Cloud and edge computing are expanding inexorably, and Lenovo flash storage and converged techniques have broadened to enable Microsoft cloud outlets get the most out of their deployments.

The newly released Lenovo ThinkAgile MX1021 hyper-converged infrastructure operates Microsoft Azure Stack HCI application. Lenovo also extra a ThinkSystem DM7100 Sequence of all-flash and hybrid arrays with NVMe sound-point out drives (SSDs).

Both equally techniques are bought right from Lenovo resellers and associates, as very well as on demand with Lenovo TruScale components as a support.

Charles King, principal analyst of IT analyst business Pund-IT, said Lenovo aims the solutions at enterprises that use the hybrid cloud to compute large information immediately at the edge.

“By its character, hybrid cloud features components set up in customers’ on-premises information facilities. However, Lenovo is offering these through its flexible TruScale funding design, the place clients pay only for the compute and storage capacity they use. You could connect with it the best of the two on-prem and cloud worlds,” King said.

Lenovo MX1021 Edge server, Microsoft Azure Stack HC
Lenovo MX1021 Edge server for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI

Hyper-convergence outside the main

The Lenovo MX1021 hyper-converged bundle features Microsoft Azure Stack HCI on Lenovo’s ThinkSystem SE350 laptop-size Azure Stack Hub server. Lenovo said the ruggedized MX1021 components features built-in safety for intrusion detection and motion. Lenovo and Microsoft previewed ThinkAgile with Azure Stack at Microsoft Ignite final 12 months.

Lenovo designed ThinkAgile as a two-node configuration priced at all over $20,000. The equipment does not have to have a prime-of-rack community switch to connect to Ethernet. The components features 8-main Intel Xeon D processors and 256 GB of DDR4 storage class memory. For storage, the MX1021 supports up to 8 two TB NVMe SSDs and PCIe slots for optional graphics processing models.

“This a real edge system with Microsoft Azure Stack HCI enabled on prime. You get an finish-to-finish resolution to lengthen your hyper-converged stack from the main company to the edge surroundings,” said Kamran Amini, the GM of Lenovo’s server and storage business.

Specific verticals consist of schooling, financial services, govt, production and retail. That mirrors the workloads of Lenovo’s other validated HCI techniques, which consist of VX Sequence for VMware vSAN and HX for Nutanix application.

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7100
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7100 flash arrays

Expanded Lenovo ThinkSystem storage

Lenovo has been striving to improve its presence in storage considering the fact that obtaining IBM’s server business in 2014. The Lenovo flash storage portfolio is composed of the DE and DM series. The DM7100F provides NVMe flash styles to the portfolio for block and file workloads.

Like most competing NVMe flash arrays, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7100 Sequence present an finish-to-finish connectivity from apps to storage via NVMe-oF connectivity. A one node offers 7.four PB of uncooked flash storage, and up to 88.four PB when configured as a NAS cluster and up to 44.two of SAN block storage.

As a NAS configuration, the hybrid DM7100H scales out to 12 arrays, and up to six SAN arrays for block storage. The arrays consist of automated tiering from on premises to Microsoft Azure and other community cloud companies.