Dell PowerStore 1200T Storage

Dell PowerStore 1200T is an NVMe-based All-Flash enterprise storage system designed to concurrently run Block, File, VMware vVols, and Container workloads. This model uses two nodes with an Active/Active architecture, four Intel Xeon processors with a total of 40 cores at 2.4 GHz, and 384 GB of DRAM. The all-NVMe architecture and dual-ported SSDs make PowerStore 1200T suitable for infrastructures requiring high performance and low latency.

In terms of capacity, PowerStore 1200T supports expansion up to 93 drives per appliance and up to 5.90 PB of effective capacity. By connecting up to four appliances in a cluster, the aggregate effective capacity reaches 23.60 PBe. These effective capacity figures are calculated based on an average 5:1 data reduction ratio and tolerance for two simultaneous drive failures; actual capacity depends on the data type and environmental conditions.

In the storage section, the 1200T model supports NVMe TLC drives with capacities of 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, and 15.36 TB. The base system is delivered in a 2U chassis, and up to three ENS24 expansion enclosures can be added, each with 24 NVMe drives.

In terms of connectivity, this storage covers a full range of common data center technologies, including 32 Gb Fibre Channel, 10/25GbE, 100GbE, iSCSI, NVMe/FC, and NVMe/TCP. PowerStore 1200T can support up to 16 FC ports at 16/32 Gb, up to 24 10/25GbE ports, and up to 8 100GbE/iSCSI ports. Backend connectivity is provided via 100GbE QSFP.

In the data management layer, capabilities such as Thin Provisioning, Thin Clones, Deduplication, Compression, Zero Detect, and Dynamic Resiliency Engine are available to storage administrators. The system also supports Snapshot, Immutable & Secure Snapshot, and File Level Retention.

PowerStore 1200T also offers numerous capabilities for Disaster Recovery scenarios, from synchronous and asynchronous Block and File replication to Metro Synchronous Replication and direct connection to PowerProtect Data Domain. Native migration is also supported for certain Dell arrays, including Unity, Unity XT, PS Series, SC Series, VNX2, VMAX3, and XtremIO, as well as some third-party arrays.

In terms of security, all drives in this platform are SED type, and capabilities such as Data-at-Rest Encryption, external key management via KMIP, multi-factor authentication, Immutable/Secure Snapshots, Multiparty Authorization, and FIPS 140-2/140-3 Level 2 are offered as options. PowerStoreOS 3.5 also provides additional security and hardening capabilities.

For virtualization and cloud-native environments, PowerStore 1200T integrates with VMware VAAI/VASA, vVols 2.0, VMware SRM, VSI, vRO Plugin, CSI Plugin, Ansible, Terraform, and OpenStack Cinder.

Dell PowerStore 1200T Hardware Architecture

PowerStore 1200T uses two nodes with Active/Active controllers; therefore, both controllers participate simultaneously in processing I/O requests. Along with the all-NVMe design, this architecture is designed to deliver consistent performance and low latency for enterprise workloads.

This model uses four Intel Xeon processors with 40 cores at 2.4 GHz and a total of 384 GB of memory. PowerStore 1200T also supports up to 93 drives and uses Dynamic Resiliency Engine to protect against simultaneous failure of multiple drives.

NVMe Storage and Scalable Capacity

PowerStore 1200T supports NVMe SSDs and enables organizations to select different SSD capacities according to project requirements. NVMe TLC drives with capacities of 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, and 15.36 TB are listed in the product datasheet.

The effective capacity of PowerStore 1200T in a single appliance can reach up to 5.90 PBe. In addition, up to four appliances can be placed in a cluster, and the cluster effective capacity reaches 23.60 PBe. This capacity is calculated based on the assumption of an average 5:1 data reduction and tolerance of two drive failures; the actual value depends on the data type and working environment.

Server and Storage Network Connectivity

Dell PowerStore 1200T supports a diverse range of storage interfaces and protocols for connecting to network and server infrastructure.

Connectivity options for this product include:

• Fibre Channel up to 32 Gb/s
• 10GbE and 25GbE
• 10GBASE-T
• 100GbE
• iSCSI
• NVMe over Fibre Channel
• NVMe over TCP

This connectivity diversity enables PowerStore 1200T to be used in various Storage Network and SAN architectures.

In the Block protocol section, PowerStore 1200T supports FC, NVMe/FC, iSCSI, and NVMe/TCP, and the same set of protocols can be used for VMware vVols environments. In the File section, NFS and SMB are supported in various versions.

Data Reduction and Optimal Capacity Utilization

PowerStore 1200T benefits from various Data Reduction capabilities, including Deduplication, Compression, and Zero Detect. These capabilities help reduce the space consumed by data and make better use of physical storage capacity.

The capacity stated for PowerStore is calculated based on effective capacity; therefore, when designing a real solution, the raw capacity of the drives, the workload type, and the actual Data Reduction rate must be considered together.

Data Protection and Security

PowerStore 1200T provides organizations with a set of security and data protection capabilities. All supported drives in this platform are Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs), and options with FIPS 140-2 or FIPS 140-3 Level 2 validation are also available.

Other security capabilities of PowerStore 1200T include:

• Data at Rest Encryption or D@RE
• Immutable and Secure Snapshot
• Multi-Factor Authentication
• Multiparty Authorization
• Key management via KMIP
• TLS 1.3 support
• IPv6 support
• STIG security capabilities in supported PowerStoreOS versions

These capabilities can be used for environments where information protection and data access control are of high importance.

Replication and Disaster Recovery

One of the important capabilities of PowerStore 1200T is support for various Data Protection and Replication features. This product supports synchronous and asynchronous replication for Block and replication capabilities for File and VMware vVols environments.

Also, Native Metro Synchronous Replication and the ability to use a Third-Site Witness for certain File Replication scenarios are included in PowerStore software capabilities.

Alongside Replication, features such as Snapshot, Thin Clone, Immutable & Secure Snapshot, and File Level Retention are also available for data protection and recovery.

Suitable for VMware, Containers, and Virtualized Environments

PowerStore 1200T is also designed for use in virtualization and container environments. This platform supports VMware vSphere and capabilities such as VAAI and VASA, and offers various tools and integrations for storage management in virtualized environments.

Also, Container Storage Interface (CSI) Plugin, OpenStack Cinder Driver, Ansible Module, and Terraform Provider are among the integrations available in the PowerStore ecosystem.

Management and Automation

PowerStore 1200T management is performed through PowerStore Manager, providing infrastructure administrators with various management and monitoring capabilities.

Infrastructure Observability, Quality of Service, Capacity Accounting, File performance analysis, and Proactive Assist capabilities are among the management features of this platform.

Also, the presence of REST API enables management and integration of PowerStore with various software tools and frameworks.

Rack Design and Physical Specifications

PowerStore 1200T is offered in a 2U chassis. The chassis dimensions are approximately 8.72 × 44.72 × 79.55 cm, and the device weight is stated as approximately 35.8 kg empty and approximately 41.7 kg fully populated.

For PowerStore 1200T input power, 200 to 240 VAC voltage and 47 to 63 Hz frequency are specified. Power consumption also depends on the device configuration and operating conditions.

Summary

Dell PowerStore 1200T is an NVMe-based All-Flash enterprise storage array that delivers a set of capabilities required for modern storage infrastructures in an integrated platform. The Active/Active architecture, Intel Xeon processors, NVMe support, scalable capacity, Data Reduction, security capabilities, Snapshot and Replication, and integration with VMware and container environments make this product suitable for use in data centers and enterprise infrastructures.

The selection of capacity and final configuration of PowerStore 1200T should be based on the workload type, required capacity, drive type, connectivity protocol, data protection level, and future expansion requirements of the organization.