Maximizing Direct Attached Storage

Trying to keep up with the rapid growth of application data can put a heavy burden on many IT departments, especially those whose budgets have seen dramatic cuts in the face of rough economic times. Dell’s PowerVault MD storage line helps address the expanding needs of small to medium size companies that are implementing new virtualization strategies and need higher business continuity. From high-performance SAN’s to Direct-Attached arrays with the ability to expand for future growth, the MD 3200/3600/1200 series bring cost effective storage to a whole new level. Now with support for nearly every protocol available, the MD 3200/3600 storage arrays are compatible with Fibre Channel or SAS technologies.

Today, we will focus on the benefits that are associated with implementing MD3200/3600 direct attached storage arrays. The first of these benefits is high-availability infrastructure. Using an MD3200 in a dual controller configuration, you can connect the array to four servers in an HA (high-availability) or eight servers in a non-HA deployment. This type of flexibility allows you to configure your storage to the specification you see fit for your mixed virtual/physical environments.

Another major advantage of deploying a MD3200/3600 based solution is the ability to easily install expansion MD1200 arrays via external 6 Gb/s SAS connection. You can daisy chain up to seven MD1200 storage arrays for a total of 280TB (96 physical drives). This kind of overall storage solution provides the modularity needed to easily install upgrades as needed to keep up with evolving storage requirements.