Dell PowerVault MD1120 Storage Array

Description

The Dell PowerVault MD1120 storage array is designed to maximize capacity and application performance in the ninth generation and later PowerEdge servers. A single enclosure supports up to 24 drives and 3.5TB of data, but can be expanded to support up to 144 drives and 21TB of data. Power consumption is kept to a minimum with the enclosure’s small form factor drives and energy-efficient power supplies. Serviceability is stress-free with the enclosure’s hot-swappable drives with LED lights to indicate drive status.

Storage

• This storage array uses small form factor drives, which consume half the amount of power and take up to 70% less space than large form factor drives. A maximum of 24 SAS drives are connected via a 3Gb/s SAS interface. All drives are hot-swappable to keep the system up and running when drives need to be replaced or upgraded. The Dell MD1120 supports up to 3.5TB in a 2U chassis when using 146GB drives in all 24 drive bays. For I/O intensive applications, six of these enclosures can be daisy-chained together to support up to 144 drives and 21TB of data. The dual port Dell PowerEdge RAID controller (PERC) supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 to allow administrators to create the optimal storage environment for their data needs. In addition to using power-saving small form factor drives, this enclosure uses high-efficiency power supplies and temperature-controlled fans to further reduce operational costs.

Management

The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator documentation provides information on managing your storage solution using the storage management service within the server administrator. With this software, server managers have an integrated graphical view and command line interface for both online configuration and management for both internal storage and externally attached storage. The system also has two enclosure management modules (EMM) that provides a data path and functions for the enclosure. EMM monitors and controls the system’s environment elements like temperature, power supply, and fans.

Summary

The Dell PowerVault MD1120 storage array increases application performance and capacity in Dell PowerEdge servers. The enclosure’s 24 SFF drives provide up to 3.5TB of data and consume half the amount of power than large form drives. Power consumption is further reduced with the system’s high-efficiency power supplies and temperature controlled fans. Dell’s PERC 6/E dual-port controller allows administrators to connect up to three enclosures in a redundant path for mission-critical applications, or to expand this enclosure to its full direct attached storage (DAS) capacity, administrators can daisy-chain up to six enclosures together in a single path.