Dell bolsters virtualization, data center portfolio

This is a guest post from Larry Dignan of TechRepublic’s sister site ZDNet. You can follow Larry on his ZDNet blog Between the Lines, or subscribe to the RSS feed. 

Dell on Wednesday said it has revamped its enterprise portfolio with data center and virtualization services, new configurations and a new PowerEdge server and EqualLogic storage array.

The lineup, designed for high performance computing and virtualized data centers, includes the following:

• Pre-configured infrastructure that bundles Dell PowerEdge M-series blades, EqualLogic storage and Cisco’s Catalyst switches. Integration with VMware vSphere 4, a data center operating system, and Novell’s Platespin are included. A small to medium sized business configuration includes a bundle with Dell servers, Symantec backup and Microsoft’s virtualization suite.
• Virtualization consulting services: Dell via its ProConsult efforts aims to use surveys, best practices and reference architecture to speed up the design process. The services touch on planning, disaster recovery and data management.
• Support for the latest hypervisors from VMware, Citrix and Microsoft.
• A management software overhaul for easier virtualization management and remote reporting and monitoring.
• A EqualLogic PS4000 storage array and PowerVault NX3000 network attached storage device for SMBs.
• A beefed up PowerEdge T410 and T710 tower servers and R410 rack server that runs on Intel Xeon 5500 processors.