Dell EMC Unity XT storage overview
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Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays are midrange storage solutions that include transactional workloads, such as databases, virtualized servers, and multiple workload consolidations. Dell EMC Unity XT is a unified solution that supports block and file environments with the flexibility to configure a system, capacity points, and Integrated Data Protection options. Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays support integrated block and file storage and are optimized for VMware virtualized applications. Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays feature up to two times more IOPS, more memory, and up to 50% more drives than previous Dell EMC Unity models.
Regardless of the storage protocol implemented, VxBlock Systems 1000 can include cabinet space, cabling, and power to support the hardware. Dell EMC Unity XT storage includes controllers that eliminate the need for separate hardware for file sharing. The controllers also facilitate moving from block storage to unified storage, avoiding hardware changes.
Dell EMC Unity XT Hybrid and All-Flash storage arrays provide a scalable hardware design and advanced software capabilities using spinning and flash drives. Dell EMC Unity XT All-Flash arrays support high-density solid-state disks (SSDs) including 3D NAND triple level cell (TLC) drives. Dell EMC Unity XT All-Flash and Hybrid storage systems with dual-active controller architecture and enterprise-class features are designed for performance, optimized for efficiency with up to 5:1 data reduction.
The following Dell EMC Unity XT All-Flash storage array models are available:
The following Dell EMC Unity XT Hybrid storage array models are available:
The Dell EMC Unity XT All-Flash and Hybrid storage arrays have the latest system hardware .The following table lists the processors and memory per Array:
Storage array
Processors per array
Memory per array
380F/380
2 x Intel CPUs, 12 cores per Array, 1.7 GHz
128 GB
480F/480
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 32 cores per Array, 1.8 GHz
192 GB
680F/680
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 48 cores per Array, 2.1 GHz
384 GB
880G/880
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 64 cores per Array, 2.1 GHz
768 GB
Array components and specifications
Dell EMC Unity XT Unified Storage arrays use Intel Xeon processors to implement an integrated architecture for block and file.
The following table lists the processors and memory for each Dell EMC Unity XT Unified Storage array:
Storage array
Processors per array
Memory
380F/380
2 x Intel CPUs, 12 cores, 1.7 GHz
128 GB
480F/480
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 32 cores, 1.8 GHz
192 GB
680F/680
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 48 cores, 2.1 GHz
384 GB
880G/880
2 x dual-socket Intel CPUs, 64 cores, 2.1 GHz
768 GB
Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays contain the DPE that houses the redundant SPs and integrated drive slots for 25 6.35 cm (2.5 in.) drives.
The DAEs contain individual disk drives in the following configurations:
- 2U with 25 x 6.35 cm (2.5 in.) disks
- 3U with 80 x 6.35 cm (2.5 in.) disks
- 3U with 15 x 7.62 cm (3.5 in.) disks
Each storage processor contains dual socket CPUs and Three to four DDR5 DIMM slots, depending on the model. An internal battery backup unit (BBU) is also included.
The SP for the Dell EMC Unity XT 380/380F storage arrays has the following connectivity components:
Components
380/380F
2 integrated, 1 GbE BaseT ports (RJ45) for management and service
2 integrated, 10 GbE BaseT ports (RJ45) for front-end connectivity
2 integrated, CNA ports (SFP+ or Twinax) (10 GbE optical and 16 Gbps FC)
2 integrated, 12 Gbps SAS ports for DAE connections
2 slots for additional IOMs (SLICs)
480, 480F, 680, 680F, 880, and 880F
2 integrated, 1 GbE BaseT ports (RJ45) for management and service
2 integrated, 12 Gbps SAS ports for DAE connections
Optional 4-port mezzanine card for front-end connectivity:
Two slots for additional IOMs (SLICs)
The integrated Ethernet ports and the Ethernet IOMs supply NAS to associated hosts for file system access. The SPs run virtual NAS servers for file sharing. The optional mezzanine card or Ethernet IOMs supply NAS to associated hosts for file system access. The SPs run virtual NAS servers for file sharing. VxBlock System 1000 uses the 10 GbE or 25 GbE optical option for NAS usage.
The following table shows capacity and performance of the Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays:
Component
380 and 380F
480 and 480F
680 and 680F
880 and 880F
Processors
12 cores, 1.7 GHz
32 cores, 1.8 GHz
48 cores, 2.1 GHz
64 cores, 2.1 GHz
Memory
128 GB
192 GB
384 GB
768 GB
Maximum drive count
500
750
1,000
1,500
Bus expansion (x4 lane configuration)
N/A
2x 4 Lane
12 Gbps SAS
2x 4 Lane
12 Gbps SAS
2x 4 Lane
12 Gbps SAS
Bus expansion (x8 lane configuration)
N/A
2 x 8 lane
12 Gbps SAS
2 x 8 lane
12 Gbps SAS
2 x 8 lane
12 Gbps SAS
LUNs
1,000
1,500
2,000
6,000
Pool LUN size
256 TB
256 TB
256 TB
256 TB
File systems
1,000
1,500
2,000
4,000
File system size
256 TB
256 TB
256 TB
256 TB
Pools
20
30
40
100
NAS servers
90
128
129
256
Dell EMC Unity XT storage features
Dell EMC Unity XT storage offers several features, including Integrated Data Protection, encryption, file storage, and replication.
Integrated Data Protection
The following Integrated Data Protection features are supported:
Encryption
Dell EMC Unity XT Data at Rest Encryption (D@RE) prevents unauthorized access to stolen or failed drives by encrypting all sensitive user data. D@RE uses hardware-based encryption modules in the SAS controllers and 12 Gbps SAS IOMs. The modules encrypt and decrypt drive data. D@RE supports all Dell EMC Unity XT drive types. D@RE offers external key management as a security option. If an entire Dell EMC Unity storage array, including drives, is lost or stolen, external key management prevents unauthorized access.
D@RE is enabled or disabled only during initial installation. D@RE is permanently enabled when the license file is installed and cannot be disabled. Installing the license on the storage array activates D@RE. If the license file does not include D@RE, D@RE is permanently disabled and cannot be enabled. D@RE does not support enabling encryption on non-D@RE enabled systems.
File storage
The following table lists internal and external shares:
Term
Description
Internal shares or exports
Data from resources inside the VxBlock System 1000. Either VMware vSphere ESXi datastores or file system mounts for guest operating systems.
External shares or exports
Data from resources outside of the VxBlock 1000.
If there are enough Ethernet ports for separate LACP connections, the same array can provide internal and external file systems.
- Each LACP pair needs a connection to each LAN switch in the VxBlock 1000.
- Both SPs must have the same LACP configurations. For example, if integrated CNA ports are 10 GbE, Ethernet port 4 connects to LAN switch A and port 5 connects to LAN switch B.
- Both SPs should be cabled the same. The Ethernet ports 4 and 5 should be an LACP pair. An internal or external NAS server can use the LACP pair. Create an extra LACP pair to enable both internal and external NAS Servers.
Create internal and external shares with two different NAS servers. Each server hosts different file systems. The file systems are balanced across the NAS servers. More NAS servers can be created for different VLANs, but always in pairs for balance across the SPs.
Replication
The Dell EMC Unity All-Flash All-Inclusive Base Software package includes RecoverPoint. VxBlock Systems can include RecoverPoint for block storage configurations to provide continuous data protection and remote replication for on-demand protection and recovery. Dell EMC Unity XT storage arrays provide native support for synchronous and asynchronous remote replication.
RecoverPoint provides the following:
To implement RecoverPoint, add two or more RecoverPoint Appliances (RPAs) in a cluster to the VxBlock System. This cluster can accommodate approximately 80 MBps sustained throughput through each RPA. To ensure proper sizing and performance of an RPA solution, Dell EMC Systems Engineer must collect the following information:
FAST Cache and FAST VP for Dell EMC Unity XT Hybrid arrays
Follow guidelines for FAST Cache and FAST VP on Dell EMC Unity XT Hybrid arrays.
FAST Cache
Use the following guidelines for FAST Cache:
- Before using FAST cache, place available flash drives in disk pools to take advantage of flash for metadata acceleration, snapshots, and replication.
- Use FAST cache on pools that do not contain extreme performance tier drives.
- Separate pools where FAST cache is and is not active.
FAST VP
Use the following guidelines for FAST VP:
- Use multi-tier pools where possible and when performance is required.
- Use a minimum of 5 percent extreme performance (flash) capacity.
- Create as few pools as possible to support the different I/O performance requirements.
- Create a separate pool only when the I/O profile for an application differs from the other applications. For example, an application with static data may require a capacity tier-only pool.
- Configure all LUNs in the pool with tiering policy Start High then Auto-Tier unless the data profile for the LUN requires the highest available or lowest tier available.
- Schedule FAST VP relocations before backups or nightly batch processing.
- For active applications, consider configuring FAST VP relocations to run constantly.
- Maintain at least 10 percent free capacity in storage pools so FAST VP relocations can occur efficiently.
Software licensing
Dell EMC Unity XT licenses include base and optional software.
The license for the management base software includes the following:
- Unisphere: Element Manager
- Unisphere Central: Consolidated dashboard and alerting
- CloudIQ: Cloud-based storage analytics
- Thin provisioning
- Dynamic pools (All-Flash only)
- Traditional pools (All-Flash only)
- FAST VP and FAST Cache (Hybrid only)
- Data reduction (Block and File)
- Configure remote support, online chat, or open a service request
- Quality of Service
- Storage Analytics Adapter for VMware vRealize
- File and block tiering or archiving to public or private cloud (Cloud Tiering Appliance)
The license for the management optional software includes the following:
- Controller-Based Encryption (optional), with internal or external key management
- Local point-in-time copies (Snapshots and thin clones)
- AppSync Basic
- Common Event Enabler; anti-virus Agent, Event Publishing Agent Remote protection
- Native Asynchronous Block and File Replication
- Native Synchronous Block Replication
- Snapshot Shipping
- RecoverPoint Basic
- RecoverPoint for VMs optional software
- AppSync Advanced
- Integrated Data Protection Suite: Backup, archive, and collaboration software
- RecoverPoint Advanced
- PowerPath Migration Enabler
- PowerPath Multipathing
- VPLEX
For more details on software licensing, contact your Dell EMC Sales Engineer.
Storage scale
The number of VxBlock System 1000 hosts that the Dell EMC Unity XT arrays support depends on the number of 16 Gbps FC ports available on each SP.
All host parallel ports are placed in port groups that contain four ports. Ports are spread across SPs, SAN fabrics, and IOMs for redundancy. Each port group supports a maximum of 64 hosts.
The following table lists the available ports for each storage array:
Storage array
Ports
Dell EMC Unity XT 380 and 380F
Dell EMC Unity XT 480, 680, 880, 480F, 680F, and 880F
Dell EMC Unity XT 480, 480F, 680, 680F, 880, and 880F require a four-port, 12 Gbps SAS backend IOM to reach the maximum drive count.
The following table lists the hosts that each storage array supports:
Array model
FC ports
Port groups
Supported hosts
Dell EMC Unity XT 380 and 380F
4
1
64
8
2
128
12
3
192
16
4
256
20
5
320
Dell EMC Unity XT 480, 680, 880, 480F, 680F, and 880F
8
2
128
16
4
256