Dell PowerVault MD3000 Disk Storage Array

Dell Updated: 2008-09-10 RSS

PowerVault MD3000 Direct-Attached Storage Array
Built for high-performance 2-node clusters or direct attachment up to four PowerEdge servers, the PowerVault MD3000 is a modular disk storage array capable of housing up to fifteen 3.5-inch SAS or SATA disk drives in a single 3U rack enclosure. The PowerVault MD3000 is expandable by simply adding up to two additional expansion enclosures for a total of 45 drives and 45TB capacity. The entire array subsystem is managed from a single software application-known as the Modular Disk Storage Manager-which streamlines the management and maintenance of storage as it scales. With the PowerVault MD3000, storage can be quickly and easily added as needed without disruption to operations.

Excellent Drive Flexibility
The PowerVault MD family enables organizations to mix SAS and SATA drives delivering excellent flexibility to align data requirements with drive capabilities, speed, capacity and cost, to help optimize your storage environment.

SAS for Performance
SAS can deliver the speed, performance and reliability to satisfy mainstream single server applications. SAS performance makes it ideal for demanding server applications such as email or database applications that store active and frequently changing information.

NEW Nearline SAS - Performance of SAS, Capacities of SATA
The new 7.2K RPM SAS drives leverage the performance efficiencies of SAS making it ideal for customer who are looking for the low cost per GB but can't sacrifice performance. In everyday usage situations customers can see up to a 30% performance increase with the 7.2 RPM SAS drive over the 7.2 RPM SATA drives.

See All PowerVault MD3000 Tech Specs

PowerVault MD3000 with SATA II disk drives easily handle large volumes of data at an excellent cost-per-Gigabyte

SATA for Capacity
SATA disk drives deliver a compelling cost-per-Gigabyte alternative to SAS. SATA drives are ideal high capacity applications where data is accessed and modified less frequently, such as digital imaging, file archiving, audio/video storage, or back-up to disk applications.

NEW Energy Efficient SATA - - Superior GB per Watt Solution
The new 5.4K RPM SATA drive offers customers a high capacity, energy efficient alternative to traditional SATA drives. Ideal for capacity intensive applications in a power constrained environments. This 5.4K RPM SATA drive can reduce power consumption up to 30% with less than a10% degradation in random I/O performance over some 7.2K RPM SATA drives.

The PowerVault MD Family enables organizations to mix drive types delivering the flexibility to use high speed and high capacity disk drive options to meet your needs.

Complete Management
With a user-friendly interface, wizard-guided tools, and a task-based management structure to significantly reduce the management complexity, the PowerVault MD3000 is as easy to operate as it is secure. Manage one or more storage arrays from Modular Disk Storage Manager - a client based Java application that can run on any server connected to your array, or on a remote client on your network.

Optional data protection features include the ability to have the PowerVault MD3000 take periodic snapshots of your critical data - if a file is accidentally altered it is easily recovered by reverting the PowerVault MD3000 back in time to a previous, trouble-free state. Snapshots are taken instantaneously without disruption to normal operations and consume minimal storage space. Additionally, the PowerVault MD3000 can take periodic Virtual Disk Copies (VDCs) of your data. A VDC is a step beyond the simpler snapshot, creating a full, complete replication of the source data. Up to 8 VDCs can be created at the same time, only delaying normal I/O operations until the copy is complete.

Active RAID Controllers
RAID controllers are the brains that govern everything that occurs within the PowerVault MD3000 storage enclosure, performing necessary calculations, controlling I/O performance operations, handling communication with management applications, and storing firmware. The PowerVault MD3000 was designed to incorporate twin active/active RAID controllers with mirrored cache for high-availability. If one controller should fail, the surviving controller can handle the full processing load until its mate is brought back online.

Hot-pluggable Technology
Dell's PowerVault MD3000 storage array allows you to remove and replace redundant components without disruption to operation. In the rare event of component failure, disk drives, storage controllers, power supplies, and cooling fan modules are all hot-pluggable - you can remove and replace them for easy repair while the system remains up and running. The PowerVault MD3000 enclosure contains two integrated power supply and fan modules - if one is removed the other can handle the demand, virtually eliminating downtime to your storage array.

Hot-Spare Drives
If a physical disk should fail in the PowerVault MD3000 storage array, the lost data can be automatically reconstructed onto a hot spare drive using redundant data found on the surviving disks. When the failed disk is removed, a new physical drive can be inserted in its place, which is used as a new hot spare for other disks that might fail.