Dell releases the NX3000 based on Windows Storage Server 2008!

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Dell has launched their new storage appliance that is powered by Windows Storage Server 2008!   This is a great example of what can happen with a partnership of Microsoft with a server manufacturer.  Windows Storage Server 2008 with a PowerVault! Now that is a winning combination!

I love the clean messaging, “Built-in efficiency to manage both file and block data”

  • Advanced software for more efficient data Sharing
  • No time wasted to setup or manage
  • Integration that adapts to your environment

I walked through the out-of-box-experience (OOBE) with Dell a few weeks ago and I was really impressed,  they have a great application that quickly gets users to their language of choice and does all the setup and configuration in a few simple clicks.  It really was less than 20 minutes and we were serving up NAS files using SMB or NFS or coughing up iSCSI LUNs to application servers.

Dell has embraced the industry leading file services features that started with Windows Server 2008, including Distributed File System (DFS), Network File System (NFS), easy management through the File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) and the great performance advancements of SMB 2.0.  It would be a sweet solution with just those features, but then you tack on the Microsoft goodies that come in Windows Storage Server such as Single-Instance Storage (SIS) for data de-duplication, file-server optimization settings to speed up network and file access and the remote administration features make this a super-sweet solution.

 

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The PowerVaultTM  NX3000 supports systems management with remote management through iDRAC and OpenManage 6.1including DMC (Dell Management Console), IT Assistant

Congratulations to Dell for coming out with what looks like a great storage appliance!!

I can’t wait to see the next appliance coming out of the factory and I’d love to hear from some end-users about their experiences with the new product!

 

Thanks for being a storage-loving web surfer!

Scott M. Johnson
Windows Storage Server