PowerVault ME5212 2U Block Storage Array

PowerVault ME5212 2U Block Storage Array Overview

The Dell PowerVault ME5212 is a 2U all-in-one storage array purpose-built for small to medium-sized businesses that value simplicity, affordability and efficiency. The chassis carries dual-active hot-swappable controllers, internal drive bays, host networking and expansion ports in a single unit, and uses fast Intel Xeon processors with a 12 Gb SAS back-end protocol for capacity expansion. Arrays can be configured all-flash, hybrid flash or HDD only, and present storage as native block-level SAN or DAS.

All-inclusive software covers thin provisioning, ADAPT RAID, snapshots, asynchronous replication and volume copy without extra licences, and the array integrates with PowerEdge servers, VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V. It is aimed at small-scale workloads that need simple, affordable block storage, and can grow to 264 drives.

Chassis and Controllers

• Chassis format: All-in-one: dual controllers, internal drive bays, host networking and expansion options
• Rack size: 2U
• Controllers: 2 hot-swappable controllers per chassis (dual-active)
  single or dual controller support on 2U models
  dual controller support only on the 5U model
• Processor: Intel Xeon processor
• Internal storage: 12 x 3.5-inch drive bays (2.5-inch drive carriers supported)
• System memory: 24 GB per controller, 48 GB total on a dual-controller system
• Throughput: up to 12 GB/s read and 10 GB/s write

Expansion Capacity

• Expansion enclosures: ME512 (2U, 12 x 3.5-inch), ME524 (2U, 24 x 2.5-inch) and ME584 (5U, 84 x 3.5-inch), all 12 Gb SAS
• Minimum / maximum drive count: 2 / 264 drives
• Maximum raw capacity: Up to 2.64 PB total with 9 x ME512
  up to 1.92 PB total with 9 x ME524
  up to 5.80 PB total with 3 x ME584 (raw capacity varies with the drive sizes available at time of purchase)
• Disk expansion protocol: 12 Gb SAS
• Expansion ports: 2 x 12 Gb SAS wide ports per array (one per controller); up to 9 x 2U expansion enclosures per 2U base array; up to 3 x 5U expansion enclosures per 2U base array; up to 3 x 5U expansion enclosures per 5U base array

Storage Media

• NL-SAS 7.2K 3.5-inch: 4 TB, 8 TB, 8 TB FIPS, 12 TB, 16 TB, 16 TB FIPS, 20 TB, 24 TB; SAS 10K 2.5-inch: 1.2 TB, 2.4 TB, 2.4 TB FIPS; SSD: 1.6 TB mixed use, 1.92 TB read intensive, 3.84 TB read intensive, 3.2 TB FIPS mixed use, 7.68 TB read intensive; SAS and NL-SAS drives of different types, transfer rates and rotational speeds can be mixed in the same system

Connectivity

• Host interface: FC, iSCSI (optical or BaseT), SAS
• Maximum ports per array: Up to 8 x 16/32 Gb Fibre Channel ports per array (auto-negotiates to 16 Gb); up to 8 x 10/25 Gb iSCSI ports per array (SFP+ or SFP28); up to 8 x 10GbE BaseT iSCSI ports per array (auto-negotiates to 1 Gb); up to 8 x 12 Gb SAS ports per array; 2 x 1 GbE BaseT management ports per array

Data Optimization and RAID

• Auto-tiering: up to 3 primary (media-based) tiers; RAID 1, 5, 6, 10 or ADAPT RAID, with any combination of RAID levels in a single array; ADAPT RAID: distributed erasure coding that reduces rebuild times when drives fail; thin provisioning, active by default on all volumes and operating at full performance across all features; up to 1,024 redirect-on-write snapshots per array; volume copy, to copy complete standalone volumes

Data Protection, Security and Migration

• Asynchronous replication over FC or iSCSI, supported between ME50XX and ME52XX arrays in either direction; target/source relationships may be one-to-many or many-to-one; VMware Site Recovery Manager for business continuity; self-encrypting drives (SED) in SSD or HDD form factors, with AES-256 full disk encryption (FDE); drives certified to FIPS 140-3 Level 2; key management through the internal controller, or KMIP external key managers (IBM SKLM and Thales KeySecure available at launch)

Management and Virtualization

• PowerVault Manager HTML5 GUI element manager; CLI and OpenManage Enterprise; VMware vCenter plug-in to manage ME5 arrays through vCenter; CLI API and Redfish/Swordfish REST API; supported host OS: Windows Server 2025 and 2022 (including Hyper-V); RHEL 9.5 and 8.10; SLES 15, SLES 15 SP6 and SLES 12 SP8; VMware vSphere 9.0 and 8.0 U3; virtualization integration: VMware vSphere (ESXi), vCenter and SRM; Microsoft Hyper-V

Physical Specifications

• Rack size: 2U
• Height: 8.79 cm (3.46 in.)
• Width: 48.30 cm (19.01 in.)
• Depth: 61.87 cm (24.36 in.)
• Weight: 32.00 kg (71.00 lb) maximum configuration; 4.80 kg (10.56 lb) without drives

Power and Environment

• Power supply: 580 W, 764 W DC
• Heat dissipation: 1,980 BTU BTU
• Environmental operating conditions: Operating temperature: 5 °C to 35 °C (41 °F to 95 °F), derated by 1 °C per 300 mm above 900 m; non-operating temperature: -40 °C to 70 °C (-40 °F to 158 °F), with a maximum change of 20 °C per hour; operating humidity: -12 °C minimum dew point, 8% to 85% maximum, non-condensing; non-operating humidity: 21 °C maximum dew point, 5% to 100% maximum, non-condensing

Services

Dell ProSupport Enterprise Suite and Dell ProDeploy Enterprise Suite, with optional ProSupport Plus for proactive and preventative services. Dell Power Sizer for system sizing, and OEM-ready customization from bezel to BIOS to packaging.

Configuration, availability and lead time depend on the required model, drive mix, protocols and delivery destination. Send your requirement to receive a quotation.