The News: The latest software update to Dell PowerMax – PowerMaxOS 10.1 – has been released. This update provides greater energy efficiency and insights, and continues to bolster the system’s cyber-resiliency. Read more about PowerMaxOS 10.1 on the Dell Blog.
Dell PowerMaxOS 10.1 Brings Additional Energy Efficiency and Cyber-resiliency
Analyst Take: Dell continues to enhance its PowerMax storage system with ongoing software releases, the latest being PowerMaxOS 10.1. The new 10.1 release adds several capabilities but delivers mostly on two central themes: energy efficiency and cyber-resiliency. Seeing these two topics as the focus of Dell’s development comes as no surprise, as they have been two of IT’s most pressing issues over the last few years. Energy efficiency concerns are becoming a major factor for IT organizations as they are under pressure to improve sustainability, reduce emissions, and uphold corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies. Meanwhile, ransomware and other cyber-attacks have made cyber-resiliency an ongoing challenge for data centers everywhere.
PowerMaxOS 10.1 enhancements that address energy efficiency include the following:
- Power and environmental monitoring and alerting
- Dynamic data mobility
- Improved data reduction with a new 5:1 guarantee
- 2.8x performance per watt
With organizations striving to improve sustainability, and therefore heavily focusing on the energy usage of their data centers, these updates will serve PowerMax customers well in monitoring and reducing their energy usage. From an energy usage standpoint, any improvement in performance per watt is clearly a success story, but the other features will provide additional support. Improved data reduction can help organizations lower their total footprint, reducing both energy consumption and eventual e-waste. Similarly, the dynamic data mobility functionality will assist PowerMax users in placing data where it can be most efficiently utilized. By adding real-time monitoring, Dell is additionally helping its customers to gain insight into their current energy usage and potential means of improvement.
The other main focus of the 10.1 update is cyber-resiliency. The new security and cyber-resiliency features in PowerMaxOS 10.1 include:
- Certification for the Federal Approved Products List
- Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.3
- Cyber intrusion detection for z Systems
- Improved anomaly detection
- Ignition key support
- Data sanitizer
This update is another in a series of Dell releases focused on cyber-resiliency, and for good reason. Although Dell has certainly included many basic and advanced security and cyber-resiliency features in many of its products, the simple truth about cyber-resiliency is that you can never have too much protection. The cyber-resiliency features added in PowerMaxOS 10.1 are all good additions that layer additional protection onto the system’s existing security features.
Overall, it is good to see Dell continue to add valuable enhancements to the PowerMax platform, specifically addressing the most pressing IT challenges. Both energy efficiency and cyber-resiliency are key pain points for many IT organizations today, and the latest updates in PowerMaxOS 10.1 will do well in assisting these organizations in tackling these challenges.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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Author Information
Mitch comes to The Futurum Group through the acquisition of the Evaluator Group and is focused on the fast-paced and rapidly evolving areas of cloud computing and data storage. Mitch joined Evaluator Group in 2019 as a Research Associate covering numerous storage technologies and emerging IT trends.
With a passion for all things tech, Mitch brings deep technical knowledge and insight to The Futurum Group’s research by highlighting the latest in data center and information management solutions. Mitch’s coverage has spanned topics including primary and secondary storage, private and public clouds, networking fabrics, and more. With ever changing data technologies and rapidly emerging trends in today’s digital world, Mitch provides valuable insights into the IT landscape for enterprises, IT professionals, and technology enthusiasts alike.
