Dell on Wednesday launched two dedicated virtualization servers, the PowerEdge R805 and R905. The PowerEdge R805 offers twice the memory and input/output capacity of Dell’s previous generation of two-socket servers. The Dell PowerEdge R900 and R905 can deliver four-socket virtualization.
Dell is offering a choice of VMware ESXi 3.5 or Citrix XenServer Dell Express Edition integrated hypervisors. With either option, Dell said the PowerEdge R805 and R905 are optimal for virtualized environments.
“Virtualization is quickly moving beyond hypervisors and hardware consolidation,” said Rick Becker, Dell vice president of software and solutions. “Enterprises are looking for a broad array of servers, storage and services designed specifically for virtualized environments.”
Rapid Redeployment
Dell says its virtualization performance is higher and the cost is lower than the HP ProLiant DL580 G5, the IBM System x3850, and the Sun Fire X44501. Dell’s competitors could not immediately be reached for comment.
On the storage front, Dell EqualLogic storage arrays offer new SAN-aware integration with VMware Site Recovery Manager for data protection and disaster recovery for virtualized environments. Meanwhile, Dell and Egenera are making virtualization and data-center automation a reality beyond the blade chassis.
The Dell PAN system aims to deliver rapid provisioning and redeployment in minutes, not weeks, Dell said. The PAN system is built on PowerEdge 1950 and 2950 servers and Dell/EMC storage, with Citrix XenServer. The system is factory integrated to consolidate and virtualize server resources into an entire Processor Area Network to be managed like hard drives in a SAN.
Dell has also expanded its virtualization services to include a simplification workshop, virtualization operational assessment of virtualized environments, a virtualization health check, and ProSupport Remote Advisory Services, among others, through its Dell Global Infrastructure Consulting Services group.
Meeting Challenges
Dell’s new solutions and services demonstrate how one company is approaching virtualization challenges, according to Charles King, a…