VCE launches the new Vblock System 540 with an all flash array

VCE, the leader in converged infrastructure systems, has announced the release of a new line of products led by the industry’s first converged infrastructure with an all flash based array.

The Vblock System 540 contains the latest in next generation Cisco UCS servers, Cisco ACI-ready network devices, and an EMC XtremIO array; all of which combine to provide a whooping 1M+ potential IOPS with sub-millisecond application response times that is perfect for Big Data, online transaction processing (OLTP), online analytical processing (OLAP) and end-user computing. The Vblock System 540 is extremely scalable with up to 192 Cisco UCS M3 or M4 B-series blade servers, and between 10 TB and 120 TB of raw storage capacity with the option of attaching an EMC Isilon storage array. The Vblock System 540 datasheet with all the details can be found here.

VCE has also released an updated version of the flagship converged infrastructure platform in the new Vblock System 740. The Vblock System 740 is designed with unmatched performance and capacity in mind, using the newest next generation Cisco UCS servers, Cisco ACI-ready network devices, and the EMC VMAX3 storage arrays to offer up 3x performance and 2x storage bandwidth over the previous Vblock System 700 model. This beast has support for up to 512 Cisco UCS blades and 4 PB of usable storage! Check out the full set of specs on the Vblock System 740 here.

To round out the spectrum of products, VCE has updated the entry level converged infrastructure platform with the new Vblock System 240. The Vblock System 240 is the perfect pre-configured system for private cloud solutions, utilizing the VNX5200 unified storage system, all in a single rack solution ready to drop into your datacenter in as little as 45 days after your order. See the full set of details here.

Couple these new products, with the VCE Support team that provides world class white-glove service and you have your next datacenter purchase. Visit http://www.vce.com or contact an authorized VCE reseller to see about acquiring your Vblock System.

Vblock Infrastructure

What is a Vblock Infrastructure platform ?

A Vblock infrastructure platform is an integrated solution that combines compute,network,storage and management components into a single package.

This package is a self-contained unit that can be utilized to deploy a single service, multiple service, or can be aggregated with additional Vblock platforms to support larger initiatives.

Best-in-class hardware and software from Cisco,EMC and Vmware.

Vblock platform was first introduced in late 2009, there were two models: Vblock 1, which was based on CLARiiON storage and Vblock 2, based on Symmetrix VMAX.

Now they introduced new models 300 and 700 on Unified storage that included the fully integrated. Over the year and a half, new UCS blades have been added, the addition of PowerPath/VE for automated path management, support for ESXi, and EMC UIM for single point of infrastructure management.

Vblock 100 Models

Vblock 200 Models

Vblock 300 Models

Vblcok 700 Models

Vblock Infrastructure Packages - Integrated best-of-breed packages from VMware, Cisco and EMC

 IMAGINE a different model, a hybrid model, where best-of-breed companies in disciplines critical to IT – networking, servers, storage, and the virtualization layer – all come together to deliver IT to business in a new, accelerated, deceptively simple and in a startlingly cost effective way. IMAGINE no more. Cisco and EMC, together with VMware, are putting you on a new road to greater efficiency, control and choice. A faster road to unprecedented IT agility and unbounded business opportunities. With the Virtual Compute Environment’s Vblock experience.

Vblock Infrastructure Packages Scalable Platform for Building Solutions

 •    Vblock 2 (3000 – 6000+ VMs)

• A high-end configuration - extensible to meet the most demanding IT needs
• Typical use case: Business critical ERP, CRM systems 

   Vblock 1 (800 – 3000+ VMs)

• A mid-sized configuration - broad range of IT capabilities for organizations of all sizes
• Typical use case: Shared services – Email, File and Print, Virtual Desktops, etc.

 Vblock 0 (300 – 800+ VMs) ~1H 2010 

• An entry-level configuration addresses small datacenters or organizations
• Test/development platform for Partners and customers

 Virtualized Workload Environment Vblock 

Vblock 0 Components

Compute 

Cisco UCS B-series 

Network

Cisco Nexus 1000V

Cisco MDS 9506 

Storage

EMC CLARiiON CX4 

Hypervisor

VMware vSphere 4 

Management

EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager

VMware vCenter

EMC NaviSphere

EMC PowerPath

Cisco UCS Manager

Cisco Fabric Manager

Vblock 1 Components

Compute

Cisco UCS B-series 

Network 

Cisco Nexus 1000V

Cisco MDS 9506 

Storage 

EMC Symmetrix V-Max 

 Hypervisor 

VMware vSphere 4

             

Management 

EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager

VMware vCenter

EMC Symmetrix Management console

EMC PowerPath

Cisco UCS Manager

Cisco Fabric Manager

Vblock 2 Components 

•  Network and Storage Components Balanced systems performance, capability & capacity
•     Compute Components High Density Compute Environment
•    Accelerating Virtualization Accelerate IT Standardization and Simplification  Enable              
•   Vblock: O/S and Application Support

Vblock accelerates virtualization of applications by standardizing IT infrastructure and IT processes 

•          Broad range of O/S support

•         Over 300 Enterprise Applications explicitly supported

Vblock applications 

SAP

VMware View 3.5

View 4 in-test

Oracle RAC

Exchange

SharePoint

Accelerate virtualization, standardize IT infrastructure

 Scalability Security Availability vNetwork vStorage vCompute VMware vSphere 4.0 vCenter 4.0 Infrastructure APIs Application APIs 

New Vblock Announcements at EMC World 2011

EMC isn't the only company with some news to unveil at EMC World 2011. VCE has some announcements as well all revolving around the BRAND NEW VBLOCKS!

The first announcement that effects VCE is the unveiling of Unified Infrastructure Manager 2.1. UIM is standard with a Vblock and is the major hardware orchestration piece with many new road-map additions to tie it in with other VMware products. Check out Chad Sakac's post because he has already covered this really in depth EMC UIM v2.1 Provisioning and Operations.

The second announcement from VCE is the availability of the new VNX Based Vblocks. The original Vblock names are still there, and I've created a chart that help depict the new differences.

Vblock Name	EMC Array	Other Notes and Features
Vblock 0	NS-120	NAS, SAN, or Both
Vblock 1	NS-480	NAS, SAN, or Both
Vblock 1U	NS-960	NAS, SAN, or Both
Vblock 300 EX	VNX 5300	SAN or Unified
Vblock 300 FX	VNX 5500	SAN or Unified
Vblock 300 GX	VNX 5700	SAN or Unified
Vblock 300 HX	VNX 7500	SAN or Unified
Vblock 2	VMAX	SAN or use NAS with Gateway.

 

All new 300 series Vblocks come in SAN or Unified (SAN/NAS) configuratons. No longer can Vblocks be ordered as NAS only. Why? Vblocks boot from SAN. When a Vblock was shipped as NAS only, UCS blades had to be populated with internal hard drives. Boot from SAN gives a lot of flexibility in virtual environments. Less spinning media to have to worry about, less power consumption of blades, if a blade fails it's very easy to replace it and boot it up without moving hard drives or re-installing ESX, UCS profiles with SAN Boot makes VMware 4.1 seem stateless, and UIM can configure blades that boot from SAN.

The Vblock 300 EX is actually cheaper than the original Vblock 0 because of new hardware components.

Some other things you may want to know about Vblock 300 series are the mins and maxs. All new Vblocks have specific minimums that can be shipped out. The minimum on the compute side is atleast 4 blades. VCE has decided on 4 blades because that is the recommended bare minimum VMware cluster size to account for N+1+maintenance. All UCS blade upgrades can be done in packs of 2 to account for redundancy. On the storage side, a Vblock can be shipped with as little 18 drives. The maximums on both compute and storage depend on the Vblock type for the amount of chassis and drives depend on the array.

So what's going to happen with the original Vblock 0, 1, and 1U? Nothing. VCE still offers the original Vblocks and will continue to do so until EMC puts and end of life statement on the arrays.

Your last pondering statement might be, what's up with the branding of 300? Seeing as how there is just a single number, there will be room for newer Vblocks to fit in the range of 0-1000. I can't give any more details, but things are in the pipeline!

Lastly, if you happen to be at EMC World, you can take a glimpse at the new racks. VCE is now shipping brand new custom racks built by Panduit. Simply stunning. This looks like it's a Vblock 300 FX.