TL;DR
- Dell EMC VxRail S570 targets data-intensive workloads with high storage density and optimized performance.
- Ideal for analytics, unstructured data, and capacity-heavy virtualized environments.
- Offers flexible scaling, NVMe options, and tight integration with VMware vSAN 8.
- Recent 2025 enhancements improve node efficiency, lifecycle management, and power utilization.
- Balanced cost-to-capacity ratio makes it a strong fit for medium-to-large enterprise deployments.
What’s New or Important Now
The Dell EMC VxRail S570 continues to evolve as one of Dell’s most storage-focused hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) appliances. In 2025, the platform gained enhanced support for VMware vSAN 8 ESA, enabling higher capacity tiers and better data compression. Dell also introduced improved drive configurations supporting larger NVMe and SAS hard drives, emphasizing capacity and efficiency for hybrid workloads.
According to Dell’s official release notes (Dell Technologies Blog), lifecycle management automation and cluster expansion features now allow admins to perform rolling updates with minimal disruption. This directly benefits enterprises managing continuous data flow or high-throughput operations.
Architecture Overview
The VxRail S570 series is engineered for storage-heavy HCI deployments, leveraging dual-socket Intel Xeon Scalable processors and high-capacity HDD or SSD combinations. With up to 24 3.5-inch drives per node, administrators can scale storage and compute independently while maintaining VMware integration simplicity.
Each node supports VMware vSphere and vSAN, offering tight data protection features, predictable performance, and integrated VxRail Manager orchestration. This aligns with Dell’s efforts toward unified hybrid cloud—and makes the S570 a strong candidate for environments demanding petabyte-scale data retention.
Buyer and Architect Guidance
Use Cases
- Large-scale analytics, data lakes, and backup repositories.
- Media and entertainment workloads requiring high sequential throughput.
- Healthcare and research institutions handling large file archives.
- Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments with low compute but high storage demand.
Sizing Considerations
When planning S570 clusters, start with data capacity requirements instead of compute metrics. Determine compression ratios in vSAN, replication factors, and compliance needs. Typical deployments begin with 3–4 nodes and expand horizontally as storage scales. Opt for NVMe cache tiers in mixed workloads for better latency performance.
Trade-offs
- Pros: Excellent storage scalability; simple lifecycle management; native VMware integration.
- Cons: Larger footprint per node; higher initial investment compared to compute-optimized variants.
- Neutral: Power draw improves with 2025 updates but remains higher for dense configurations.
Comparison Table: Dell EMC VxRail Models
| Model | Focus | Drive Bays | Compute Profile | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VxRail E660F | Balanced performance | 10 NVMe | High IOPS | General-purpose virtualization |
| VxRail P670F | Performance-focused | 12 NVMe | Compute-intensive | AI/ML workloads |
| VxRail S570 | Storage-heavy | Up to 24 HDD/SSD | Moderate | Data-intensive, archival |
| VxRail V670 | GPU-ready | Hybrid NVMe | High GPU density | Visualization and rendering |
Mini Implementation Guide
Prerequisites
- Access to compatible networking hardware (25–100GbE recommended).
- VMware vCenter and vSAN licenses prepared.
- Dedicated management VLAN and IP pools defined in advance.
- Firmware updates validated with Dell SupportAssist.
Deployment Steps
- Rack and cable the S570 nodes per Dell reference architecture.
- Initialize VxRail Manager to discover and validate nodes.
- Configure VMware vSAN policies—define capacity and cache tiers.
- Integrate with vCenter for operational visibility.
- Implement lifecycle management using Dell’s automated update utility.
- Run benchmark and validation tests before production rollout.
Common Pitfalls
- Underestimating network throughput—ensure sufficient bandwidth for replication traffic.
- Mixing disk types improperly, causing uneven performance.
- Skipping initial health checks—nodes may report mismatched firmware.
- Inadequate planning for scalability—vSAN capacity expansion needs proactive design.
Cost and ROI Considerations
The cost per terabyte on VxRail S570 is generally lower than compute-optimized nodes due to HDD options, though overall cluster pricing can exceed entry-level configurations. ROI typically manifests through simplified management, reduced operational overhead, and predictable scalability versus traditional SAN solutions.
Capacity-focused organizations see ROI in storage efficiency and high data durability—Dell’s support analytics minimize downtime, further improving TCO.
FAQs
1. Is the S570 suitable for cloud integration?
Yes. The model integrates smoothly with VMware Cloud Foundation, supporting hybrid deployments across edge and core environments.
2. Can I mix NVMe and HDD drives?
Supported in hybrid configurations; NVMe serves caching functions while HDD provides the capacity layer.
3. What’s the average deployment time?
Typically 2–3 hours for initial cluster setup, assuming network readiness and preconfigured services.
4. How does it handle data protection?
Built-in vSAN replication plus Dell continuous data validation ensures resilience without external backup.
5. Is scaling linear?
Storage scaling is nearly linear; compute scaling depends on workload distribution and cluster policy.
6. What support options are available?
Dell offers ProSupport and ProSupport Plus with automated case creation using Secure Connect Gateway.
Conclusion
The Dell EMC VxRail S570 remains the flagship for storage-intensive hyperconverged deployments in 2025. Enterprises seeking predictable scalability and deep VMware integration find it ideal for large hybrid or private cloud expansions. For more Dell HCI insights and architecture guides, visit LearnDell.online.