Scale Computing has introduced a hyperconverged infrastructure appliance optimized for performance-intensive workloads.
Powered by the company’s HC3 virtualization platform, the new HC3250DF is the first in what Scale says will ultimately be a class of devices equipped with the faster storage, speedier networking, and added CPU horsepower needed to run virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platforms, analytics applications, and other solutions that demand high-powered computing resources.
In addition, the system’s NVMe storage infrastructure is simpler to implement, support, and extend than appliances that emulate traditional SAN architectures, according to Scale, and consumes less RAM, leaving more memory for virtual machines and the software running on them.
“Easy to deploy and manage, the all-NVMe HC3250DF helps organizations run a wider range of applications with varying performance needs and supports higher VM density, increasing efficiency and allows IT departments everywhere to meet increased end-user expectations,” said Dave Demlow, Scale’s vice president of product management, in prepared remarks. “Both persistent and non-persistent VDI workloads thrive on the newly redesigned underlying storage layer, which is created to maximize performance.”
According to Scale, the new product can also help businesses accommodate the exploding population of users in need of secure access to corporate resources from home due to coronavirus-related office closures. Nearly three quarters of CFOs intend to have at least 5% of employees continue working from home even after state and local governments lift stay-at-home mandates, according to recent research from Gartner.
“With the new pressure on IT to enable remote work whenever necessary, this appliance is an excellent foundation for VDI deployments from a several hundred users to a few thousand,” said Demlow in his press statement.
A rack-mounted 1U device, the HC3250DF is available with two eight-core, 16-thread Intel Xeon Silver 4215R processors; two 16-core, 32-thread Intel Xeon Gold 6226R processors; or two 26-core, 52-thread Intel Xeon Gold 6230R chips. RAM capacity ranges from 128 GB to 1,536 GB, while storage capacity spans from 1.92 TB to 7.68 TB. Networking options include four 10GBase-T ports, four 10GbE SFP+ ports, and dual 25GbE ports.
Like all HC3 appliances, Scale says, the HC3250DF includes automated self-healing functionality and integrated disaster recovery capabilities that suit it for use in edge environments with limited IT support as well as data centers.
Scale unveiled a “tiny form factor” appliance specifically for use in edge computing settings last December. The company added built-in support for cloud storage from cyber protection vendor Acronis in March and similar integrated support for Acronis Backup last September.
Some 32% of businesses in North America and Europe use virtual desktops at present, according to research from Spiceworks, and another 12% plan to adopt VDI by 2021. Seeking to capitalize on that trend, Hewlett Packard Enterprise introduced VDI-optimized appliances of its own last week. Storage vendor NetApp, meanwhile, announced its acquisition of workspace-as-a-service vendor CloudJumper the week before.
