Getting to Know Dell EMC PowerFlex v3.5.x What is PowerFlex and how does it work? PowerFlex is a software-only solution that uses existing servers' local drives and LAN to create a virtual SAN that has all the benefits of external storage. PowerFlex utilizes the existing local storage devices and turns them into shared block storage. PowerFlex software components are installed on the application servers and communicate via a standard LAN to handle the application I/O requests sent to PowerFlex block volumes. An extremely efficient decentralized block I/O flow, combined with a distributed, sliced volume layout, results in a massively parallel I/O system that can scale up to thousands of nodes. Child Topics Overview of PowerFlex PowerFlex is a software-only solution that uses existing servers' local disks and LAN to create a virtual SAN that has all the benefits of external storage—but at a fraction of cost and complexity. PowerFlex utilizes the existing local storage devices and turns them into shared block storage. For many workloads, PowerFlex storage is comparable to, or better than external shared block storage. Workflow of PowerFlex The following steps describe the order to follow to get the PowerFlex system up and running in your environment: Parent topic Getting to Know PowerFlex The following section provides an overview of .
Getting to Know Dell EMC PowerFlex v3.5.x What is PowerFlex and how does it work? PowerFlex is a software-only solution that uses existing servers' local drives and LAN to create a virtual SAN that has all the benefits of external storage. PowerFlex utilizes the existing local storage devices and turns them into shared block storage. PowerFlex software components are installed on the application servers and communicate via a standard LAN to handle the application I/O requests sent to PowerFlex block volumes. An extremely efficient decentralized block I/O flow, combined with a distributed, sliced volume layout, results in a massively parallel I/O system that can scale up to thousands of nodes. Child Topics Overview of PowerFlex PowerFlex is a software-only solution that uses existing servers' local disks and LAN to create a virtual SAN that has all the benefits of external storage—but at a fraction of cost and complexity. PowerFlex utilizes the existing local storage devices and turns them into shared block storage. For many workloads, PowerFlex storage is comparable to, or better than external shared block storage. Workflow of PowerFlex The following steps describe the order to follow to get the PowerFlex system up and running in your environment: Parent topic Getting to Know PowerFlex The following section provides an overview of .