V7000 vs.

EMC VNX and Unity

Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

IBM Storwize V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity

KEY SELLING POINTS
The IBM Storwize V5000 offers a lower price per GB than the EMC VNX series and enables
greater flexibility through the Storwize V5030’s ability to virtualize external storage, utilize
IBM Real-time compression, and scale out to four controllers. The V5000 is designed for
customers focused on cost-effectiveness and growth potential.
The IBM Storwize V7000 is priced competitively with or lower than the VNX series. The
V7000 expands on the flexibility of the Storwize V5000 and provides excellent storage
efficiency through the IBM Real-time Compression option.
The Storwize V5000 and V7000 offer easier-to-use and more efficient management than the
VNX series. In addition, most IBM storage products share a common management
experience, which streamlines management across IBM platforms and software. Unity’s
new management interface does not currently integrate with VNX or other EMC products.
The Storwize V5030 and V7000 support the highly efficient, in-line IBM Real-time
Compression technology, which can greatly reduce capacity consumption and total
storage spend without compromising performance. Although the VNX series offers multiple
data reduction technologies, all of these come with significant performance degradation.
The EMC Unity series does not currently support compression or deduplication.

SUMMARY COMPARISON TABLE

IBM Storwize V5000 and V7000 EMC VNX and Unity Series

Hardware Based on SAS 3.0 and support up to four- (V5030) or Active/active, dual-controller SAS 2.0
eight-controller (V7000) clustering (VNX) or SAS 3.0 (Unity) architecture

Support multiprotocol connectivity via FC, FCoE, and Support multiprotocol connectivity via
iSCSI as well as direct attachment via FC and SAS adapters providing FC, FCoE, and iSCSI
(V5000)
Support unified configurations
V7000 supports unified (block and file) configurations through software (Unity) or via up to
via dual active/active File Modules per system eight VNX Data Movers (VNX)

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor
anagement Easy-to-use, intuitive GUI includes both block and file Unity GUI introduces easier
management management; Unisphere provides
device-level management and
IBM Spectrum Control is available for advanced
monitoring, and Unisphere Central
management, with an intuitive interface similar to
consolidates multisystem
the V5000 and V7000 and Spectrum per-TB pricing
management
models
ViPR provides a heterogeneous
storage management option but does
not offer a significant advantage over
the V5030 and V7000’s external
virtualization capability

ViPR SRM is available for advanced

management, but may raise cost due
to scope of functionality
Replication Support copy-on-write local block copy services and Support copy-on-write and redirect-
redirect-on-write file snapshots on-write (block only) local copy

Support synchronous (block only) and asynchronous services (VNX) or redirect-on-write

replication over FC and IP connections with WAN (Unity) as well as continuous data
optimization technology protection (CDP)

Include nondisruptive FC and SAS (V5000) data Support synchronous and

migration capability at no charge asynchronous replication over FC (VNX
and Unity) and iSCSI (VNX only)

Includes a storage migration option,

but it is disruptive.

Performance The V5030’s performance is backed up by a strong VNX SSD-based SPC-1 result based on
SPC-1 benchmark result and both the V5000 and an unrealistic configuration, and EMC
V7000 support clustering to extend their performance claims do not represent
performance potential typical configurations

Support Easy Tier for automated tiering in 16 MB to 8 Support FAST VP feature similar to
GB chunks Easy Tier and FAST Cache for flash-
based caching, but are available only
Support I/O governing to set IOPS or bandwidth limits
at extra cost
between specific hosts and volumes
Support Unisphere QoS Manager,
which can optimize for bandwidth- or
IOPS-centric workloads at the array
level

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor
Economics and The V5000 is priced lower than the V7000, but does In general, higher-end VNX models are
Value not feature as much capability or scalability priced comparably to the V7000 and
all VNX models are priced higher than
Full Feature bundle includes FlashCopy, Remote
the V5000
Mirroring, and, for the V5030 and V7000, Real-time
Compression in a single license Wide variety of software bundles
complicates VNX licensing
External storage virtualization can extend lifecycle of
existing systems VNX scalable NAS deployments may
require more than two Data Movers,
which increases cost

Features The V5030 and V7000 support virtualization of Several VNX and Unity models can be
external storage (up to 16 PB or 32 PB total) optimized for high-bandwidth, back-
end connectivity
Supports SAS protocol power management features
Support disk drive spin-down for
The V5020, V5030, and V7000 support a data-at-rest
power savings and controller-based
encryption option, and the V5030 and V7000 support
encryption
a native, in-line compression option, both with
hardware-based acceleration VNX supports multiple data reduction
options, but all have significant
performance overhead

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor
HARDWARE
 The EMC VNX5200, VNX5400, VNX5600, VNX5800, VNX7600, and VNX8000 are
active/active dual-controller systems based on SAS 2.0 technology. (EMC also offers the
VNX-F model, which is identical to the VNX7600, but the controller enclosures are
prepopulated with solid-state drives [SSDs].) VNX controllers each feature two to nine
adapter card slots and 16 GB to 128 GB of cache, depending on the model. VNX5400,
VNX5600, VNX5800, and VNX7600 controllers each feature two integrated SAS ports for
expansion attachments. Adapter card slots on these models provide both front- and back-
end connectivity.
 The EMC Unity 300/400/500/600 are active/active, dual controller systems based on SAS
3.0 technology. EMC also offers the Unity F series, which are all-flash array versions
prepopulated with SSDs. Unity controllers each feature integrated 10GbE host ports, up to
two adapter card slots, and 48-256 GB of cache, depending on the model. Unity
300/400/500/600 controllers each feature two integrated 12 Gb/s SAS ports for expansion
attachments.
 VNX and Unity expansion enclosures feature 15 LFF SAS drives in a 3U chassis, 25 SFF
SAS drives in a 2U chassis, 60 LFF SAS drives in a 4U chassis (VNX only), or 120 SFF
drives in a 3U chassis (VNX only). Unity 300/400/500/600, and
VNX5200/5400/5600/58007600 controller enclosures support 25 SFF SAS drives in a 3U
form factor (the 4U VNX8000 controller enclosure does not support drives). The VNX8000
supports up to 1,500 drives, and the Unity 600 supports up to 500 drives. Enclosures
support a variety of drive types, including 7,200 rpm LFF SAS drives, 10,000 rpm
LFF/SFF SAS drives, 15,000 rpm LFF SAS drives, and LFF/SFF SSDs. Combinations of
enclosure types are supported, and drives of the same form factor may be mixed within an
enclosure. For further details, see the Product-to-Product Feature Comparison Matrix at
the end of this document.
 VNX and Unity arrays feature either two (VNX5200), three (Unity series) four
(VNX5400), five (VNX5600, VNX5800, and VNX7600), or nine (VNX8000) adapter
card slots per controller. EMC offers four-port 8 Gb/s FC, four-port 16 Gb/s FC,
four-port GigE iSCSI, two-port 10GbE iSCSI, and two-port 10GbE FCoE adapters
for host port customization. For the VNX5600, VNX5800, VNX7600, and
VNX8000, EMC also offers four-port 6 Gb/s SAS (VNX) and four port 12 Gb/s
SAS (Unity) adapters . The VNX8000 must be configured with two such adapters
per controller. The VNX5600, VNX5800, and VNX7600 may be configured with a
SAS adapter for greater back-end bandwidth, but it is not required.
 VNX arrays can be configured with Data Movers, which enable NAS connectivity by
connecting to VNX controllers via four 8 Gb/s FC ports per Data Mover. Each Data Mover
supports up to 512 TB (VNX7600 and VNX8000) or 256 TB (other models) of file storage
and features a number of adapter slots and an amount of cache that varies by model.
VNX8000 Data Movers each feature 24 GB of memory and four host port expansion slots
for GigE or 10GbE ports. Data Movers are deployed in 2U enclosures that support two
Data Movers each. VNX systems with Data Movers must include one or two 1U Control
Stations, which monitor Data Movers and facilitate failover. The maximum number of Data
Movers supported varies by model. Up to eight Data Movers can be clustered together on
the VNX7600 and VNX8000. EMC Unity arrays support both block and file protocols.

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

 The VNX series supports a construct called a Virtual Data Mover (VDM), which is related
to the Data Mover described above. Customers should be aware that VDMs do not allow
the deployment of a unified VNX system without Data Movers (that is, without file-serving
hardware). VDMs are a logical construct for implementing security and management
isolation within Data Movers.

MANAGEMENT

 The EMC VNX and Unity series are managed through Unisphere, which provides a web-
based experience primarily for single-system management but through separate
versions of Unisphere. Users may also group VNX systems into a domain that can be
centrally managed. The Unisphere style is also implemented on other EMC products,
such as onSymmetrix arrays and other EMC software. For multisystem management, EMC
offers Unisphere Central (formerly Unisphere Remote), which centralizes monitoring across
VNXe and VNX arrays as well as XtremCache devices (see the Performance section). Users can
also deploy Unisphere central for multisystem management for EMC Unity appliances.
Administrators can launch Unisphere for individual arrays from the Unisphere Central console.
 For cloud environments, EMC offers an OpenStack Cinder driver for the VNX series. The
EMC Unity also supports a RESTful API. There is no indication that the VNX series
includes a native RESTful API, but EMC also offers the Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS)
Appliance to provide this functionality on VNX. However, this increases total cost and,
overall, EMC cannot match the completeness of IBM’s SmartCloud portfolio or IBM’s
expertise in delivering cloud solutions to customers.
 EMC also offers its ViPR software for heterogeneous device management, marketed as a
software-defined storage solution. When deployed for management consolidation, ViPR is
essentially an out-of-band platform that can provision, migrate, and monitor underlying
storage arrays. Although this may streamline many common tasks, administrators are still
required to properly configure storage using the management tools provided by the
system. ViPR may have an advantage over the Storwize V5000 and V7000 for specific
deployments because of some add-on data services and protocols, but the V5030's and
V7000’s external storage virtualization capability provides similar management
consolidation in addition to adding advanced features to virtualized storage systems.
 EMC Unity offers CloudIQ, a cloud analytics and monitoring application that provides
lightweight functionality that is accessible from the web or mobile devices. Although IBM
hasn’t introduced a cloud-based management platform, this functionality is more for
storage administrator convenience than for robust storage management.
 For advanced storage resource management, EMC primarily offers the ViPR Storage
Resource Management (SRM), which is an evolution of the former ProSphere,
Watch4Net, and Storage Configuration Advisor products. The product offers real-time
monitoring, reporting, analytics, capacity management, and change management with
integration points with VNX and Unity arrays. However, customers may not require the full
functionality of the software, which can result in higher than expected costs. By contrast,
the IBM Spectrum portfolio offers a better combination of ease-of-use and
comprehensiveness for midrange customers than that of ViPR SRM.

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

VIRTUALIZATION

 The EMC VNX and Unity series provide internal storage virtualization primarily through a
thin provisioning capability. In contrast, the Storwize V5000 and V7000 leverage software
code specifically designed for virtualization and feature rich functionality. Consequently,
the V5000's and V7000’s virtualization functions are more efficient, robust, and
comprehensive than those of the VNX series.
 The Storwize V5000's and V7000’s thin provisioning features a zero detection function in
which space is not allocated to a volume if an incoming host-write operation contains all
zeros. Zero detection implemented in this fashion proactively enhances capacity
utilization. The VNX series does not feature an automated zero detection capability but
does support manual reclamation of deleted files for VMware environments and API-
based reclamation for the Veritas File System (VxFS).
 The VNX and Unity series support integration points comparable to those available for
the Storwize V5000 and V7000, but VNX does not support VVols. EMC also offers the
EMC Storage Analytics, which plugs into vRealize Operations and provides performance
and capacity data within the VMware management framework.

COPY AND REPLICATION

 The EMC VNX series offers three local block copy options: SnapView, VNX Snapshots,
and RecoverPoint/SE CDP. These options provide snapshots (SnapView and VNX
Snapshots), clones (SnapView), and continuous data protection (RecoverPoint/SE CDP).
VNX Snapshots uses redirect-on-write logic, whereas SnapView uses copy-on-write.
RecoverPoint/SE CDP continuously logs I/O operations, allowing administrators to roll
back a protected volume to any point in time. However, RecoverPoint/SE requires two
appliances to implement and therefore increases cost and complexity.
 The VNX series supports SnapSure for file snapshots. The software supports up to 96
snapshots per file system and utilizes copy-on-write logic.
 The EMC Unity series offers extra-cost options for local point-in-time copy services: Unity
Snapshots, and RecoverPoint. These options provide redirect-on-write snapshots (Unity
Snapshots), and continuous data protection (RecoverPoint). Although customers may
desire the ability to replicate between VNX and Unity arrays, at this time, native replication
between VNX and Unity arrays is not supported.
 The VNX series offers two remote block replication options: MirrorView and
RecoverPoint/SE Continuous Remote Replication (CRR). Both of these options support
synchronous and asynchronous replication over FC and IP connections. Additionally,
RecoverPoint/SE supports dynamic switching between replication modes. However,
RecoverPoint/SE also requires physical or virtual appliances at both sites to implement
and therefore increases cost and complexity.

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

 The Unity series offers native synchronous block replication between two Unity systems
over FC connections, and snapshot-based, one-to-many or many-to-one asynchronous
periodic file and block replication over FC and iSCSI connections.
 The VNX series supports Replicator for asynchronous file replication. RecoverPoint/SE
can also be used to replicate file data asynchronously or synchronously, but it must do
so at the cabinet level, which means replication and recovery operations apply all file
systems as a whole, instead of individually. EMC recommends Replicator for file
replication because it supports file-system-level replication, which is a more practical
implementation.
 The VNX series includes SAN Copy, which is a storage migration function that can import
data from external EMC or certified third-party arrays. The EMC Unity supports SAN
Copy software, but only from VNX arrays to Unity. However, unlike the Storwize V7000,
the process is disruptive, interrupting host access. Additionally, the function cannot be
used to migrate data between external storage arrays.
 The Storwize V5000 and V7000 support application-consistent copies of Microsoft
software through integration with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). IBM
also offers IBM Spectrum Protect Snapshot, part of IBM Spectrum Protect, as a
comprehensive, application-aware copy solution. Active Cloud Engine on the V7000
Unified also integrates with IBM Spectrum Protect by supporting file migration to tape
storage. An additional option, IBM Spectrum Protect FastBack for Storwize V7000,
provides continuous data protection by replicating highly efficient, deduplicated
snapshots to a FastBack disaster recovery hub The VNX and Unity series support VSS
for application consistency. The EMC Replication Manager and AppSync, which is
positioned to replace Replication Manager, integrate with VNX and Unity copy services to
create application-consistent copies for a number of popular applications.

PERFORMANCE
 EMC does not provide performance indications for the VNX series that can be compared
to those for the Storwize V5000 and V7000. However, the VNX series implements a
dual- controller architecture that will limit its performance scalability and configuration
flexibility.
 In contrast to the modest performance claims that EMC offers with the Unity series
(300,000 IOPS), EMC claims that the VNX series can achieve an I/O rate of 1.1 million
IOPS. However, this claim is likely based on a VNX8000 configured with a considerable
amount of SSD storage, which is unlikely to be deployed by typical midrange customers.
Even so, customers with extreme performance demands that require multimillion IOPS
performance would find the performance characteristics and cost of an IBM FlashSystem
solution more appealing than a VNX system. FlashSystem products can be deployed in
combination with the Storwize V5000 and V7000 to automate the migration of data into
and out of the FlashSystem device. For more details on the FlashSystem, see the
FlashSystem section in Competitive Sales Tool.
 IBM has posted a strong SPC-1 benchmark result for the Storwize V5030, showcasing its
throughput using conventional disk drives. With a 240-drive configuration, the V5030 was
able to achieve 85,020 SPC-1 IOPS. The more powerful Storwize V7000 is more than
able to achieve even greater performance numbers. EMC has published an SPC-1

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

benchmark result for the VNX8000 with a significantly greater total SPC-1 result
compared to the all-SSD Storwize V7000 SPC-1 result. However, the VNX8000 was
tested with 100 GB SSDs, which customers no longer use and artificially lower cost, and
was configured with twice as many SSDs as the V7000, which artificially raises total
performance. Furthermore, the V7000 does not typically compete against the VNX8000 in
a dual-controller configuration and is more likely to be configured as a four-controller
system. SPC results are not available for the EMC Unity series.
 The VNX and Unity series offer an SSD caching option called FAST Cache. The option
allows users to configure up to 4.2 TB of SSDs as an extended controller read cache.
Blocks that are often accessed are copied into the FAST Cache (similar to FAST VP, but
data is copied rather than migrated). Users may optionally enable write caching for FAST
Cache, but only by disabling the DRAM write cache via write-through mode. It is
questionable whether such a configuration would result in a significant performance
increase except in very specific circumstances. Although the Storwize V5000 and V7000
support SSDs and automated tiering, they do not support a similar caching option.
 EMC offers the XtremCache and XtremSF to augment the performance of VNX arrays
with server-based flash storage. XtremCache configures a server-attached flash option,
such as the XtremSF product (formerly VFCache), as a read cache, which can improve
performance considerably for read-heavy workloads. Currently, the XtremCache
software integrates with Unisphere for VMAX and Unisphere Central, but not the VNX
version of Unisphere. However, ultimately, the decision to deploy server-based flash
storage is separate from storage array selection.
 The Storwize V5000 and V7000 offer a quality of service (QoS) function called I/O
governing that can limit I/O between specific hosts and volumes. I/O governing lets users
set upper load limits in terms of IOPS and MB/s, which can fix low-priority applications to a
stable level of performance while allowing high-priority workloads access to more system
resources. Unisphere QoS Manager on the VNX series can optimize the array for either
bandwidth- or IOPS-centric workloads, but does not allow users to set such explicit limits
on specific hosts.

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 V7000 vs. EMC VNX and Unity
Competitive Storage Sales Advisor

VENDOR-SUPPLIED PERFORMANCE INDICATIONS

Performance IBM Storwize Dell EMC Unity 600

V7000F
I/O Rate – Cache Reads 1,250,000 390,000
(IOPS)
I/O Rate – Disk Reads 360,000 Data unavailable
(IOPS)
I/O Rate – Disk Writes 110,000 Data unavailable
(IOPS)
Throughput – Disk 12,000 Data unavailable
Reads ( MB/s )
Throughput – Disk 5,200 Data unavailable
Writes ( MB/s )
 Note:
 -The Storwize V7000F performance data above is based on a dual-controller and 48SSD configuration.
 - No information and Dell EMC Unity configuration. IOPS. IOPS with 100% read and 8K block

ECONOMICS AND VALUE

 To reduce the overall cost of software, EMC offers commonly purchased extra-cost
software in packages. While these software packages can reduce the cost of VNX
software, the Storwize V5000 and V7000 offer simpler licensing via the Full
Feature bundle. The following package is available:
o VNX Software Essentials Pack – This package includes the following:
o FAST Suite – Includes FAST VP and FAST Cache.
o Events and Retention – Includes Event Enabler (with antivirus, quota management, and
auditing), file-level retention, and Host Encryption.
o Local Protection Suite – Includes SnapView, SnapSure, VNX Snapshot, and
RecoverPoint/SE CDP.
o Remote Protection Suite – Includes RecoverPoint/SE CRR, MirrorView, Replicator, and VPLEX-VE.
 The VNX series can scale up to three to eight Data Movers (depending on the model),
compared to the Storwize V7000 Unified’s two File Modules. However, for scalable
deployments, VNX systems require these additional Data Movers to enable more
usable capacity, which increases the cost of NAS support for the system. The Unity
series supports file serving natively.

 The Storwize V5000 is offered with both a one-year and three-year next-business-day
(NBD) onsite hardware support warranty. Each of these options includes a one-
yearsoftware warranty. Customers can reduce the cost of the system by choosing a shorter
warranty. The VNX and Unity series are offered with only a three-year NBD onsite hardware
support warranty, which limit customer options.
 The Storwize V7000 is offered with a three-year NBD onsite hardware support warranty
with one year of software warranty. The VNX and Unity series also offer a three-year NBD
onsite hardware support warranty, but do not offer as lengthy a software warranty. For
many customers, the longer software warranty can be a differentiating feature and reduce
support costs.

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