When it comes to storage innovation, our policy is to never rest on past accomplishments, even when things are going spectacularly well for our customers.
That’s why I’m so pleased to announce the launch of SCOS 7.4, the newest firmware update for SC Series arrays – and a worthy successor to last year’s acclaimed 7.3 release. 7.4 makes an already full-featured platform even more robust with new usability, ecosystem and workload performance advantages.
Welcome to the next stage of SC innovation
SCOS 7.4 and its accompanying management update, DSM 19.1, are available today as a no-charge, non-disruptive upgrade for customers with current support contracts. New capabilities include:
- Easier resource prioritization across SC Series federations – Replication QoS policy “cloning” minimizes error and saves hours of configuration in large deployments, while giving you full control over bandwidth utilization between arrays during replication or when using our popular Live Migrate or Live Volume features.
- Improved security administration – Enhanced tools for managing SSL certificates and LDAP groups save even more time and cost, enabling larger secure admin environments, and reducing the likelihood and impact of data breaches.
- Key OS and app integrations – New software- and system-level support leverages Dell’s deep partnerships with Microsoft, VMware and others to ensure SC solutions complement and enrich the ecosystems customers depend on.
- Enhanced “out of box” experience – Now faster than ever, web-based setup lets you execute an entire SC array installation in minutes from your mobile device, expanding on management capabilities enabled previously by both Unisphere for SC and CloudIQ.
Building on last year’s improvements
SCOS 7.4 also provides a significant performance boost, above and beyond the large gains posted with 7.3. Application-specific test results show up to a 43% increase in SQL transactions per second and a 31% increase in low-latency VMs supported for VDI.[1]
Every array in the SC lineup gets more speed with SCOS 7.4, but SC7020 gets an extra helping, thanks to more efficient utilization of that model’s dual processor architecture. On hybrid or all-flash SC7020 arrays, the new firmware provides a 40% increase in mixed workload IOPS[2], confirming SC7020’s powerhouse status near the upper end of the SC portfolio. Our large install base of legacy SC8000 customers now has multiple high-performance, high-capacity upgrade paths, with SC9000, SC7020 and SC7020F all providing excellent options for a tech refresh.
Smart choice for a changing technology landscape
We know you have a lot on your mind. With application development, software upgrades and a dozen other things competing for your limited time and IT budget, every dollar you spend must pay off today and tomorrow, without requiring you to step back with frequent re-plans.
That’s why we pack so much headroom into our SC solutions. Whether it’s extra performance to accommodate unforeseen workloads, intelligent federation that rebalances your environment as it evolves, or a host of other forward-thinking capabilities, we’re building in flexibility to take you wherever you need to go – at a cost that won’t erode long-term ROI. Future-proof design is in our DNA. It’s what keeps customers coming back for solutions that outlast multiple product cycles elsewhere in the datacenter.
Other storage providers may wait to hear, “what have you done for me lately?” — but at Dell, we prefer to answer the question before it’s asked. SCOS 7.4 is just the latest proof of our tireless commitment to enable ongoing workload and business success for our SC customers.
For more about SC Series arrays, including application-specific reference architectures and solution guides, see the SC Series Technical Documents page.
[1] Based on internal tests performed by Dell in July 2019 on a SC7020 array running TPC-C like workloads (75% reads, 8K sector transfer size) with 7.4 vs. 7.3 firmware. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.
[2] Based on internal tests performed by Dell in June 2019 on all-flash configurations running OLTP type workloads on 7.4 vs. 7.3 firmware with 80% reads, 20% writes and 4k sector transfer size. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.