The New Dell Server on the vSAN Block: Dell vSAN Ready Node T350
Wed, 06 Apr 2022 16:34:05 -0000
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2021 has been a great year for hyperconverged (HCI) systems. VMware has continued its lead in the HCI marketplace. According to IDC VMware holds an excellent position to define the future of HCI and its relevance in new market opportunities such as 5G, retail, and Edge.
In a market where VMware, Nutanix, Huawei, Cisco, and HPE hold the top positions, HCI systems running VMware accounted for 41.5% of market share, which is more than the other four vendors combined. The revenue that is associated with VMware systems grew more than 17% year after year. More than 30,000 customers have now adopted vSAN. Figure 1 shows market share for HCI systems for Q3, 2021.
Figure 1: IDC Q3 2021 Worldwide Converged Tracker
To add to the VMware HCI momentum, Dell has released a new vSAN Ready Node that is based on Dell’s PowerEdge T350 tower server.
These affordable, 4.5U (fits under a desk counter), entry-level single socket servers are ideal for small and medium size businesses, remote offices, and Edge locations. Based on the Intel Xeon E-2300 processor, the T350 delivers 28%** faster processing and two times the memory capacity of the previous generation (T340).
Figure 2: Dell vSAN Ready Node T350
The Dell vSAN Ready Node T350 completes the Dell vSAN Ready Node portfolio. It is the 13th node type including the Identity Module. This unique feature allows for a smooth factory configuration experience, improved tracking capabilities for quality processes, seamless support through chassis identification, and enhanced system automation capabilities.
Figure 3: Dell EMC vSAN Ready Node portfolio
The T350 model presents the following key features that make it a great candidate for ROBO, retail, and Edge deployment situations:
- Enhanced thermal efficiency
- System layout architected for optimum thermal design
- Comprehensive thermal management: System fan speed autoregulation with temperature monitoring for processors, DIMMs, chipset, and hard drives
- Both open and closed loop thermal fan speed control
- Cooling redundancy
- Acoustics
- Delivers sound quality and smooth transient response in addition to sound power levels and sound pressure levels appropriate for its deployment environments
- Designed to adhere to category 1 and 2 acoustics standards(table-top office environments and floor standing units in office environments)
- Improved visibility and control for system management based in:
- Integrated telemetry streaming
- RESTful API with Redfish
- Designed with a cyber-resilient architecture, integrating security into the system’s life cycle
- Operate your workloads on a secured platform that is anchored by cryptographically trusted booting and silicon root of trust
- Maintain server firmware safety with digitally signed firmware packages
- Prevent unauthorized configuration or firmware change with system lockdown
- Small chassis footprint, 37% lower than its predecessor, optimal for space constrained sites
T350 model emphasizes the importance of providing a wide portfolio of form factors to host customers’ vSAN based workloads. In the VMware Compatibility Guide, vSAN configurations for the T350 include All-Flash and Hybrid (SAS cache and HDDs for capacity).
Using Open Manage Integration with VMware vCenter (OMIVV) and VMware’s life cycle management (vLCM) makes deploying, operating, and life cycle managing your vSAN workloads even easier.
To learn more about Dell vSAN Ready Nodes, see the Dell Technologies Info Hub.
Author:
Iñigo Olcoz, Senior Principal Engineer, Dell CI & HCI Technical Marketing
Twitter: @VirtualOlcoz