Dell PowerVault NX3500 Technical Manual

Also see for PowerVault NX3500: Manual Setting up Getting started Administrator's guide Hardware owner's manual

Contents

Dell PowerVault NX3500 Technical Manual Manual pdf 8 page image

Transition Guide for PowerVault MD3200i and MD3220i Series Arrays66. ControllersIn the clustered solution, each PowerVault NX3500 controller has twoconnections to the client network: two connections to the storage areanetwork and two controller back-to-back connections for the cluster'sinternal network. Each controller is protected by a backup powersupply (BPS), which protects data during power failure.PowerVault NX3500 software, installed on each of the controllers,consists of an operating system, volume management, Dell ScalableFile System, and Dell’s advanced clustering technology. A virtual IPaddress provides access to the PowerVault NX3500 system.The PowerVault NX3500 is equipped with a built-in traffic loadbalancing mechanism. Read/write operations are handled throughmirrored Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). Cache data is mirrored betweenthe paired NAS controllers. This assures a quick response to clients'requests while maintaining data integrity. Data from the cache topermanent storage is transferred asynchronously according to a varietyof optimized data-placement schemes.7. CacheEach controller is equipped with 12 GB of RAM, most of which is usedfor caching to boost performance. Writing or modifying files occurs firstin the cache. Data is then mirrored to the peer controller’s cache. Thisfeature ensures that all transactions are duplicated and secured.8. Backup Power SupplyEach controller receives its power from a dedicated BPS and from thepower grid. The BPS has sufficient battery power to allow thecontroller to execute orderly shutdown, thus enabling the cache to beused as NVRAM. Each controller regularly monitors the BPS batterystatus and requires the BPS to maintain a minimum level of charge fornormal operation.9. PowerVault NX3500 Software ToolsThe PowerVault NX3500 solution includes configuration andmanagement tools, as well as snapshot and replication software.Configuration and management of the PowerVault NX3500 solution usesthe following three tools:PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) handles blockstorage configuration and management, including the provisioning ofMD3xx0i storage for NAS.PowerVault NAS Configuration Utility (NASCU) guides you throughnetwork configuration and pairing the PowerVault NX3500 NAScontrollers together. It will also start the process of pairing the system