Dell EMC CX400

Fibre Channel
Storage System

The Dell/EMC CX400 is a

versatile, rack-dense midrange
2GB Fibre Channel storage system
that delivers cost effective
continuous availability into
business critical storage area
networks or direct attach

Scalable, High-performance Mid-Tier Storage with Unsurpassed Software Capability

The Dell/EMC CX400 offers the mid-tier networked storage market sixth-generation, full Fibre Channel storage
functionality and 2GB Fibre Channel end-to-end connectivity. Sharing consistent software and hardware architecture
with the Dell/EMC CX600, the Dell/EMC CX400 delivers excellent investment protection. It also provides a data-inplace upgrade option to the Dell/EMC CX600 so you can easily and cost-effectively scale to meet your expanding
connectivity and performance requirements.
A fully redundant, highly available storage system designed with no single points of failure, the Dell/EMC CX400 consists
of industry-proven Dell/EMC data integrity and availability features. Features such as global hot spares, redundant power
and cooling, online RAID group expansion and end-to-end data integrity checking help ensure that your business-critical
data is there when you need it.

storage applications.
Powerful Software
Additionally, the Dell/EMC CX400 system includes many high availability software features. Non-disruptive upgrades
built into the software enable you to upgrade core code without interrupting data access. MirrorView software offers
remote disaster recovery capabilities with synchronous mirroring to other Dell/EMC storage systems. Plus, SnapView
array-based software allows parallel access to data by creating instantaneous snapshots of information, and it
supports cloning. Also, both MirrorView and SnapView free host resources with independent replication functionality.
Plus, PowerPath integrates automatic failover, dynamic load balancing and information access optimisation to ensure
data availability and high performance. The Dell/EMC CX400 array also includes cache vaulting to protect your valuable
data from loss or corruption.
Exceptional Bandwidth for Demanding Applications
Revolutionary throughput capabilities enable the Dell/EMC CX400 to deliver outstanding bandwidth. With four full 2GB
front-end and back-end ports, it offers the highest bandwidth in its product class. Speeds of 680MB/s
of sustained throughput make the Dell/EMC CX400 ideal for sequential applications, such as graphics and video
streaming in addition to many other demanding uses.
Modular Design for Simple, Non-Disruptive Scalability
The Dell/EMC familys consistent architecture offers distinct advantages. The modular design of the Dell/EMC CX400
allows you to start small with advanced storage functionality and easily grow. As your requirements expand, simply add
disk array enclosures (DAE2s) with additional drives. Whats more, adding capacity to the Dell/EMC CX400 can be done
non-disruptively for optimum uptime. Additionally, if you need to consolidate your servers, 2GB front end ports along with
support for nine Windows and UNIX-based platforms accelerate the consolidation process.
Help Minimise Risk and Increase ROI with Data-In-Place Upgradeability
With data-in-place upgradeability, you can upgrade the Dell/EMC CX400 to the Dell/EMC CX600 without moving data.
As your connectivity, scalability or performance requirements expand, the consistent architecture family gives you the
flexibility to extend the life of the Dell/EMC CX400 and protect your investment.
Configuration Flexibility and Economy from High Storage Density
The Dell/EMC CX400 rack-mount array can be configured with a wide range of 5 to 60 drives. Its dense form factor
offers a maximum capacity of 4.4TB in 13U of rack space (22.75 inches). As a result, the Dell/EMC CX400 delivers
maximum density and one of the highest capacity per unit of rack space in the industry. The average configuration of the
Dell/EMC CX400 utilises half of the space required by the Dell/EMC FC4700.

Dell/EMC CX400

Storage solutions. Easy as

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Dell EMC CX400 Fibre Channel Storage System

DELL PREMIER ENTERPRISE SERVICES

FEATURES

Dell offers a broad portfolio of services designed

to help organisations optimise their use of
Dell/EMC technology, rapidly deploy systems and
attain the highest possible levels of system uptime.

Performance

Consulting and Deployment Services

(Required)
Pre-Sales Design and Site Readiness
Assessment
Hardware Installation On-site installation
of Dell/EMC storage systems, rack mounting
of systems, connection to power sources and
power-on of devices
NAS Implementation System planning, design
documentation, select software installation,
configuration of switches, NAS cabling, host
connectivity, creation of storage groups, product
orientation session and extensive custom options

Standard Support Services for Dell/EMC

Systems (Required)
Dell Gold-Level Premier Enterprise Support
Services featuring:
24x7 high level Engineer-to-Engineer telephone
support with direct access to Gold Queue
Technical account management team
24x7 4-Hour On-Site Support1
Remote software and storage telephone
support unlimited resolutions
Storage system remote monitoring
Pre-Failure Alert Program
Seamless support between Dell and key
third party providers
Change notification/software subscription

Optional Services
Customer training
Proof-of-concept at Dell Application Solution
Centre
Back-up and recovery design and implementation
Cluster implementation for Microsoft Exchange
and SQL Server
SnapView and MirrorView implementation
On-site engineers and on-site parts
Services vary by region. For additional information,
visit www.euro.dell.com/services.

Server platforms supported

Operating systems supported

DESCRIPTION
60,000 cached I/Os per second 680MB/s throughput
Dell PowerEdge servers and a variety of Compaq, HP, IBM
and SUN Sparc servers
Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, IBM AIX,
NetWare, Linux, Irix, TRU-64

RAID levels
RAID 0

Data striped across three to 16 drives

RAID 1

Mirrored pairs of two drives

RAID 1/0

Data mirrored, then striped across four to 16 drives

RAID 3

Independent data access on five or nine drives (with dedicated parity disk)

RAID 5

Independent data access on three to 16 drives (with striped parity)

Any combination of these RAID levels can exist on a single Dell/EMC CX400
RAID stripe depth configurable to 4, 16, 64, 128, or 256 sectors per disk
Rebuild priority tuning: adjustment of minimum I/O reserved for server use
during rebuild
Configurable global hot spares

Front end (host) connectivity

Two storage processors per Dell/EMC CX400

Each storage processor has two 200MB/s fibre channel optical ports

Maximum cable length

Cache

Shortwave optical: 300 metres (2GB/s), 500 metres (1GB/s)

2GB
Automatic write cache destaging: cache can be mirrored between storage processors

Back-end (disk) connectivity

Each storage processor has two 200MB/s fibre channel arbitrated loops
Multiple RAID groups may be distributed across redundant loops to maximise
bandwidth to disks.

Drive interface

Dual, independent FC-AL interface ports on each drive, operating at 200MB/s

Failover from each storage processor to both fibre channel loops is possible

Maximum storage capacity

Up to 4.4TB per storage array

Support for 36GB and 73GB 1" drives
60 drives per array

Available software
SnapView
MirrorView
Nondisruptive Upgrade (NDU)
Navisphere Manager
Navisphere Analyser
Storage System
Remote Monitoring

Consult your Dell account manager for availability, software configuration, and
compatibility information
Point-in-time view of information for nondisruptive backup
Remote synchronous mirroring for disaster protection
Online upgrades of storage software and microcode
Complete configuration, management, and event notification
Comprehensive performance, management, and trends analysis
Constant system monitoring and remote diagnostics

Access Logix

Data protection, shared storage access, and security for

heterogeneous SAN environments

ESN Manager

Data protection, shared storage access, SAN management

StorageScope

Storage asset management

PowerPath

Path failover for continuous data access and dynamic load balancing

Subject to availability, prices and specifications are correct at the date of publication and may change without notice. Dells Terms and Conditions of Sale and Service apply and are available on request and at
www.euro.dell.com. 1. Response times may vary according to the remoteness or accessibility of product location. Service may be provided via telephone or internet where appropriate. Certain restrictions
apply. 2002 Dell Computer Corporation. Dell, and the Dell logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation. IP4700 EMC, EMC2, and Navisphere are registered trademarks, and
SnapView, Application Transparent Failover and MirrorView are trademarks of EMC Corporation. Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft . Unix is a trademark of The Open
Group. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Sun and Solaris are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. Linux is a registered
trademark of Linus Torvalds. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in
the marks and names of others.

EU819/14Oct2002

Storage solutions. Easy as

Visit www.euro.dell.com for more information.