Latest in the IBM Storwize range, the V5000 storage systems truly complete the picture between entry-level/SMB market and the higher end requirements.
Although they have things covered across the whole spectrum, historically of course, IBM have been known for playing at the high end, innovating technology, serving the needs of corporates, government clients and even influencing the path of whole industries.
So it is no surprise that the first offering in the Storwize storage range was a ground-breaking enterprise product, incorporating brand new technology, the V7000.
The next Storwize product that started shipping earlier this year, the V3700, is aimed at the SMB market, bringing enterprise-like storage technologies to entry-level. While this is great news, it did leave a bit of a gap and a jump between the V3700 and the more enterprise serving V7000.
That gap has now most definitely been bridged by V5000 and now we have an industy leading Storwize storage system for medium sized organisations, for whom data is growing very quickly, meaning they need to seek out performance and flexibility but manage possible budget challenges at the same time.
So what is special about V5000?
Perhaps the most notable thing is that SAN Volume Controller (SVC) and Storwize V7000 features are leveraged in the V5000. Features such as external virtualisation, Easy Tier, thin provisioning and advanced management tools mean that this is a very efficient and flexible system with simplicity thrown in. According to IBM, a 451 Research 2013 study revealed the following concerns over storage:
- 47% considered capacity growth as their first storage concern
- 21% considered the high cost of storage as their first concern
- 20% considered performance their first concern
And compared to a similar competitive configuration, Storwize V5000 can help with:
- 20% less cost-Get a customisable, powerful and highly reliable Storwize for 20% less
- 30% less capacity growth-Experience 30% less capacity growth with external virtualisation
- 47% management reduction-Reduce your management effort by 47% with advanced GUI
So the expectations are promising from IBM but what are the main differences between the Storwize trio of V3700, V5000 and V7000? The following is a summary:
Maximum raw capacity:
V3700: 240TB V5000: 672TB V7000: 1920TB
Maximum disk drives:
V3700: 60LFF/120SFF V5000: 168LFF/336SFF V7000: 480LFF/960SFF
Clustering:
V3700: No V5000: 2-Way V7000: 4-Way
Maximum Expansions (Cluster):
V3700: 4 (4) V5000: 6 (12) V7000: 9 (36)
Internal Virtualisation:
V3700: Yes V5000: Yes V7000: Yes
External Virtualisation:
V3700: No V5000: Licence V7000: Licence
Compression:
V3700: No V5000: No V7000: Licence
Easy Tier:
V3700: Licence V5000: Licence V7000: Yes
Replication:
V3700: Licence V5000: Licence V7000: Licence
Interfaces (V3700):
1Gb iSCSI, 10Gb iSCSI, 8Gb FC, 10Gb FCoE, 6Gb SAS
Interfaces (V5000):
1Gb iSCSI, 10Gb iSCSI, 8Gb FC, 10Gb FCoE, 6Gb SAS
Interfaces (V7000):
1Gb iSCSI, 10Gb iSCSI, 8Gb FC, 10Gb FCoE
These details do seem to show that the Storwize range is now covering needs of businesses and organisations, from the small to the very large, with plenty of flexibility and room for growth within the technology.
If you wish to discuss the options in full or demo a product in your own storage environment, we would be happy to assist and I can be contacted in the following ways:
Tel: 01306 646 676
Mobile: 07825 150 583
Email: dylan.cooper@recarta.co.uk