Today, EMC launched the new Celerra NX4 entry-level unified storage array, and gave the successful NS20 and NS40 a healthy capacity bump.
But, once you look beyond speeds and feeds, there's a story here about how EMC is taking its competencies in larger systems, and delivering them in smaller -- and more usable -- packages.
The Basics
The category of "unified storage" is a relatively new one. Simply put, it means that a single device can support NAS, iSCSI and FC storage protocols simultaneously. This sort of thing has proven to be extremely popular in small-to-mid-sized deployments where you'd like to have some flexibility in how you attach servers to storage.
EMC must be doing something right in this space: not only does IDC give EMC the nod for #1 market share in NAS (36% market revenue share in Q1 2008), we've had 50%+ growth in this category (y-o-y) for the last two quarters.
Design Choices Matter
Looking behind the scenes, every EMC Celerra is actually two distinct subsystems: a bladed server for NAS and iSCSI duties combined with an underlying storage array. One could argue the pros and cons of this approach, but one advantage is that this allows EMC to freely mix and match storage technology behind the Celerra.
Some customers prefer a gateway approach. They'll use something like the NS40G (1 or 2 blades), the NS80G (2 or 4 blades) or the behemoth NSX (up to 8 blades) to provide NAS and iSCSI access to their existing Symmetrix or CLARiiON farms. All storage is managed as a single pool; a variable portion is then carved out for NAS and/or iSCSI duties, which also helps with tiering as well.
Others prefer an integrated approach. The NS20, NS40 (and now the NX4) integrate a CLARiiON with the Celerra blades to provide an integrated package. Different classes of storage are used in the same device to create distinct service levels.
The NS20 and NS40 are built on the CX series of CLARiiON. What's new with the NX4 is that it's built on top of our very successful AX4 storage array.
This approach means that our unified storage products inherit the capabilities of the underlying storage. For example, rather than trying to provide a FC emulation of a block mode device on top of some sort of file system, customers can use the native FC ports on the underlying storage array
Celerra brings a host of its own capabilities to the table, independent of the underlying storage: snaps, remote replication, file system archiving and much more.
The NX4's combination of Celerra and AX4 allows an even more cost-effective package. As an example, ~$20k list gets you ~4TB of raw SATA storage, CIFS, iSCSI, SnapSure, virtual provisioning, automated volume management and a web-based management tool. That same unit can grow to ~60TB raw in the same enclosure.
The use of the AX4 allows us to intermix SAS and SATA drives to create different service levels, as well as give customers direct access to the underlying FC array should they need it -- a nice feature to have.
[update on 8/26 -- just saw this short video with a guided tour of the hardware -- nice, short overview if you're interested]
So, Why Is This Interesting?
This all-in-one approach to storage is a fast growing category. I don't think the industry analysts measure this as a distinct category, but perhaps they should -- lots and lots of growth in this part of the market.
Most people think it's all about price in this category, and -- yes -- this is an extremely price-sensitive
market segment, but there's more to it as well.
Just because the deployment is small doesn't mean that performance isn't important. Our performance goal with the NX4 was to deliver ~30% more performance than competitive products in this category, and early indications show that we're doing pretty close to that. This box is no slouch in the performance department.
Smaller deployments also doesn't mean that powerful functionality isn't required either. The NX4 brings almost all the same enterprise-class feature set as its larger brothers. Ditto for high-availability: not only the usual RAID options, but the ability to have redundant storage controllers if needed.
But -- as we've seen time and time again -- simplicity is king here. The platform has to go up in less than 15 minutes. All management features have to be presented simply and clearly for busy IT administrators who don't have a lot of time to learn a new environment.
Interesting note: I saw someone giving a demo of the management tool from an iPhone 3G. Looked pretty cool, it did. I don't think this is officially supported yet, though. But it did make me think -- wouldn't this be cool as a standard secure remote browswer platform for systems and storage management? I mean, having to tell your boss you needed your own paid-for iPhone to manage things? :-)
And, Yes, There's a VMware Connection
And it's more than just marketing, IMHO.
Customers deploying VMware go through distinct phases in their deployments: maybe starting with test and development, maybe moving on to tier 3 and tier 2 applications, and from their into serious workloads, maybe even VDI. And, of course, you need some sort of shared storage to make all the goodness of ESX really shine.
You may want to get started with NAS, move on to iSCSI, and be able to bring out the native FC if you need to -- all on the same array, and at the same time. And, we're finding that a lot of EMC's unified storage platforms (e.g. Celerra) are ending up in early-stage VMware deployments for just this reason.
And all of the solution and blueprint build work we've done around ESX and Celerra (e.g. Exchange, VDI, etc.) is directly applicable to the NX4 as well -- it just now comes in a smaller package.
So, What's Ahead?
Unified storage platforms are here to stay. They fill a distinct need in the market that special-purpose devices don't fill: the ability to support multiple connection types -- and manage it all -- from a single platform. And they seem to be extremely appealing in small-to-midsize deployment scenarios.
The two players in this space (EMC and NetApp) have chosen distinctly different paths to get there. And, based on analyst numbers, it seems that EMC's approach of array+gateway seems to be getting serious traction.
And choices are a good thing ...
Chuck, It's nice to see EMC do this - the NX4 looks like it will deliver excellent value to entry level customers.
Posted by: MarcFarley | August 26, 2008 at 10:30 AM