Dell has launched an all-in-one SME server – a four-CPU unit that includes storage and networking in one case, and can fit into a regular office environment.
Brad Pulford, director: enterprise solutions group at Dell, says the launch is a step on the company’s transformation journey, with a focus on helping customers cope with changing environments.
He says all customers are experiencing challenges as issues like social networking, cloud computing, big data, mobility and always-on take off. Meanwhile, the mid-market customer is often neglected.
The new VRTX server is the first integrated IT solution designed specifically for office environments, he adds, offering efficiency, simplicity and versatility.
With both networking and storage integrated at the fabric layer, the VRTX is much simpler and easier to deploy.
Kobus de Beer, enterprise marketing manager at Dell, says there are about 23-million offices around the world that could benefit from a server like the VRTX.
In the South African context, he says there are about 3 000 large companies with remote and branch offices, and about 30 000 SMEs.
“On average today, a remote office has 2,4 servers, an eternal storage device, a network switch and multiple management consoles – with little or no it staff,” he says, adding that these could all be replaced with one VRTX unit.
The VRTX carries up to four PowerEdge M-Series blade servers, either 25 2,5-inch or 12 3,5-inch disks; shared DVD, eight external PCIe slots, remote management ports, hot plug blowers and eight 8 RJ46 NIC ports.
The unit ships with OpenManage Essentials, which is built into the Chassis Management Controller (CMC) which allows users to manage up to nine chassis from one console.
The VRTX can be configured according to individual customer needs, with an entry-level price of about R150 000.00.