Intel To OEM Networked Storage System Based On EMC-Dell Array

Intel partners can now private label the same EMC storage array Dell offers its small business customers, EMC and Intel said Tuesday at the Storage Networking World conference in San Diego.

The two companies unveiled a multi-year storage OEM agreement allows Intel to offer the new EMC's Clariion AX150 array to its indirect sales channels. EMC and its OEM partner Dell unveiled the small business array on Monday at the same show.

The new SSR212PP storage system is expected to be available to Intel's channel partners in May. It features up to 12 SATA II disk drives in a 2U rackmount enclosure for a maximum capacity of up to 6 terabytes.

Hans Geyer, vice president and general manager of Intel's storage group, said solution providers can customize the bezel of the new storage arrays with their own logos. "For resellers, they can provide a server and storage with a consistent look to provide customers with a complete solution," Geyer said.

Geyer said that the new solution will also help expand Intel's storage product offering.

"This gives us feedback for information to refine our CPUs and chipsets for storage use. Intel finds that technology often shows up in storage before getting implemented in servers," Geyer said. For example Geyer noted technologies such as 64-bit computing, high memory bus bandwidth and high-speed throughput moved from storage products into servers.

Mitch Breen, senior vice president of global channel sales and marketing at EMC, said the OEM relationship will not affect EMC's relationship with Dell.

"Our relationship with Dell has never been better. There are opportunities for Intel and Dell to play in [the SMB] marketplace," Breen said.

Geyer said that both EMC and Intel discussed the OEM relationship with Dell, the largest customer of both vendors, before unveiling their OEM relationship.

"[Dell] knows this expands the pie. We have as complementary a relationship as any three companies," Geyer said.

Geyer said that Intel is working with EMC technology instead of developing the technology itself because RAID-5 and other storage-related technologies are not trivial.

"The most important thing is to have a complete solution, and a complete solution does not mean having three programmers and a year later you have the technology," Geyer said.

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