theCUBE Live At EMC World 2014

VCE is kicking off the week with the introduction of seven new converged infrastructure solutions that set several records both within its own portfolio and for the broader marketplace. The launch represents one of the most significant yet for the firm, a joint venture between stalwart EMC Corp. and networking kingpin Cisco Systems Inc. tasked with capitalizing on rising enterprise demand for pre-integrated hardware.

What started out as just another strategic partnership in 2009 has evolved over the years to become a true force in the industry, with the venture recently revealing that it has passed the $1 billion annual sales mark on the back of 50 percent yearly revenue growth. The appliance maker hopes to extend that momentum into 2015 and beyond with the Vblock System 540, an ultra-fast platform designed for data center consolidation that’s hailed as the first converged infrastructure product in the industry to rely exclusively on solid-state memory for data storage.

The product combines all-flash arrays based on technology EMC obtained as part of the acquisition of XtremIO Ltd. with Cisco UCS blade servers and programmable Nexus switches. The System 540 comes in a base configuration of 10 terabytes with an option to add up to 30 more.

The platform is rolling out in conjunction with the beefier but not quite as nimble Vblock System 740, the new flagship product in the VCE portfolio. The machine is based on the same Cisco kit as its smaller sibling but swaps out the XtremIO arrays with a VNAX array of the customer’s choice, allowing for up to four petabytes of raw disk space. And whereas the System 540 is designed to reduce the infrastructure footprint of existing workloads, it’s built to power heavy-duty cloud and analytics applications.

At the other end of the company’s portfolio is the new Vblock System 240, a small-scale model based on EMC’s entry-level VNX5200 array geared toward medium-sized businesses and branch offices with limited budgets. The appliance prioritizes cost and simplicity over functionality, with VCE claiming that it can be delivered in under 45 days and set up within a week.

Rounding out the launch are two pairs of enhancements that cement appliance maker’s relations with its two backers, at least on the technological level. For EMC customers, VCE is adding support for the former’s Isilon family of scale-out NAS solutions and rolling out integration with the newly launched vRealize management toolkit from VMware Inc., the storage giant’s visualization subsidiary. Similarly, virtual resource provisioning capabilities based on Cisco’s UCS Director are in the pipe along with deeper support for the company’s servers.

All three of the new appliances are available immediately, while the integrations are expected to become available for order within 90 days.

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