On the virtualization side they added support for Hyper-V servers and are integrated into VMware's vStorage initiative. They have also added their own SAN Headquarters which monitors performance of multiple PS series groups.

The part of the conversation that caught my attention the most was their announcement that they were going to offer an SSD array, the PS6000S that can be a member of the storage group. "How dare EqualLogic shackle SSD with iSCSI!", was my first thought. If you think about it however each PS does have four 1GbE connections into the network and Dell was quick to admit that they are not promising to max out the capabilities of SSD with these systems. They are positioning the PS6000S as a performance upgrade to their previous performance option, SAS drives, as well as a compelling economics case, possibly 1/3 the $/GB of competing solutions.

At the application side my suggestion would be to see this performance increase you will have to multi-stream multiple application servers to the unit via multiple 1GbE connections to really push the storage. Theoretically you could put a 10GbE card in the application server and with multiple 1GB connections the EqualLogic box may be able to take advantage of the faster transfer. That is something that we need to examine more.

Right now, thanks in large part to the HP handling of its LeftHand purchase EqualLogic is running nearly unabated through the potential iSCSI market, claiming 35% market share. That is going to change in the near future as both NexSan and ONStor have recently brought to market alternatives for customers looking for mid range storage solutions based on iSCSI.

As we discussed in our protocol choices article, there are more options than ever for today's storage administrators; that is always good. Making the right protocol choice in not just a function of what that protocol does for you but also what the storage that uses that protocol does for you. Both have to be considered.