Editing EMC Symmetrix

{{Short description|Enterprise storage array}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox computer
| name = EMC Symmetrix
| aka = EMC Symmetrix DMX <hr />
EMC Symmetrix VMAX
| logo = 
| logo-size = 
| logo_caption = 
| image = File:EMC Symmetrix in Computer Museum of America (1).jpg
| caption = 
| type = [[Storage server]]
| designfirm = 
| developer = '''[[EMC Corporation]]'''
| manufacturer = 
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1992}}
| discontinued = 2014
| cost = 
| processor = 
| slots = 
| os = 
| weight = 
| dimensions = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = [[Dell EMC VMAX]]
| related = 
| website = 
}}

The '''Symmetrix''' system was an [[EMC Corporation|EMC]]'s [[enterprise storage]] [[disk array|array]]. It combined dozens of [[hard drive]]s into a single virtual device that was then [[direct-attached storage|directly attached]] to a computer or [[channel I/O|I/O channel]], or shared on a [[storage area network]] or a [[local area network]]. It was the [[flagship product]] of EMC in the 1990s and 2000s.

== History ==
Symmetrix arrays, EMC's flagship product at that time, began shipping in 1990 as a storage array connected to an [[IBM mainframe]] via the [[IBM System/360#Block multiplexer channel|block multiplexer channel]]. Newer generations of Symmetrix brought additional host connection protocols which include [[ESCON]], [[SCSI]], [[Fibre Channel]]-based [[storage area network]]s (SANs), [[FICON]] and [[iSCSI]]. The Symmetrix product was initially popular within the airline industry and with companies that were willing to deviate from the safety of IBM's [[History of IBM magnetic disk drives#IBM 3390|3390 disk subsystem]] and take a risk with the unproven Symmetrix array.

This product is the main reason for the rapid growth of EMC in the 1990s, both in size and value, from a company valued hundreds of millions of dollars to a multi-billion company.<ref>EMC Company Web site, July 19, 2000 [http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/us/earnings/20000719-469.htm "EMC Reports 43% Growth in Storage Revenue, First $2 Billion Quarter"] Retrieved October 24, 2010.</ref> [[Moshe Yanai]] managed the Symmetrix development from the product's inception in 1987 until shortly before leaving EMC in 2001,<ref>{{Cite news |title= EMC Strengthens Operational Alignment |work= Press release |publisher= EMC |date= November 29, 2001|url= http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/us/2001/20011129-1164.htm |accessdate= September 26, 2013 }}</ref> and his Symmetrix development team grew from several people to thousands.

=== Symmetrix VMAX ===
EMC Symmetrix VMAX systems are storage platforms intended for open systems and mainframe computing. Symmetrix VMAX systems run the Enginuity operating environment.

== Models ==
[[File:Backup administrative systems (14052939256).jpg|thumb|Symmetrix 4 racks]]
[[File:EMC Symmetrix DMX1000 Front.jpg|thumb|Symmetrix DMX1000]]
<!-- To edit this table go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:EMC_Symmetrix -->
{{EMC Symmetrix}}
The Direct Matrix Architecture (DMX) product line with models DMX800, DMX1000 and DMX2000 were announced in February 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Lucas Mearian|date=February 10, 2003|title=EMC's New Arrays Get Mixed Reviews|work=Computer World|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/78366/EMC_s_New_Arrays_Get_Mixed_Reviews|accessdate=September 26, 2013}}</ref>

=== Specifications ===
The system scales from a single Symmetrix VMAX Engine system with one storage bay to a large eight-engine system with a maximum of ten storage bays.

The Symmetrix VMAX system bay can hold one to eight engines. These engines house the hardware for all the data processing capabilities. Each engine contains two director boards, memory chips, and front-end (FE) and back-end (BE) ports for connectivity to hosts and storage bays, respectively.

Each director board contains two Intel quad-core processors for data processing, 16, 32 or 64 GB of physical memory, one System Interface Board (SIB) that connects the director to the Matrix Interface Board Enclosure (MIBE), front-end and back-end ports.

The VMAX has one to ten storage bays for hard drives. Each storage bay contains 16 Disk Array Enclosures (DAE). Each DAE contains 15-25 hard drives. VMAX supports SATA, Fiber Channel, SAS and Solid State drives.<ref name="emc.com 2011">{{cite web <!--title & date gleaned from properties of PDF-->|title=H6544.5 EMC Symmetrix VMAX with Enginuity, Guide |website=emc.com |date=2011-09-29 |url=https://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/product-description/h6544-vmax-w-enginuity-pdg.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012812/https://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/product-description/h6544-vmax-w-enginuity-pdg.pdf |archive-date=2017-11-07 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Features ==
===Symmetrix Remote Data Facility===
The ''Symmetrix Remote Data Facility'' (''SRDF'') is a family of software products that facilitates the [[data replication]] from one Symmetrix storage array to another through a [[storage area network]] or [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) network.

SRDF logically pairs a device or a group of devices from each array and replicates data from one to the other synchronously or asynchronously. An established pair of devices can be split, so that separate hosts can access the same data independently (maybe for backup), and then be resynchronised.

In synchronous mode (SRDF/S), the primary array waits until the secondary array has acknowledged each write before the next write is accepted, ensuring that the replicated copy of the data is always as current as the primary. However, the latency due to propagation increases significantly with distance.

Asynchronous SRDF (SRDF/A) transfers changes made to the secondary array in units called delta sets, which are transferred at defined intervals. Although the remote copy of the data will never be as current as the primary copy, this method can replicate data over considerable distances and with reduced bandwidth requirements and minimal impact on host performance.

Other forms of SRDF integrate with clustered environments and to manage multiple SRDF pairs where replication of multiple devices must be consistent (such as with the data files and log files of a database application).

===Other features===
* TimeFinder, TimeFinder/Clone — Local Replication
* Symmetrix Optimizer—Dynamical swap disks based on workload
* Symmetrix command line interface (SymmCli)
* SymmWin, Enginuity—Symmetrix GUI console (since Symm3, Symm4 models)
* AnatMain — Symmetrix Pseudo-GUI console (before Symm 3, Symm4 models)
* Symmetrix remote console (SymmRemote)
* SymmMerge and SymmTrAn -- Symmetrix performance modeling and analysis applications 
* FAST—Fully automated storage tiering
* FTS—Federated tiered storage
* ECC—EMC Control Center

==See also==
*[[EMC Corporation]]
*[[Storage replication]]
*[[Storage Area Network]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.EMC.com EMC.com]
*[http://emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-1989-1979.htm EMC at a Glance. Milestones 1989-1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624015107/http://www.emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-1989-1979.htm |date=June 24, 2013 }}
*[http://emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-1999-1990.htm EMC at a Glance. Milestones 1990-1999] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701053438/http://www.emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-1999-1990.htm |date=July 1, 2013 }}
*[http://emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-2000-2009.htm EMC at a Glance. Milestones 2000-2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123012252/http://www.emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/milestones-2000-2009.htm |date=January 23, 2014 }}
*[http://emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/index.htm EMC at a Glance. Milestones 2010-2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518052949/http://www.emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/milestones/index.htm |date=May 18, 2013 }}
*[http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-papers/h6210-symmetrix-vmax-srdf-timefinder-oracle-database-wp.pdf EMC Symmetrix VMAX Using EMC SRDF/TimeFinder]
*[http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/symmetrix3000-and-5000.pdf Symmetrix 3000 and 5000 Enterprise Storage Systems Product Description Guide]
*[http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/symm8000_ds.pdf EMC Symmetrix 8000 Series data sheet]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130521231714/http://www.sandirect.com/documents/DMX_series_ds.pdf EMC Symmetrix DMX Series data sheet]
*[http://www.ndm.net/emcstore/pdf/symmetrix/symmetrix-dmx4-ss.pdf EMC Symmetrix DMX-4 specification sheet]
*[http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/white-papers/c1062-emc-symmetrix-optimizer-wp.pdf EMC Symmetrix Optimizer. White Paper. A Detailed Review]
*[http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/svc/ic/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.storage.svc.console.doc%2Fsvc_symmetrixcontconfiguring_1ev499.html IBM.com "Configuring EMC Symmetrix and Symmetrix DMX systems"]
*[https://archive.today/20130629234144/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/041409-emc-symmetrix-virtual-data-centers.html?page=1 NetworkWorld "EMC's new Symmetrix array targets virtual data centers"]
*[http://www.pcworld.com/article/236069/EMC_Revenue_Grows_on_Strength_of_Big_Data_VMware.html PC-World magazine, "EMC Revenue Grows on Strength of Big Data, VMware"]
*[https://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/specification-sheet/h13217-vmax3-ss.pdf "VMAX 3 specifications"]
*[https://www.rajeshvu.com/storage/emc/articles/srdf-operations "SRDF Operations"]

{{EMC}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emc Symmetrix}}
[[Category:EMC storage servers]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1992]]