Dell PowerVault MD3220i

Dell PowerVault MD3220i

The Dell PowerVault MD3220i is an Ethernet-based Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Storage Area Network (SAN) storage array. The use of Ethernet-based hardware provides the MD3220i with significant advantages in terms of cost efficiency and availability, as well as lower complexity and higher familiarity over other options such as Fibre Channel (FC), resulting in less time and money spent on training your IT professionals. Additional advantages that the Dell MD3220i offers over previous generations of Dell storage arrays include increased cache sizes, going so far as up to 2 Gigabytes (GB) per controller, as well as 4 iSCSI ports per controller, vastly improving the throughput by up to 50%. Another advancement that the PowerVault MD3220i has made is certification for use with virtualization software offered by well-known companies such as VMware, Citrix and Microsoft, making them ideal for use in virtualized application and virtual server environments.

Offering exceptional performance in enterprise environments, the Dell PowerVault MD3220i is equipped with features such as Solid State Drive (SSD) support in order to optimize the MD3220i to meet high demand I/O applications, and the advanced management technology of MD Storage Manager, which allows for a single management interface. The MD 3220i storage array also provides high flexibility and scalability, proven time and again through various features. Some of the features providing flexibility include the option of single or dual controllers, the option of one of two management paths provided by the MD Storage Manager, and the ability to mix and match drive types and sizes such as 2.5 and 3.5 inch drives. Examples of features offering scalability include the ability to support up to 32 physical servers on one virtual server by means of one or more 1 (Gigabit Ethernet) GbE switches, as well as the ability to scale up to 96 hard disk drives (HDD) by means of PowerVault storage expansion enclosures such as the MD1200 and the MD1220.