When lives and finances are on the line, operations and workloads need maximum performance and efficiency. Aware of this, Dell created their PowerMax storage solution to be extensible, consistent, and performant. During their exclusive Tech Field Day presentations, the folks from Dell showcased how their PowerMax storage solution addresses the needs of mission-critical operations.
The Demands of Mission-Critical Operations
In today’s IT operations, several processes and operations take the highest priority, and as such, demand the highest performance from their hardware and software. With these mission-critical operations, downtime is not an option, resulting in dire consequences like financial repercussions or even loss of life.
Therefore, for these high-priority processes, which can be found across the majority of healthcare, financial, and Fortune 500 companies among others, it’s crucial to have enough supporting processing and storage capabilities. Additionally, these operations need to be flexible: spanning both clouds and on-premises data centers, mission-critical processes demand availability and extensibility.
Meeting Mission Critical Requirements with PowerMax
Dell designed and constructed their PowerMax storage solution to directly meet the requirements of mission-critical operations. Those requirements are as follows:
- Always-on Architecture: With zero recovery point objectives, multi-controller scalability, and Active/ACtive & long-distance array replication, PowerMax runs continuously to allow repeated store operations.
- Consistent & Predictable: Like the Ronco Rotisserie, IT admins can “set it and forget it” with PowerMax, operating autonomously with up to 15M IOPS and 350 GB/s performance once implemented to ensure consistency.
- High Security: Given the gravity of mission-critical data, PowerMax stores information with the utmost security, leveraging data-at-rest and end-to-end encryption to prevent unauthorized access while also taking routine snapshots for BDR.
- Consolidatable: PowerMax allows IT organizations to reduce operational loads on other facets of infrastructure by centralizing mission-critical storage needs.
- Intelligent: Built-in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities allow for optimized data reduction, saving time while ensuring accuracy.
Expounding on PowerMax and AI
In their exclusive Tech Field Day event, Dell’s Engineering Technologist, John Madden, described how PowerMax suits the needs of mission-critical operations. After providing an overview of the five points above, Madden then went into greater detail on each one as it relates to PowerMax.
Now, I can’t fully do justice to the facts and figures shared by Madden, so please, watch the presentation above for a full technical breakdown. I will, however, speak on one of my favorite parts of PowerMax: the built-in AI engine.
The core use case for PowerMax AI is data reduction and placement, intaking objects, files, and blocks that need to be stored. Once analyzed, the AI engine evaluates current workload and storage levels, routing the data through the path of least resistance. That way, not only does PowerMax save time and effort by automating the process of initial data management, but also ensures accuracy and uptime in the process. In mission-critical situations where these characteristics are vital, PowerMax delivers.
Zach’s Reaction
Because it addresses the core needs of mission-critical operations, PowerMax proves to be a useful storage solution for many of today’s enterprises. Learn more about PowerMax by following these links, shared at the end of the video above:
For more information, be sure to watch all of Dell’s exclusive Tech Field Day presentations.
