Dell EMC consummates union with HCI

Dell EMC has today announced the integration of PowerEdge servers into VxRail Appliances and VxRack System 1000 in one of the clearest practical demonstrations of how the new company will integrate the legacies of Dell and EMC respectively.

The announcement was made at Dell EMC World in Austin, the first conference held since Dell completed its acquisition of the EMC Federation to become Dell Technologies, which is taking place this week.

According to Dell EMC, the combination of PowerEdge Servers with VxRail and VxRack 1000 hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) will increase the flexibility and speed of delivery available to customers, as well as offering new price points.

The VxRack System 1000 is now based on PowerEdge R630 and R370xd servers and, according to the company, offer 40% more CPU performance than previously 2.5x more usable flash memory capacity than similar products from competitors.

VxRail Appliances, meanwhile, now have configurations powered by the latest Intel Broadwell platforms, VMware and VSAN, as well as being based on PowerEdge. This, according to Dell EMC, means a 40% increase in CPU performance, all-flash equiped nodes with twice as much storage as before, and a 3-node entry point that is 25%less expensive.

Terri McClure, senior analyst at ESG said: "Dell EMC owning both the compute and storage portions of the hyper-converged stack is a game-changer for the HCI portfolio. It allows the company to deliver more value choices for customers via investment protection, fasther innovation, supply chain advantaged and savings it can pass on.

"The fast integration of PowerEdge servers into VxRail Appliances and VxRack Systems is a major example of the synergy of the acquisition and the benefits of the companies coming together more value, more choice and maintained investment protection for customers."

VxRack FLEX with PowerEdge-based nodes can be pre-ordered today and will be generally available in Q4 2016. VxRack SDDC with PowerEdge-based nodes with integrated PowerEdge servers will be available to pre-order from Q4 2016.

VxRail Appliances integrated with PowerEdge servers will be available for purchase and to order from Q4 2016 in the majority of cases, while VxRail Appliances based on PowerEdge servers with VMware Horizon for client virtualisation will be available from December 2016.

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Jane McCallion is ITPro's Managing Editor, specializing in data centers and enterprise IT infrastructure. Before becoming Managing Editor, she held the role of Deputy Editor and, prior to that, Features Editor, managing a pool of freelance and internal writers, while continuing to specialize in enterprise IT infrastructure, and business strategy.

Prior to joining ITPro, Jane was a freelance business journalist writing as both Jane McCallion and Jane Bordenave for titles such as European CEO, World Finance, and Business Excellence Magazine.