EqualLogic, Inc. was an American computer data storage company based in Nashua, New Hampshire, active from 2001 to 2007. In 2008, the company was merged into Dell Inc. Dell-branded EqualLogic products are iSCSI-based storage area network (SAN) systems. Dell has 3 different lines of SAN products: EqualLogic, Compellent and Dell PowerVault.
History EqualLogic was a company based in Nashua, New Hampshire. Formed in 2001 by Peter Hayden, Paul Koning, and Paula Long, it raised $52 million from investors between 2001 and 2004. The company was considering an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock-exchange, but accepted an offer from Dell in 2007, and was absorbed in late January 2008. The all-cash take-over transaction of $1.4 billion was the highest price paid for a company financed by venture investors at the time. At the time of acquisition, the company was backed by four venture capital investors: Charles River Ventures, TD Capital Ventures, Focus Ventures and Sigma Partners.XConomy Boston, Dell to buy EQLX for $ 1.4 billion, 5 November 2007. Visited: 1 March 2013
Architecture EqualLogic systems use iSCSI via either Gigabit Ethernet or 10 Gigabit Ethernet controllers. The now end of life (EOL) systems with connections are the PS4100, PS6100 and PS6200 while the comparable systems with Ethernet connections are PS4110, PS6110 and PS6210. There have been a number of previous generations, and as long as the software is updated on older systems they can work with the newer models. Within each series there are several options allowing for different types and sizes of hard disk drives or solid-state drives. EqualLogic options combine both in the same chassis and automatically migrate the most frequently accessed data to the SSDs. All PS series systems, except the PS-M4110 blade chassis system, are 19-inch rack systems in a 2 rack unit form factor or a 4 RU chassis for some of the PS61x0 models and the PS65x0 dense models.
EqualLogic Arrays can be combined with up to 16 arrays per group. Groups can mix different members, including multiple hardware generations, as well as different RAID types, in a group. By combining multiple arrays per group, very large storage groups can be created with maximum capacity in one group of over 1.5 PB. Arrays can be segmented into pools, and from pools, volumes. Volumes are exposed on a SAN network, and used by virtual machine hosts or other computers.
Controllers
Each array comes with two controllers, offering redundancy and load-balancing. A controller offers one or more data Ethernet interfaces for the iSCSI traffic and one management interface. A typical array has 2 or more iSCSI Ethernet interfaces and one management interface. The arrays with model PS XX00 have Gigabit Ethernet ports while the PS XX10 offer 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports for iSCSI traffic and a 10 Mbit/s / management port. Depending on the model the interfaces can be either copper-based Gigabit Ethernet or 10GBASE-T or fiber-optic interfaces using Small Form-factor Pluggable transceivers. Controllers can be readily identified by a combination of their "faceplate" profile and color.
Controller type Profile Color Disk interface and speed Network interface Management Associated modelsManufacturer's P/NDell P/N Type 1 SATA wide black SATA I at 3 x SFP (combo) 1 (shared) PS50E, PS100E, PS200E, PS300E, PS400E, PS100X70-0001 Type 2 SATA wide blue SATA II at 3 x SFP (combo) 1 (shared) PS50E, PS100E, PS200E, PS300E, PS400E, PS100X70-0011T946J / 0T946JType 3 SASnarrowblueSAS or SATA II at 3 x 1 (shared)PS3000 – PS500070-0101 Type 4 SAS narrow grey SAS at 3 x 0 PS3000 – PS500070-0111c Type 5 SATA narrow olive SATA II at 3 x 0 PS3000 – PS500070-0115Type 6 SATAnarrowgrey with brown stripeSATA3 x 1 (shared)PS5500 only70-0111a Type 7 SAS narrow light green SAS SATA SSD 4 x 0 PS6000 – PS650070-02025PM3C, RNPR1 Type 8 SAS narrow magenta SAS SATA 2 x 1 PS4000 only70-0120Type 9 SASnarrowyellowSAS SATA2 x 1 x 2nd generation PS400070-0210 Type 10 narrow orange SAS SATA SSD 2 x SFP+ 1 x PS6010 – PS651070-03000G9J5 Type 11 Wide light green SAS NL-SAS SSD 4 x 1 PS6100 Only70-04007V250, HRT01 Type 12 Wide magenta SAS NL-SAS 2 x 1000BASE-T 1 PS4100 OnlyNMJ7PType 13M-BladesilverSAS NL-SAS1 x KR / KR Pass-ThruPS-M41101KWXY, 01KWXY Type 14 Wide orange SAS NL-SAS SSD 1 x 1 x SFP+ 1 PS6110 Only61NCVType 15Widedark greySAS NL-SAS
SSD2 x 10GbE SFP+ / 2 x 1 x PS6210DCY2N, K7TXY Type 17 Wide yellow SAS
NL-SAS 1 x 1 x SFP+ 1 PS4110 OnlyX3J14, P0GJH YN3KR, Type 18WideMarine BlueSAS NL-SAS
SSD2 x 2 x 10GbE SFP+1 x PS6610T43HTType 19WideRedSAS NL-SAS
SSD2 x 2 x 10GbE SFP+1 x PS42103KKYP
Models
The flagship product of the EqualLogic line is the PS Series (formerly PeerStorage). Its current primary models are the PS4100, PS6100 and PS6500 with 1 Gb Ethernet and 10 Gb Ethernet model options. Within each "series" (i.e. 4100, 6100 and 6500) there are several sub-models that include specific disk configurations. The last generation systems are the PS4100 and PS6100 series systems which continue to be sold.
PS41x0 The PS4100 series consists of 4 rack-models and one PS-M4110 for placement in the Dell M1000e blade enclosure. This model is described separately below.
PS4000 rack models Model PS4100ETechnical specs PS4100E, visited 29 April 2013 PS4100KV3,5Technical specs PS4100KV3,5, visited 2 March 2013 PS4110ETechnical specs PS4110E, visited 2 March 2013 PS4110KV3,5Technical specs PS4110KV3,5, visited 2 March 2013height (RU) 2 RU 2 RU 2 RU 2 RU#HDD 12 12 12 12HDD type 7200 NL-SAS 15K SAS 7200 NL-SAS 15K SAScapacity minusing 12 TB12 x 1 TB 3.6 TB 6 x 600 GB 6 TB12 x 500 GB 3.6 TB 6 x 600 GBcapacity maxusing 36 TB 12 x 3 TB 7.2 TB 12 x 600 GB 36 TB 12 x 3 TB 7.2 TB 12 x 600 GB#controllers 2 2 2 2memory/ctrl (Gb) 4 4 4 4iSCSI portsper ctrl. 2 GbE 2 GbE 1 x 10GBaseT1 x 10 Gbit SFP+ 1 x 10GBaseT1 x 10 Gbit SFP+mgt portsper ctrl. 1 x 10/100Mbit 1 x 10/100Mbit 1 x 100 Mbit 1 x 100 MbitMax # volumes 256 256 256 256Snapshots/volume 128 128 128 128 Snapshots/group 2048 2048 2048 2048RAID levels 5,6,10,50 5,6,10,50 5,6,10,50 5,6,10,50 Max arrays/group up to 2 x PS4xxx arrays/group
PS61x0 The PS61x0 series consists of two main models: PS6100 and PS6110 for 1G or 10G iSCSI Ethernet ports on the controller. All arrays support RAID levels 6,10 and 50.
For the PS6100 series and PS6110 series there are 6 sub-models, based on the type of disks used:PS6100 series model overview, visited 2 March 2013PS6110 series model overview, visited 2 March 2013
Model PS61x0-E PS61x0-X PS61x0-XV PS61x0-S PS61x0-XS PS61x0-XV3,5 usage/type high-capacity balanced high-performance low latency automatedSSD tiering high performance&high capacity height (RU) 4 2 2 2 2 4 weight 45,36 25,4 25,4 24,5 24,5 44,45 max # disks/size 24x 3,5" 24x 2.5" 24 x 2,5" 24 x 2,5" 7 x 2,5SSD17 z 10K SAS 24 x 3,5" disk type 7200 NL-SAS 10K SAS 15K SAS SSD SSD/10K SAS 15K SAS min capacityusing 12 TB500 GB HDD 7,2 TB300 GB 3,5 TB 146 GB 9,6 TB400 GB SSD 13 TB7 x 400 GB SSD17 x 600 GB HDD 7,2 TB 12 x 600GB max capacityusing 72 TB3 TB HDD 21,6 TB900 GB 7,2 TB 300 GB 19,2 TB800 GB SSD 13 TBfixed capacity 14,4 TB 600 GB Power consumption 1080 W 700 W 700 W 700 W 700 W 1080 W
PS-M 4110 The PS-M 4110 is a SAN array in the form-factor of a dual 1/2 height blade-server and can be installed in the Dell M1000e blade-chassis. There are 4 models of this "datacenter in a box" solution where servers, storage and networking are all combined in one blade-enclosure
The SAN communicates with the blade servers in the chassis and/or external servers via Force10 MXL switches, PowerConnect M8024-K or Brocade based PC-M8428-K in the back of the enclosure. Also possible to use 10G Passthrough modules and external switches.Dell datasheet on EQLX PS-M4110, downloaded: 2 March 2013
PS-M 4110 blade SAN Model PS-M4110-E PS-M4110-X PS-M4110-XV PS-M4110-XS Usage Hi-capacity balanced perf/capacity high perf low latency Controllers 1 or 2 1 or 2 1 or 2 2 only Typical power 248,9 W 261 W 293,3 W 230,4 W Weight (Kg) 12,49 12,87 12,62 12,38 Disk drives 14 HDD 14 HDD 14 HDD 9 x 10K SAS& 5 x SSD Drive capacity 500 GBor 1 TB 600 GB900 GB 146 GB300 GB 600 GB HDD400 GB SSD Drive type 7,2k NL-SAS 10K SAS 15K SAS 10K SAS+SSD System capacity 7 - 14 TB 8,4-12.5 Tbit 2,5-4,2 TB 7.4 Tbit
PS6500 and PS6510 The PS65x0 series consists of in total 6 models scalable SAN solutions. As with the other series the PS6500 is using Gigabit Ethernet NICs and the PS6510 offers SFP+ interfaces.Dell website on PS-65x0 series, visited 2 March 2013
PS 65x0 SAN Model PS6500-E/P6510-E PS6500-ES/PS6510-ESPS6500-ES/PS6510-ES specifications, visited 2 March 2013 PS6500-X/PS6510-XTechnical specification 65x0-X, visited 2 March 2013 Intended Usage High density High Performance Mixed Use Height (Rack Units) 4 4 4 Weight LB(Kg) up to 165(74.8) up to 165(74.8) up to 165(74.8) Power consumption 1000-1030 VA1400 VA Peak 1000-1030 VA1400 VA Peak 1000-1030 VA1400 VA Peak Heat dispensation 3400 BTU max 3400 BTU 3400 BTU Drive Bays 48 7 SSD + 41 HDD 48 Drive Options 1TB SATA2TB SATA3 TB NL-SAS 7 x 400 Gb SSD& 41 x 2 TB NL-SAS 600 GB-SAS900 GB SAS Drive Speed 7200 RPM SSD & 7200 RPM SAS 10K RPM RAW Capacity 48 TB(1TB Drives)96 TB(2TB Drives)144 TB(3TB Drives) 84.8 TB 28.9 TB (600GB Drives43.2 TB (900GB Drives)
FS7500 / FS7600 Dell Fluid File System is available in combination with an EQLX array for the storage. FluidFS is also delivered in combination with Compellent and PowerVault SAN systems. Both the FS7500 and FS7600 NAS using EQLX SAN offers a maximum system site of 509 TB. The FS7600 is the 2nd generation system which is also available using 10G iSCSI speeds between the FS controller and the storage backboneDell EQLX website on FS7600 NAS systems
References