Today, VCE announced new additions to their Vblock converged infrastructure product line. The offerings announced include the Vblock Model 340, two new specialized configurations for high-IO workloads, and version 2.5 the VCE Vision Intelligent Operations management software.
Vblock Model 340
The Vblock Model 340 is based upon the latest generation of the VNX storage platform, the newest Cisco UCS M2.2, and VMware vSphere 5.5. By using a combination of the multiple cores in the Cisco UCS blades, the multiple cores in the VNX MCx, and new features of vSphere 5.5, the 340 offers great increases in capacity, performance, and maximum number of VMs over the Model 320.
The Model 340 can be configured with either the VNX5400, VNX5600, VNX5800, VNX7600, or the monster-sized VNX8000 as its storage system.
Vblock Specialized Systems
VCE also announced two specific-workload-targeted Vblock configurations that they’re calling Vblock Specialized Systems:
- Vblock Specialized System for High-Performance Databases
- Vblock Specialized System for Extreme Applications
The High-Performance Database system is intended for “the largest, most demanding database deployments” and is clearly targeted for Oracle. This configuration employs SSDs in the VNX and adds the EMC XtremSW Cache software.
The Extreme Applications system was “created to meet the needs of the most latency-sensitive environments” and is intended for virtual desktop environments. In a departure from other Vblock systems, this configuration will use EMC’s all-flash XtremIO array.
This is particularly interesting as the XtremIO array is not yet in General Availability from EMC, but is instead has a “directed availability” status. In Directed Availability, a product is available in a controlled roll-out — think of it as a step after the completion of beta testing but before a general release.
If VCE is ready to roll XtremIO out in production Vblocks, I anticipate a general availability announcement from EMC real soon now.
VCE Vision Intelligent Operations 2.5
VCE Vision Intelligent Operations is the whole-Vblock management/monitoring software that VCE introduced in February of this year. It allowed for the auto-discovery of Vblocks and their components, and reporting on the configuration and health of the various pieces. The new version adds three main new features.
The first is an expanded API. This allows for Vision to support full discovery of Vblock systems through the VMware vCenter Operations Suite, full integration with vCenter Log Insight, and future integration with third-party monitoring and management platforms.
Second is an expanded capabilities and configurable options around role based administration. This will make future integration with other management software easier and given administrators more options.
Lastly, Vision adds remediation options. In the previous version, Vision could report on the software version and security compliance of all elements of the Vblock. This new release gives Vision the ability to do something about it by adding automatic system update options.
Availability
These Vblock Models 340 is available now. The Vblock Specialized Systems will be orderable in Q4 and will ship in Q4.
