In keeping with Dell’s mission to simplify IT, Dell announced the seamless integration of Dell EqualLogic storage arrays with VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), which automates disaster recovery (DR) management in virtual infrastructures. As one of VMware’s largest resellers and Global Technology Alliance Partners, Dell and its network of Enterprise- Architecture-certified channel partners can now deliver a complete end-to-end DR automation and management solution. The combined Dell EqualLogic/VMware solution integrates PS Series Auto-Replication directly into SRM using PS Series SRM Storage Adapter software developed by Dell.

VMware SRM enables non-disruptive, automated testing of recovery plans and automates the recovery process using SAN-based data volumes replicated to the remote site by native PS Series Auto-Replication software. Both Auto-Replication and the SRM Storage Adapter are provided by the suite of enterprise storage management features included with every PS Series array, helping to reduce the cost and complexity of implementing DR.

“Our business depends on maintaining a highly reliable, scalable data center infrastructure that can support over half a million transactions per day,” said Donald Wilkins, IT director of Navicure, a national provider of Web-based revenue-cycle-management services for physicians “We started with storage consolidation onto a Dell EqualLogic PS Series SAN, added VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3, and now are testing SRM to complete our fully automated business continuity processes. With Dell EqualLogic and VMware we can continue to service more customers more efficiently with ease and confidence.”

“We needed a robust yet easy-to-deploy DR solution to protect our business, which we run on a large Dell EqualLogic SAN with VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3, which is why we tested SRM,” said Derek Knox, Server Architect for the PCL family of companies, a group of independent construction companies that form the largest general contracting organization in Canada and the eighth largest in North America. “Our experience demonstrated the high degree of automation of SRM with PS Series arrays; and the ability to simulate virtual data center failure and recovery gave us great confidence in our ability to maintain business continuity under many circumstances.”

“The combination of the Dell EqualLogic PS Series and VMware’s new Site Recovery Manager product is an ideal solution to meet the needs of our customers for simpler, more affordable business continuity,” said Scott Miller, president of Server Centric Consulting, a VMware Authorized Consultancy firm based in Saint Louis, Missouri. “The level of automation, simplicity, and advanced integration enhance our team’s ability to design and deliver simple, cost-effective disaster recovery solutions to customers of all sizes.”

“Dell customers in all industries worldwide are deploying VMware virtualization to enjoy high availability and flexibility in their IT environments,” said John Joseph, vice president of marketing for Dell EqualLogic storage solutions, Dell. “We have taken great care to ensure that PS Series storage arrays work as intuitively with VMware as they do with each other, with the goal of making uninterrupted uptime a reality for today’s data centers.”