, or use external Dell storage in conjunction with VxRail dynamic nodes, which are compute-only nodes that do not include vSAN.
• Ideal for customers with unique workload requirements who want to independently scale compute and storage resources and eliminate the cost of over-provisioning.

For Dell APEX Private Cloud solutions configured in the APEX Console, various use cases are the basis for the GPU selection options. All GPU options can be added in quantities of two, and all are based on PCIe Generation 4 connectivity. In addition, the configuration steps in the APEX Console walk through options such as node type (memory/core ratio), CPU tier, node count, and connectivity options.

Note: Any software such as NVIDIA vPC, or NVIDIA vWS for VDI, use cases are not included in the GPU selection. Nodes with GPUs will leverage the models below, based on your selected use case, subject to their availability. If the following GPU models are not available, a similar GPU suited for the same use-cases described will be used.

NVIDIA A16 is designed for performance user density with VDI workloads. NVIDIA A16 is built on NVIDIA Ampere architecture, providing double the user density compared to the previous generation. NVIDIA A16 includes 64 GB of GDDR6 memory, PCIe Generation 4 connectivity, and a power envelope of 250W. This GPU can be added by selecting the “VDI density optimized” use case.

NVIDIA A30 is a mainstream enterprise graphics workload GPU that can be used for AI inference. The NVIDIA A30 includes Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) to partition the GPU, allowing each fully isolated GPU instance with its own high-bandwidth memory, cache, and compute cores. NVIDIA A30 includes 24 GB HBM2 memory, PCIe Generation 4 connectivity, and a power envelope of 165W. This GPU can be added by selecting the “General compute and AI inference optimized” use case.

NVIDIA A40 supports high performance media streaming with hardware for video encoding and decoding support, AI training and inference, as well as VDI (can be used as an alternative to the NVIDIA A16). It is built on NVIDIA Ampere architecture, includes 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, PCIe Generation 4 connectivity, and a 300W power envelope. This GPU can be added by selecting the “VDI performance optimized, video encoding and decoding, and AI training and inference” use case.

Figure 2.   Dell APEX Console – APEX Private Cloud options

APEX Data Storage Services

Dell APEX Data Storage Services is an as-a-Service portfolio of scalable and elastic storage resources designed for OpEx use and enables companies to focus on outcomes, not infrastructure.

• Optimize for simplicity by eliminating many complex administrative responsibilities, so IT staff can focus on more value-added activities.
• Increase agility by utilizing capacity as needed based on workload requirements, so you can deliver resources to your customers as needed and align your expenses with actual usage.
• Control your data to help meet data localization, regulatory and audit requirements, and enable a hybrid cloud or cloud consumption strategy – enabling you to become a service provider for your organization.

When configuring a Dell APEX Data Storage subscription in the Dell APEX Console, straightforward choices and information are available to help guide you in deciding the right options, such as the performance tier.

Here is an overview of the options you have for defining your service levels:

• Data service – File, Block, or Backup Target
• Management – Dell-managed, or Customer-managed
• Location – on premises in a location you choose, or in a Dell-managed interconnected colocation facility
• Performance tier – three levels to choose from based on IOPS and throughput (with a fourth “Dense Performance Optimized” tier available for Customer-managed File)
• Base capacity – minimum amount of commitment throughout the duration of the term
• Term – choose between 1-5 years

Note: The Dell APEX Data Storage Services capacity optimized tier is recommended for this solution.

Figure 3.   Dell APEX Console – Data Storage Service file performance tiers