EMC Updates Hardware Line, NAS Appliances

"We believe this is the most comprehensive product launch in EMC's history," said Chuck Hollis, vice president of platforms marketing at the Hopkinton, Mass., vendor.

EMC has doubled its enterprise-class Symmetrix DMX-2 array performance with new PowerPC processors, larger cache memory, support for 15,000-rpm hard drives, and new RAID 5 capabilities, Hollis said.

The company also is introducing three new Clariion midrange arrays expected to eventually replace the three current models. The Clariion CX300 will replace the CX200 and bumps up performance by about 25 percent. The CX500 will replace the CX400 and offers double the older unit's performance and capacity. And the CX700 offers a 33 percent increase in performance over the CX600, which it will eventually replace, according to Hollis.

The new Clariion arrays, which are EMC's main channel-oriented products, will be priced the same as the older models. Previously installed Clariions can be field-upgraded to the newest models as well, Hollis said.

EMC also is replacing its NS600 series of NAS appliances with the NS700 series, he said. Among the new line is the NS700G, which has a NAS controller that can be separated from its integrated storage and connected to a SAN to allow NAS data to be managed on that SAN.

Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider, said EMC is executing incredibly well on both the channel and product sides.

"I don't see them as a storage company anymore," he said. "They're more like a mini-IBM. They're not winning just because they hold the customer captive."