Entry model with high performance, high reliability and green technology

Assuring business performance through automatic SLA optimization

M series can control I/O flow by setting I/O threshold limits to each logical disk. Unlike many others, M Series allows both minimum and maximum thresholds to be used. It allows storage resources to be fairly allocated to normal priority applications while priority tasks preferentially acquire needed resources. M series stabilizes operations of the entire system, allowing you to meet SLAs that require guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).

Hybrid Data Tiering automatically tiers data to the most suitable device according to access frequency

M Series can create a multiple tiered pool with different types of devices, and bind multiple logical disks across the tiers. Once stored, data is automatically reallocated to a suitable tier through routine monitoring according to access frequency. Capacity can also be automatically moved between logical disks in the same tiered pool to ensure maximum use of each tier. This accomplishes both vertical and horizontal data optimization to maximize storage performance, and to optimize your investment in storage.

SSD L2 cache & Persistent Write ensuring stable & high-speed performance

M Series uses SSD which has a superior read performance as L2 cache, so throughput of frequently accessed data can be improved. In case of an error in one controller, Persistent Write will continue Fast Write operations, storing write data in SSD to keep data redundancy.

Simplified management of individual Virtual Machines (VM) and Virtual Desktops (VDI) in VMware environment

Expanding capacity and performance by simply adding drives using Advanced Dynamic Pool

Minimize storage cost with capacity virtualization with Thin Provisioning

Thin provisioning maximizes storage investment efficiency by virtualizing logical volumes. Thin provisioning allows logical volumes to be oversubscribed, making the logical volume look as if it has more physical resources than actually in the system. When physical capacity is insufficient, new physical capacity can be non-disruptively added to the virtual volume. Thin provisioning allows lower initial investment cost and lower power cost.

Improving the efficiency of SSD usage by compressing I/O data

This feature reduces the data storage volume by compressing the data and allocating them efficiently to SSD. Applications for which storage efficiency is required are gathered to the smaller volume by utilizing the high performance of SSD.

* Note that the compression rate varies depending on the storage data. If the text data is used, the compression ratio will be high.However, if the image data that has been compressed to some formats is used, the compression ratio will be low.
* The data compression feature may affect the performance due to the overhead accompanying the compression.
* M510/M710/M710F do not support this feature.
* This feature will be implemented in Q2 2019.

Intuitive GUI allows even first-time users to easily manage the storage unit

Enables an easy-to-use performance analysis both in the physical and virtual environments

With “NEC storage M series,” you can manage the physical resources such as servers, storages and networks and the virtual environment in the single management window of SigmaSystemCenter. A bottleneck of the system can be identified with high accuracy by detecting signs of a physical error of hardware and analyzing the performance in combination with the information of the virtual machines. In addition, SigmaSystemCenter optimizes the resource allocation automatically, which is useful for improving the efficiency of administrative work and reducing labor. The performance in the environments can be checked in vCenter Operations Manager under the VMware environment.

Nonstop backup system can be built quickly

If you want to build a backup system that does not stop the operation and have trouble finding the staff with the skill for building a system, "NEC Storage M series" is the solution for you. Functions such as the automatic collection of servers or database information and the interactive script creation wizard will enable you to build a nonstop backup system or quick restoration system. The simplified procedure reduces the building time by half and can prevent failures during building.

Preventing data leakage by data encryption

The storage that contains the sensitive data of enterprises is constantly exposed to security threats. "NEC Storage M series" uses self-encrypting drives (SED*1) to encrypt the data in HDD/SDD in order to prevent data leakage due to taking out, loss, theft and disposal of data. The M series storage also has a function conforming to the U.S. standard*2 that erases the data in HDD/SDD. This feature enhances data security by preventing the leakage of personal data. Furthermore, additional security measures are provided, including access restriction on the logical disks, log auditing, and operating error protection.

Reducing power consumption with advanced power saving technologies

Saving power resources by the autonomous MAID technology

M Series adopts MAID (Massive Array of Inactive Disks) technology for energy efficiency. HDD in a backup volume, for instance, is not used except for backup time. MAID technology can autonomously turn the motor of an HDD off (when idle) and on (when needed).

Low-power operations by visualization of power consumption and autonomous device control

The power consumption of all M Series units in the same infrastructure environment can be managed with real-time visualizations. In addition, components such as CPU, fan and HDD autonomously control power consumption based on storage unit usage. Energy efficient operations are also promoted by reduction of unnecessary power consumption when the storage unit is in the idle state.