EMC Symmetrix, 20 Years in the making

So next year will mark a history of Symmetrix Products within EMC, still classified as one of the most robust systems out there after 20 years of its inception. In this blog post, we will talk about some facts on Symmetrix products as it relates to its features, characteristics, Enginuity microcode versions, model numbers, year released, etc.

So the journey of Symmetrix systems started with Moshe Yanai (along with his team) joining EMC in late 80’s. A floating story says, the idea of a cache based disk array was initially pitched to both IBM and HP and was shot down.  EMC was predominately a mainframe memory selling company back in the late 1980’s. The Symmetrix products completely changed the direction of EMC in a decade.

Joe Tucci comes in at the end of 90’s from Unisys with a big vision. Wanted to radically change EMC. Through new acquisitions, new technologies, vision and foremost the integration of all the technologies created today’s EMC.

Symmetrix has always been the jewel of EMC. Back in the Moshe days, the engineers were treated so royally (Have heard stories about helicopter rides and lavish parties with a satellite bus waiting outside for a support call). Then comes the Data General acquisition in late 90’s that completely changed the game.

Some people within EMC were against the DG acquisition and didn’t see much value in it. While the Clariion DG backplane is what changed the Symmetrix to a Symmetrix DMX — Fiber Based Drives. Over this past decade, EMC radically changes its position and focuses on acquisitions, support, products, quality, efficiency, usability and foremost changing itself from a hardware company to an Information Solutions company focusing on software as its integral growth factor.   New acquisitions like Legato, Documentum, RSA, kept on changing the culture and the growth focus within EMC.

Then came VMware and it changed the rules of the game, EMC’s strategic move to invest into VMware paid off big time.   Then happens the 3-way partnership between VMware — EMC — Cisco, to integrate next generation products, V-Max (Symmetrix), V-Sphere and UCS are born.

Here we are in 2009, almost at the end of 20 years since the inception of the Symmetrix, the name, the product, the Enginuity code, the robust characteristics, the investment from EMC all stays committed with changing market demands.

Jumping back into the Symmetrix, here are a few articles you might find interesting, overall talking about various models, serial numbers of the machines and importantly a post on Enginuity Operating Environment.

• To read about EMC Symmetrix Enginuity Operating Environment
• To read about EMC Symmetrix Serial Number naming convention,
• To read about EMC Symmetrix Models in a previous blog post
• To read about various EMC models based on different Platforms
• To read about all EMC Clariion models since the Data General Acquisition

Symmetrix Family 1.0

• ICDA — Integrated Cache Disk Array
• Released 1990 and sold through 1993
• A 24GB total disk space introduced

Wow, I was in elementary school or may be middle school when this first generation Symmetrix was released….

• Symmetrix 4200

Symmetrix Family 2.0

• ICDA — Integrated Cache Disk Array
• Released 1991 and sold through 1994
• A 36GB total disk space
• Mirroring introduced

• Symmetrix 4400

Symmetrix Family 2.5

• ICDA — Integrated Cache Disk Array
• Released 1992 and sold through 1995
• RSF capabilities added

(I actually met a guy about 2 years ago, he was one of the engineers that had worked on developing the first RSF capabilities at EMC and was very instrumental in developing the Hopkinton PSE lab)

• Symmetrix 4800:

Symmetrix Family 3.0 also called Symmetrix 3000 and 5000 Series

• Released 1994 and sold through 1997
• ICDA: Integrated Cache Disk Array
• Includes Mainframe Support (Bus & Tag)
• Global Cache introduced
• 1GB total Cache
• NDU — Microcode
• SRDF introduced
• Supports Mainframe and open systems both
• Enginuity microcode 50xx, 51xx

• Symmetrix 3100: Open systems support, half height cabinet, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5100: Mainframe support, half height cabinet, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 3200: Open Systems support, single cabinet, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5200: Mainframe support, single cabinet, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 3500: Open Systems support, triple cabinet, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5500: Mainframe support, triple cabinet, 5.25 inch drives

Symmetrix Family 4.0 also called Symmetrix 3000 and 5000 Series

• Released 1997 and sold through 2000
• RAID XP introduced
• 3.5 Inch drive size introduced
• On triple cabinet systems 5.25 inch drives used
• Supports Mainframe and Open Systems both
• Timefinder, Powerpath, Ultra SCSI support
• Enginuity microcode 5265.xx.xx, 5266.xx.xx

• Symmetrix 3330: Open Systems Support, half height cabinet, 32 drives, 3.5 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5330: Mainframe Support, half height cabinet, 32 drives, 3.5 inch drives
• Symmetrix 3430: Open Systems Support, single frame, 96 drives, 3.5 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5430: Mainframe Support, single frame, 96 drives, 3.5 inch drives
• Symmetrix 3700: Open Systems Support, triple cabinet, 128 drives, 5.25 inch drives
• Symmetrix 5700: Mainframe Support, triple cabinet, 128 drives, 5.25 inch drives

To read about EMC Symmetrix Hardware Components

Symmetrix Family 4.8 also called Symmetrix 3000 and 5000 Series

• Released 1998 and sold through 2001
• Symmetrix Optimizer Introduced
• Best hardware so far: least outages, least problems and least failures (not sure if EMC will agree to it, most customers do)
• 3.5 inch drives used with all models
• Enginuity microcode 5265.xx.xx, 5266.xx.xx, 5267.xx.xx

• Symmetrix 3630: Open Systems support, half height cabinet, 32 drives
• Symmetrix 5630: Mainframe support, half height cabinet, 32 drives
• Symmetrix 3830: Open Systems support, single cabinet, 96 drives
• Symmetrix 5830: Mainframe support, single cabinet, 96 drives
• Symmetrix 3930: Open Systems support, triple cabinet, 256 drives
• Symmetrix 5930: Mainframe support, triple cabinet, 256 drives

Models sold as 3630-18, 3630-36, 3630-50, 5630-18, 5630-36, 5630-50,3830-36, 3830-50, 3830-73, 5830-36, 5830-50, 5830-73, 3930-36, 3930-50, 3930-73, 5930-36, 5930-50, 5930-73 (the last two digits indicate the drives installed in the frame)

To read about EMC Symmetrix Hardware Components

Symmetrix Family 5.0 also called Symmetrix 8000 Series

[ 3000 (open sytems) + 5000 (mainframe) = 8000 (support for both) ]

• Supports Open Systems and Mainframe without BUS and TAG through ESCON
• Released 2000 and sold through 2003
• 181GB Disk introduced
• Enginuity microcode 5567.xx.xx, 5568.xx.xx

• Symmetrix 8130: Slim cabinet, 48 drives
• Symmetrix 8430: Single cabinet, 96 drives
• Symmetrix 8730: Triple cabinet, 384 drives

Some models sold as 8430-36, 8430-73, 8430-181 or 8730-36, 8730-73, 8730-181 (the last two digits indicate the drives installed in the frame)

To read about EMC Symmetrix Hardware Components

Symmetrix Family 5.5 LVD also called Symmetrix 8000 Series

• Released 2001 and sold through 2004
• LVD: Low Voltage Disk Introduced
• 146GB LVD drive introduced
• Ultra SCSI drives cannot be used with the LVD frame
• Mainframe optimized machines introduced
• 4 Slice directors introduced with ESCON and FICON
• FICON introduced
• Enginuity microcode 5567.xx.xx, 5568.xx.xx

• Symmetrix 8230: Slim cabinet, 48 drives, (rebranded 8130, non lvd frame)
• Symmetrix 8530: Single cabinet, 96 drives, (rebranded 8430, non lvd frame)
• Symmetrix 8830: Triple cabinet, 384 drives, (rebranded 8730, non lvd frame)
• Symmetrix 8230 LVD: LVD frame, slim cabinet, 48 LVD drives
• Symmetrix 8530 LVD: LVD frame, single cabinet, 96 LVD drives
• Symmetrix 8830 LVD: LVD frame, triple cabinet, 384 LVD drives
• Symmetrix z-8530: LVD frame, Single cabinet, 96 drives, optimized for mainframes
• Symmetrix z-8830: LVD frame, Triple cabinet, 384 drives, optimized for mainframe

Some models sold as 8530-36, 8530-73, 8530-146, 8530-181 or 8830-36, 8830-73, 8830-146, 8830-181 (the last two digits indicate the drives installed in the frame)

To read about EMC Symmetrix Hardware Components

Symmetrix DMX or also called Symmetrix Family 6.0

• Released Feb 2003 and sold through 2006
• Direct Matrix Architecture (Data General Backplane) introduced
• DMX800 was the first DMX system introduced
• 4 Slice directors introduced
• RAID 5 introduced after being introduced on DMX-3
• First generation with common DA / FA hardware
• Introduction of modular power
• Enginuity Microcode 5669.xx.xx, 5670.xx.xx, 5671.xx.xx

• Symmetrix DMX800: Single cabinet, DAE based concept for drives, 96 drives (I swear, a customer told me, they have ghost like issues with their DMX800)
• Symmetrix DMX1000: Single cabinet, 18 drives per loop, 144 drives total
• Symmetrix DMX1000-P: Single cabinet, 9 drives per loop, 144 drives total, P= Performance System
• Symmetrix DMX2000: Dual cabinet, modular power, 18 drives per loop, 288 drives
• Symmetrix DMX2000-P: Dual cabinet, modular power, 9 drives per loop, 288 drives, P=Performance System
• Symmetrix DMX3000-3: Triple cabinet, modular power, 18 drives per loop, 3 phase power, 576 drives

To read about EMC Symmetrix DMX Hardware components

To read about EMC Symmetrix DMX models and major differences

Symmetrix DMX2 or also called Symmetrix Family 6.5

• Released Feb 2004 and sold through 2007
• Double the processing using DMX2
• DMX and DMX2 frames are same, only directors from DMX must be changed to upgrade to DMX2, reboot of entire systems required with this upgrade
• RAID 5 introduced after being introduced on DMX-3
• 64GB memory introduced
• 4 Slice Directors
• Enginuity Microcode 5669.xx.xx, 5670.xx.xx, 5671.xx.xx

• Symmetrix DMX801: 2^nd generation DMX, Single cabinet, DAE based concept for drives, 96 drives, FC SPE 2 (I swear, a customer told me, they have ghost like issues with their DMX800)
• Symmetrix DMX1000-M2: 2^nd generation DMX, Single cabinet, 18 drives per loop, 144 drives
• Symmetrix DMX1000-P2: 2^nd generation DMX, Single cabinet, 9 drives per loop, 144 drives, P=Performance System
• Symmetrix DMX2000-M2: 2^nd generation DMX, Dual cabinet, 18 drives per loop, 288 drives
• Symmetrix DMX2000-P2: 2^nd generation DMX, Dual cabinet, 9 drives per loop, 288 drives, P=Performance System
• Symmetrix DMX2000-M2-3: 2^nd generation DMX, Dual cabinet, 18 drives per loop, 288 drives, 3 Phase power
• Symmetrix DMX2000-P2-3: 2^nd generation DMX, Dual cabinet, 9 drives per loop, 288 drives, P=Performance System, 3 Phase power
• Symmetrix DMX3000-M2-3: 2^nd generation DMX, Triple cabinet, 18 drives per loop, 576 drives, 3 Phase power

To read about EMC DMX Symmetrix Hardware components

To read about EMC Symmetrix DMX models and major differences

Symmetrix DMX-3 or also called Symmetrix 7.0

• Released July 2005 and still being sold
• 8 Slice directors
• 1920 disk (RPQ ‘ed to 2400 drives)
• DAE based concept introduced
• Symmetrix Priority Controls
• RAID 5 introduced and then implemented on older DMX, DMX-2
• Virtual LUN technology
• SRDF enhancements
• Concept of vaulting introduced
• Enginuity microcode 5771.xx.xx, 5772.xx.xx

• Symmetrix DMX-3 950: System Cabinet, Storage Bay x 2, 360 drives max, Modular Power, 3 Phase power
• Symmetrix DMX-3: System Cabinet, Storage Bay x 8 (Expandable), 1920 drives max, RPQ’ed to 2400 drives, 3 Phase power

To read about differences between EMC Symmetrix DMX3 and DMX4 platforms

Symmetrix DMX-4 or also called Symmetrix 7.0

• Released July 2007 and still being sold
• Virtual provisioning
• Flash Drives
• FC / SATA drives
• RAID 6 introduced
• SRDF enhancements
• Total Cache: 512 GB
• Total Storage: 1 PB
• Largest drive supported 1TB SATA drive
• Flash drives 73GB, 146GB later now support for 200GB and 400GB released
• 1920 drives max (RPQ’ed to 2400 drives)
• Enginuity microcode 5772.xx.xx, 5773.xx.xx

• Symmetrix DMX-4 950: System Cabinet, Storage Bay x 2, 360 drives max, Modular Power, 3 Phase power
• Symmetrix DMX-4: System Cabinet, Storage Bay x 8 (Expandable), 1920 drives max, RPQ’ed to 2400 drives, Modular power, 3 Phase Power

Some models sold as DMX-4 1500, DMX-4 2500, DMX-4 3500 and DMX-4 4500

• To read about a blog post on EMC Symmetrix: DMX4 Components
• To read about differences between EMC Symmetrix DMX3 and DMX4 platforms
• To read about different drives types supported on EMC Symmetrix DMX4 Platform
• To read about differences between EMC Symmetrix DMX4 and V-Max Systems

Symmetrix V-Max

• (Released April 2009)
• Enginuity Microcode 5874.xxx.xxx
• Total number of drives supported: 2400
• Total Cache: 1 TB mirrored (512GB usable)
• Total Storage: 2 PB

All features on the V-Max have been discussed earlier on the blog post linked below

• Symmetrix V-Max SE: Single System Bay, SE=Single Engine, Storage Bay x 2, 360 drives max, cannot be expanded to a full blown 8 engine system if purchased as a SE, 3 Phase power, Modular Power
• Symmetrix V-Max: System Cabinet, Storage Bay x 10, 2400 drives max, modular power, 3 phase power

• To read about differences between EMC Symmetrix DMX4 and V-Max Systems
• To read about different drives types supported on EMC Symmetrix V-Max Platforms
• To read all about the EMC Symmetrix V-Max Platform

Conclusion

I could have easily added total memory capacity per frame, total number of dedicated DA/DAF slots, total slots, total universal slots, total memory slots, but then I didn’t know information on some of the old systems and didn’t want to be incorrect on them.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this post, with a bit of history related to the Symmetrix platform. I am pretty positive, as of today you will not find this consolidated information on any blog or the manufacturers website.

I really wish, EMC decided to open blogging to some Symmetrix, Clariion, Celerra, Centera specialist that support these systems on a day to day basis, the information that could come out from those guys could be phenomenal. Barry Burke writes a lot of stuff, but again a lot of FUD from him against IBM and HDS, its great reading him, but only a controlled amount of technical information comes from him.