Inside Enterprise IT

Dell delivers density

Paul Steeves — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:25:00 GMT

Anyone managing a data center faces the difficult balancing act of delivering on continually increasing performance demands, handling the cooling issues that usually result from that, and yet staying inside already physically constrained energy resources. More and more they are turning toward high density computing as the answer and making it a central tenet of their infrastructure strategy.

While designing the PowerEdge 12^th generation servers, we heard from many customers wrestling with this same dilemma. That’s why density is featured throughout the new PowerEdge 12^th generation server portfolio - with some particularly dense models – like the 2-socket/ 1U R620 rack server, the new quarter-height M420 blade server and the one I’m writing about today, the new 4-socket/2U R820 rack server.

The PowerEdge R820 is designed in response to customers who told us they wanted the extra performance of a four socket server without compromising on efficient use of space and energy. The R820 is the first-to-market 4-socket server that uses the Intel Xeon E5-4600 product family, which has a 75% performance increase over the E5-2600 product family. Yet it also offers tremendous density with 48 DIMMS (a full 1.5 TB of memory), 7 PCIe Gen3 expansion slots and up to 16 internal drives, all in its compact 2U form factor. And new PowerEdge 12^th generation I/O options like a split backplane, dual RAID controllers, Express Flash PCIe SSDs, and the modular Select Network Adapter make it even more powerful.

R820 delivers great performance for data intensive applications and has the ability to rapidly scale to handle the spikes that occur in transaction based workloads. It makes an excellent database server and is especially well designed for dense virtualization usage. In fact, the R820 optimally supports up to 60% more virtual machine instances in the same space as HP’s closest similar 4-socket offering (the 4S/4U DL580 G7). Its density allows it to do this – the large memory footprint that supports more VMs and the extensive local storage and expansion slots that give those VMs all the resources they need to run at high levels of efficiency.

The R820 also has what it takes to be a great mainstream database server for mid to large size operations. It can support 129% more database orders per minute in half the space compared to an HP Proliant DL580 G7. It minimizes query wait times using its 32 processor cores, 1.5 TB of memory and improved CPU performance, and eliminates potential I/O bottlenecks with its Select Network adapter flexibility, split backplane, dual RAID and Flash-based storage (which lets it rapidly process in-memory data without “fetching” from an external disk).

“Using these servers, researchers will be able to generate research results faster than before.” MICHAEL FENN, High-Performance Computing Systems Administrator, Penn State University

And lastly, the R820 is an excellent option for High Performance Computing (HPC) shops looking for performance with density. It has both 216% better SPECfp performance and 269% better LINPACK performance than previous generation Dell 2 socket/2U servers.

And the R820 does all of this while delivering 50% better power usage per core (47W) than the previous generation PowerEdge R710 and 106% lower annual operational costs compared to the 2-socket/2U PowerEdge R720. Like all the servers in the PowerEdge 12^th generation portfolio, the R820 supports a Fresh Air compliant configuration that lets you operate at higher data center temperatures – in some cases completely avoiding cooling costs.

Customers wanted more power in less space. We listened. The PowerEdge R820 is a perfect example of the mantra that has been adopted for the 12^th generation servers; “Designed by you. Engineered by Dell.”

Dell vStart becomes water cooler for cloud discussions at Interop 2012

Lani Dame — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:49:00 GMT

This post was written by Anthony Marusic, Dell Virtualization Solutions, Technical Marketer

There was no doubt that modular data center architecture and cloud computing at Dell was a driving factor for many customers that came by to check out the vStart technology at Interop 2012. The interest in converged infrastructure was top of mind for more than just executive-level decision makers. Those that are the technical influencers, evaluators and managers were equally “all-in” on the attributes that converged infrastructure delivers: time-to-value, expected service levels and ease of use. After talking converged infrastructure, the vStart conversations brought up other topics that kept the booth buzzing with information.

vStart as the foundation for scale-out data center architecture
Customers ranged from those who were just starting to build out their infrastructure to those who were looking to simply make their existing operations work better. The flexibility in vStart scale options and the simplicity in deploying those scale options resonated very well, almost as well as the attraction of a single vendor providing the entire solution.

The physical location of the vStart 50 in the Dell booth provided a great stopping point for attendees.

vStart as the building blocks to a private cloud
Visitors to the booth quickly understood the connection of vStart and building a private cloud. The next obvious question was, “How do I deliver services into a vStart environment?” It was great to see that most people were building our cloud solution story for themselves with natural progression toward VIS Creator, integration with Microsoft System Center and VMware vCenter, and our IaaS capabilities with the Dell Public vCloud. The vStart water cooler effect had begun.

Dell AIM for workload mobility and disaster recovery
One attendee asked specifically about workload mobility between his existing fragmented environment and a new vStart. Naturally, discussion about Dell AIM fit the bill. What was surprising was that several other attendees in the area quickly picked up on some of the other AIM values around complete disaster recovery and fault tolerance for both virtual and bare-metal workloads. The deeper we went into AIM’s positive impact on quality of service for IT operations and service delivery, the more impressed people were of Dell’s capabilities in enterprise data center management.

Thankfully, our event staff had plenty of refueling options to keep us going, because it didn’t end here. Some of these conversations led to, “I need to have a way to connect data points between my existing applications or systems management tools to a vStart Private Cloud environment … and possibly a public SaaS offering.” Our Boomi colleagues were our “Johnny on the spot” guys. The time flew by with such great and deep technical discussions around our cloud solutions. I think most people left with a new found respect for Dell. They definitely left with stories to tell their friends and colleagues. We should have labeled our section in the booth as the “Cloud Break Room”

If you missed any of the Dell Interop information, check out the Tech Center Interop Las Vegas 2012 page next week for graphic recordings, photos and other information from the event.

GMO Media provides ‘Internet for Everyone’ in Japan with Dell

Kristin Storer — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT

‘Internet for everyone’ - is the tag line and lofty goal for GMO Internet Group, a global Internet pioneer that includes 2.1 million corporate and consumer customers, 25 million end users and 66 companies. One of these companies is GMO Media Holdings which manages a membership-based points system. The system is extremely popular - the membership base consists of more than 11 million Japanese consumers and is growing by 5,000 users per day. Shoppers collect rewards points with their purchases, redeeming them at stores affiliated with the point program.

When the IT infrastructure supporting the system was nearing end-of-life, the company sought a stable, scalable replacement. Considering that the company’s philosophy is grounded in the ideal that everyone everywhere should have fast, reliable Internet access, GMO Media must uphold a very high standard of zero downtime for its customers - and so, it turned to Dell to stay up and running.

“If our database were to fail, our members would not be able to log-in and access our services. This would affect the entire GMO Internet Group, effectively putting a stop to our business. The system must run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” says Dai Uzui, Director, Systems Maintenance, GMO Media.

The top priority for IT staff was to renew the infrastructure with scalability and stability as the most important goals. The company worked with Dell to deploy a Dell EqualLogic storage solution combined with Dell PowerEdge servers, protected by Dell ProSupport Services. GMO Media now has 400 percent faster database processing times and the secure, reliable storage it requires for its rapidly growing customer base.

With Dell, GMO Media now boasts a more stable environment, applications that run consistently, increased employee productivity and an improved customer experience. Reliable systems, productive employees and happy customers – isn’t that what it’s all about?

Read more about how Dell helps GMO Media provide Internet for everyone here, or click on the image below to go right to the PDF.

Check out our 2012 DSF Sponsor Sessions!

Michelle Richard — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:18:00 GMT

Posted in behalf of Christy Pooler, Dell Storage Product Marketing

It’s hard to believe it was a year ago that we stormed Orlando unveiling the Dell™ Fluid Data™ Architecture….changing the game of storage. To quote one of our attendees, “Fluid makes your data dance!”

For this year’s stateside Dell Storage Forum 2012, we’re heading up to Boston, the backyard of Dell EqualLogic Design Center. Clam bakes, trips to the cape…wait, that’s vacation! Either way, you will have full access to our top-gun engineers, product experts and technology partners that design, develop and support the new technologies you will get your hands on in Boston. If you haven’t registered…don’t miss out!

You’re going to see even more from Dell and our Sponsors this year; VMware, Intel, Microsoft, Commvault, F5, Emulex and Brocade to name a few.

Be sure to sign up for our technology partner sessions to gain helpful hints and valuable best practices to virtualize, protect, optimize and network your environment. You’re getting VIP access to tools to implement back home.

Tuesday, June 12

10:00 — Brocade: Evolving from the Data Center to Private Cloud Storage–Brocade Next-Generation Cloud—Optimized Storage Networking for Dell Compellent

11:20 — VMware: VMware Storage–Beyond the Basics

3:10 — Intel: Technology Partner Sponsor Session

Wednesday, June 13

10:00 – F5: Seamlessly Integrating Dell File Storage Solutions with F5

11:20 - Commvault: Technology Partner Sponsor Session

1:50 – Emulex: Technology Partner Session

Make sure you hit the welcome reception in the solutions expo after Monday night’s keynote to network with all of our sponsors. The Solutions Expo is open all week during lunch as well.

Come see me and the rest of my Dell Storage comrades in Boston. Got to get back to work— wheels up to Dell Storage Forum Boston in 30 days!

Feeling the Energy at Synergy

Janet Diaz — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:06:00 GMT

Energy. That’s the first word that came into my mind as I saw the rush of people flood through the doors of Moscone Center West during the opening of Citrix Synergy San Francisco on Tuesday night. I was amazed and awed not only at the amount of attendees filling the hall, but also by the exciting technologies and solutions being showcased by Citrix partners that will no doubt change the face of virtual computing as we know it.

This energy was especially prevalent in the Dell booth, where our team of subject matter experts in the areas of hardware, software, and services engaged in countless conversations with customers and partners about our exciting portfolio of complete end to end solutions tailored fit the needs of users and organizations of all sizes and complexities.

After viewing a live demo of our Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DVS) Simplified appliance featuring Citrix VDI in a Box software coupled with a Wyse zero client in action, or testing out our DVS Simplified Desktop as a Service (DaaS), or seeing how our Dell Virtual Labs solution is purpose- built to solve the specific IT problems in the education field; our customers came away impressed that Dell’s transformation into a solutions-focused company is gaining major traction.

As part of the DVS Simplified demo, we are also excited to be showcasing Dell’s partnerships with both Citrix and Wyse, which gives our customers a truly end to end VDI solution that is easy to buy, easy to deploy, easy to manage and easy to scale. Dell worked closely with Citrix to develop DVS Simplified, incorporating Citrix’s VDI-in-a-Box, to deliver VDI as an appliance. By adding Wyse to the partnership, Dell can now deliver a wide array of plug-and-play, automatically managed thin clients to further extend that simplicity to the end points. We are very excited to be demonstrating this end to end solution in our booth for all Synergy attendees to see first-hand.

Here’s a picture of Rafael Colorado, DVS Marketing Director giving a presentation at the Wyse booth.

If you’re reading this and attending Synergy, I invite you to stop by booth #200 and say hello- there might even be some free swag in it for you (while supplies last)

Latest press releases and blogs:

Twenty-four Hours in a Private Cloud with Dell and Microsoft

Gaurav Chand, Exec Dir Global Solutions — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

I am excited to announce Dell’s participation as a Platinum Sponsor at Microsoft’s “24 Hours in a Private Cloud” virtual event today, Thursday, May 10. This event is an awesome learning opportunity for organizations developing public and private cloud strategies.

Organizations have a lot of strategic cloud implementation options and opportunities, such as choosing a cloud technology, defining the mix of public and private clouds and preparing for cloud management. This event will provide a concise snapshot of the critical decision points and best practices and will be chock full of educational presentations and thought-leadership discussions with top cloud experts.

As a Platinum Sponsor, Dell will be an active contributor to the day’s events. Participants can join Dell for a 20-minute keynote, an AIM-Systems Center Demo and a breakout session showcasing our vStart solutions. We will be sharing our Practical Path to the Cloud, including:

How to Velocitize Virtualization with vStart
The advantages of Dell OpenManage Integration with Systems Center
Accelerating virtualization adoption with Dell AIM

We also encourage participants to visit us at the Dell Virtual Booth during the event to interact with Dell cloud experts and to learn more about Dell’s cloud solutions.

24 Hours in a Private Cloud starts NOW. You can register for the event here. Microsoft will also record the day’s events for those that are unable to attend or want to access the content after the event. Sign up here to watch recordings after the event.

Notes from Interop - Part I

Rahul Deshmukh — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Putting together a tradeshow is like conducting a symphony. There are various components that have to be orchestrated and it always amazes me how much behind the scenes work and attention to detail goes into making sure everything runs harmoniously.

We started preparing for Interop 2012 a couple of months ago with the Dell Networking group taking the lead “conductor” role. Interop is a network-centric event with participation from all of the heavyweights in the industry. The convention at Las Vegas in May is the most attended event among the four Interop shows that are held every year across the globe.

We have a lot to talk about at Interop this year. Dell’s acquisition of Force10 is one of the highlights of the show. This is the first major show since the acquisition and enables us to showcase our integration and strategy with Force10. The other highlight is the launch of our PowerEdge 12^th generation servers. These high performance servers, together with a number of network centric innovations like the Select Network Adapters, switch-independent partitioning and a wide choice of available network connectivity options, has already created buzz in the industry. Along with the storage components, EqualLogic and Compellent, Dell has a complete end-to-end strategy and products available for today’s data center.

All the months of hard work, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, and bringing together various complicated components, culminated on Monday May 8^th at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Apart from server, storage and networking, the Dell booth includes demos from OEM group, the mobility group, virtualization solutions, and a mini-theater for presentations. Dario Zamarian, the GM of Dell Networking, will deliver a keynote presentation. At the mini-theater, each group will have the opportunity to talk about their products. A major highlight of the mini-theater will be a live graphical recording of the presentations by graphic artist Sunni Brown. This right brain activity in a left brain dominated arena is sure to garner much attention.

All in all the show promises to showcase how Dell innovations and strategy are engineered to help our customers grow and thrive. Stay tuned.

Solving the VDI puzzle with Dell and Unidesk

Janet Diaz — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:42:00 GMT

Let’s start this conversation by admitting that mainstream VDI hasn’t lived up to the promise of a like or better PC experience for every use case. Centralizing desktops doesn’t inherently simplify desktop management. Because simply taking a distributed desktop environment, transferring it to the data center, and applying the same traditional processes and management doesn’t get you there. Fundamentally, you need a new way to manage your images and your applications.

Understanding this, Dell is thrilled to provide a solution with the addition of Unidesk to our Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DVS) Enterprise infrastructure. Adding Unidesk as a VDI management layer allows customers to simplify OS and application delivery to more users, making good on the VDI promise to enable better IT control while providing a flexible and terrific user experience. While many VDI deployments have addressed the task users, leveraging Unidesk in the software stack adds extensibility across the enterprise- you can effectively accommodate the broader user base and that plays into a better TCO story.

Here’s the icing: Unidesk saves money, both OPEX and CAPEX. It eliminates the application outliers that can’t be virtualized. Now most any application can be delivered to any type of user and IT has only one gold image to manage across the enterprise. And adding Unidesk to a VDI stack enables a true PC-like experience without the traditional costs of persistent desktops. Here’s some Dell icing: add Unidesk VDI management software to Dell EqualLogic hybrid SAN storage arrays and automatically tier data between SSD and SAS drives. Great economic combination for meeting IOPS and disk space requirements, increasing user density and reducing storage cost per user.

Intrigued? Learn more about this exciting addition to the Desktop Virtualization Solutions from Dell by reading this press release and about DVS here.

Hear thought leadership insight on a successful desktop virtualization deployment

Janet Diaz — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:14:00 GMT

You already know that Dell is a platinum sponsor at this year’s Citrix Synergy San Francisco. But did you know that we also be leading a breakout session on thought leadership around desktop virtualization?

Complete Virtual Computing - Success from Client to Cloud session, you’ll hear about the main elements that need to be considered for a successful virtual desktop implementation and the reasons behind the importance of choosing a solution that is targeted to your organization’s needs. We will also have a customer panel where two of our customers will share their experiences with a VDI deployment in their organizations.

So, if you are attending Citrix Synergy this week, add this session to your calendar and make sure you don’t miss this session on Wednesday, May 9 from 3:30 to 4:15 PM at the Moscone West Room 2024.

To learn more about Dell’s Desktop Virtualization Solutions, visit the DVS page here.

Don't miss Dell Storage Forum in Boston - June 10-14th!

Sarah Locke — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:49:29 GMT

Are you looking for another reason to join us in Boston for the Dell Storage Forum from June 10-14? How about a personal invitation from Bob Skelley, Executive Director, Dell Certified Partner Program & Channel! View this short video and learn some of the reasons why we think you should attend.

(Please visit the site to view this video)