VNX

VNX is a line of data storage arrays originally developed by EMC Corporation and later sold under Dell EMC. It is a family of unified storage systems designed to provide both block storage for SAN workloads and file storage for NAS workloads within a single platform. Introduced in the early 2010s, VNX built on EMC’s earlier CLARiiON and Celerra products and aimed to simplify storage provisioning, management, and data protection for midrange and enterprise deployments.

Architecturally, VNX arrays are built around front-end storage processors connected to disk enclosures, supporting a mix of HDDs and SSDs. They typically employ dual storage processors for high availability and offer multiple interconnect options, including Fibre Channel and iSCSI for SAN and NFS and CIFS/SMB for NAS. Key features include automated tiering through FAST VP, which moves data between storage tiers based on usage, and optional SSD caching through FAST Cache to accelerate read and write operations. Data protection options encompass RAID, snapshots, cloning, and replication capabilities via bundled or integrated solutions for disaster recovery.

Management and models: VNX provides a unified management experience through the Unisphere interface, enabling provisioning and monitoring across SAN and NAS resources from a single console. The platform encompassed a range of midrange to enterprise models suitable for different capacity and performance needs. Over time, the VNX family was gradually superseded by newer Dell EMC unified storage platforms such as Unity and Unity XT, although existing VNX systems remained supported for some time after product transitions.

Overall, VNX played a significant role in consolidating block and file storage within a single array, emphasizing simplicity, scalability, and integrated data protection for enterprise workloads.