PowerMax 8500 All-Flash Storage

PowerMax 8500 All-Flash Storage Overview

The PowerMax 8500 delivers unparalleled performance at scale for organisations that need massive consolidation. Supporting up to 16 nodes and 18 PBe of total capacity, it simplifies operations and reduces total cost of ownership for the most demanding mixed workloads, with advanced cyber resiliency including Cyber Recovery Service for PowerMax.

PowerMax is built from modular storage components. The compute modules are packaged as node
pairs, each containing two PowerMax compute nodes with complete software and licensing, cache
memory, redundant power and connectivity modules. These are combined with 48-slot Dynamic Media
Enclosures (DMEs) to configure NVMe flash drives. Arrays are delivered with the Inclusive Software
package, and NVMe drive capacity can be added in single-drive increments to scale up to 18 PiBe / 20 PBe maximum per array.
Both models carry an industry-leading data reduction guarantee of 5:1 for open systems and 3:1 for
mainframe.

Compute, Cache and Vault

• Node pairs: 1 to 8
• Node pair module: 3U
• Processor options: Memory config 1-3: Intel Xeon Gold 6254 3.9 GHz, 18 cores per CPU
  Memory config 4-5: Intel Xeon Gold 8280L
• Cores per CPU / node pair / system: Memory config 1-3: 18 / 72 / 576
  Memory config 4-5: 20 / 112 / 736
• Dynamic fabric: InfiniBand dual redundant fabric: 100 Gbps per port
• Cache per node pair: 1.792 TB, 3.584 TB, 7.680 TB
• Cache per system (raw): Minimum 1792 GB raw, maximum 45.056 TB raw
• Vault strategy: Vault to Flash
• Vault implementation: 4 NVMe SED flash modules per node pair
• Maximum front-end I/O modules per node pair: 8

Capacity and Drives

• Maximum capacity per array (open systems): 18 PiBe / 20 PBe maximum per array based on 5:1 data
  reduction
• Base capacity (open systems): 30.72 TBu
• Maximum capacity per array (mainframe): 9.8 PiBe / 10.7 PBe maximum per array based on 3:1 data
  reduction
• Base capacity (mainframe): 15.36 TBu
• Maximum drives per array: 384
• Maximum drives per system bay: 192 / 384
• Minimum drive count per system: 6 (mainframe) / 10 (open systems)
• NVMe drive capacities: 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, 15.36 TB, 30.72 TB (2.5 inch)
• Incremental flash capacity upgrades: TLC: 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, 15.36 TB, 30.72 TB
  QLC: 15.36 TB, 30.72 TB
• Dynamic media enclosure: 48 x 2.5-inch drive DME, supported on both models
• Drive interface: dual PCIe Gen 3 x8 NVMe attached; NVMe and NVMe-oF over a
  dual 100 Gb InfiniBand fabric
• Flexible RAID options: RAID 1 (1+1)
  RAID 5 (8+1)
  RAID 5 (12+1)
  RAID 6 (12+2)
  RAID 6 (24+2) – 15.36 TB and 30.72 TB drives only
• Mixed RAID group support: no
• Support for mixed drive capacities: yes, up to two consecutive compatible
  capacities per storage resource pool

Front-End Connectivity

• Protocols supported: 2 x 100 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI, SRDF and NVMe/TCP;
  4 x 64 Gb/s Fibre Channel, NVMe and SRDF; 4 x 32 Gb/s Fibre Channel, NVMe/FC, FICON and SRDF;
  4 x 25 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI, SRDF and NVMe/TCP; 4 x 10 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI, SRDF and NVMe/TCP;
  1 x zHyperlink port for mainframe and zHyperlink
• 100 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI, NVMe/TCP and SRDF ports: 16 per node pair / 128 per array
• 64 Gb/s Fibre Channel, NVMe and SRDF ports: 32 per node pair / 256 per array
• 32 Gb/s Fibre Channel, FICON and SRDF ports: 32 per node pair / 256 per array
• 25 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI and NVMe/TCP ports: 32 per node pair / 256 per array
• 10 Gb/s Ethernet, iSCSI and NVMe/TCP ports: 32 per node pair / 256 per array
• zHyperlink ports: 2 per node pair / 4 per array

PowerMax File

• Maximum file I/O modules per array: 4
• File I/O modules supported: 10 Gb/s – 4 x 10Gb/s file; 25 Gb/s – 4 x 25Gb/s
  file
• Software file nodes: 8 software file nodes (1 per node, 2 per node pair)
• Maximum file capacity per array: 18 PiBe maximum file capacity per array

Availability, Data Services and Security

• Architecture: end-to-end NVMe, InfiniBand 100 Gb/s, dual-ported NVMe flash
  drives, NVMe/TCP connectivity and hardware-based data reduction, designed for six nines of
  availability
• Data reduction: advanced global inline data reduction, with a 5:1 guarantee
  for open systems and 3:1 for mainframe
• Operating system: PowerMaxOS 10
• Host support: open systems, mainframe, and mixed mainframe and open systems
• Pre-configuration from factory: 100% thin provisioned
• Cyber resiliency: Cyber Recovery Service for PowerMax (cyber vault) available
  through Dell Professional Services
• Scalability: independent growth of nodes and storage capacity in single-drive
  increments with Dynamic Fabric architecture and Flexible RAID

Physical and Power Specifications

• System bay configurations: Up to 6 node pairs per bay in dense configuration
• System bay dispersion: Yes – system bays can be separated by up to 82 feet (25 metres) from System Bay 1
• Standard 19 inch bays: yes, third-party rack mount option available
• Height: 78.4 inch (199.2 cm)
• Width: 23.5 inch (60 cm)
• Depth: 47.3 inch (120 cm)
• Weight: 1537 lb (697 kg) – system bay 1, four node pair, four DME
  1410 lb (640 kg) – system bay 2, four node pair, four DME
  1806 lb (819 kg) – system bay 1, six node pair, four DME (dense)
  1136 lb (515 kg) – system bay 2, dual node pair, four DME (dense)
• Power options: single phase or three-phase, delta or wye
• Intelligent PDU: included by default with PowerMaxOS 10.1, enabling real-time
  telemetry and monitoring of power, voltage, current, external temperature and humidity
• Single phase input: 200 – 240 VAC +/- 10% line-to-line nominal (North
  American 3-wire) or 220 – 240 VAC +/- 10% line-to-neutral nominal (international and Australian
  3-wire); 50 – 60 Hz; 30 A circuit breakers (30 or 32 A international); two power zones
• Three-phase input: 200 – 240 VAC +/- 10% line-to-line nominal (North American
  delta, 4-wire, 50 A) or 220 – 240 VAC +/- 10% line-to-neutral nominal (international wye, 5-wire,
  30/32 A); 50 – 60 Hz; two power zones
• Radio frequency interference: certified to EN61000-4-3; maximum ambient RF
  field strength should not exceed 3 volts per metre in data centers with intentional radiators

Operating Environment

Tested and verified to work within the permitted range of the ASHRAE 2-level operating condition
class between 10 C and 35 C and within the corresponding relative humidity range.

Services and Warranty

• Implementation: Dell ProDeploy Enterprise Suite, Dell Data Migration Services,
  Dell Residency Services, Dell Data Sanitization Services for Enterprise
• Support: Dell ProSupport Enterprise Suite, Dell Keep Your Hard Drive for
  Enterprise
• Managed and consulting: Dell Managed Services for Storage; Cyber Recovery
  Services for PowerMax (Cyber Vault); advisory services workshops
• Support technology: MyService360, Secure Remote Services, SupportAssist
  Enterprise

Ordering

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