Dell PowerVault NX Now Available with Windows Storage Server 2012 R2!

Hi Folks –

I’m pleased to announce that Dell is now offering Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 on its PowerVault NX Windows NAS Series. PowerVault NX Windows NAS Series appliances come in three base models—all based on 12^th generation Dell PowerEdge hardware.

Key specs on the NX3200 include:

• Dual-socket, 2U rack mount NAS server
• Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family
• Up to 32GB memory
• SATA, NL-SAS, or SAS drive options
• Up to 12 hot-swap 3.5” drives for data; two 2.5” drives for OS
• Up to 48TB raw capacity when using 4TB NL-SAS drives

2) PowerVault NX3300– a 1U gateway appliance based on Dell’s PowerEdge R620 rack server. Two NX3300s are typically deployed as a clustered frontend to a Dell Compellent, EqualLogic or PowerVault MD3 primary storage array—ideal for large companies that require high capacity and availability.

Key specs on the NX3300 include:

• Dual-socket, 1U rack mount NAS server and gateway
• Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family
• Up to 32GB memory
• Two or four hot-swap 2.5” NL-SAS or SAS drives for the operating system (depending on the level of redundancy desired)

Key specs on the NX400 include:

• Single-socket, 1U rack mount NAS server
• Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family
• Up to 16GB memory
• Up to four hot-swap 3.5” NL-SAS or SAS drives for data and OS (OS partition is 120GB)
• Up to 16TB raw capacity
• The NX3200 and NX3300 ship with Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard preinstalled, and the NX400 comes with either Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard or Workgroup

Easily Expandable, Highly Functional and Versatile

All three PowerVault NX Windows NAS Series models can be easily expanded. Options include:

• Dell PowerVault RBOD and JBOD expansion arrays (for the NX400 and NX3200)
• Dell Compellent, EqualLogic, and PowerVault MD3 expansion arrays (for the NX3300)
  

To help you understand how its PowerVault NX models can be deployed and expanded, Dell created this PowerVault NX Windows NAS Series Configuration Guide. It provides recommended deployment models and accompanying diagrams for small and midsized businesses, large businesses, and remote/branch office scenarios. The guide also provides a list of recommended solution components for each deployment scenario—including client-side switches, SAN switches, host bus adapters (HBAs), and external expansion arrays. Finally, it includes full specifications on each model.

Note how the solution employs several built-in features in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard to deliver a highly functional, robust, and efficient solution:

• SMB file services for Windows client I/O, as well as for SMB 3.0 application I/O.
• NFS file services for supporting Mac and Linux clients.
• Microsoft iSCSI Software Target for iSCSI block I/O.
• Storage Spaces for storage virtualization. (Read more about Dell’s support for Storage Spaces in Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 here and here. Dell also recently published a white paper: Deploying Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces on Dell PowerVault MD1200 and 1220.)
• BranchCache and DFS Replication for synchronization with the main data center.
• Data Deduplication to reduce the amount of physical disk space required. (Up to a 50 percent reduction for general file shares and up to 90 percent for VHD libraries!)
• Work Folders, which gives users bring-your-own-device (BYOD) remote access to files on a company file server while allowing organizations to maintain control over that data.

Additional Resources

Of course, there’s a lot more great new features and functionality in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 than the above. If you’re interested in learning more about all the new storage-related innovations in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 (and by extension, in Windows Server 2012 R2), here are some additional resources.

• My Favorite 10 New Storage Features in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 (blog article)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage (whitepaper)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 File and Storage Services Overview (TechNet)

Finally, you may also want to check out this blog post by Oliver Kaven, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Dell's Enterprise Storage Group. In it, he discusses several of what he considers to be the “most notable” new and improved features in Windows Storage Server 2012 R2.

Closing Thoughts

Dell remains a leader in bringing all the new storage innovations from Microsoft to its customer base. I urge you to check out the PowerVault NX Windows NAS Series, which, as Dell puts it, “combines the simplicity of Windows Server together with the power of Dell hardware—all in a ready-to-deploy NAS appliance.”

Cheers,
Scott M. Johnson
Senior Program Manager
Windows Storage Server
@supersquatchy