This is an awesome in-depth explanation of two leading storage platforms in the industry!

VIJAY SWAMI

One of the major differences between a VMAX and VNX are the pooling & FAST-VP (auto-tiering SW) implementations. As more and more VNX customers are considering VMAX systems (thanks largely to the introduction of the VMAXe/VMAX10K price point) these differences are often a topic of conversation. There are some noticeable differences in the theory & operation and subsequently the real-world management which are worth understanding.

Data Movement Frequency & Data Movement Granularity:

The most obvious difference in the FAST-VP implementation between the two systems is how often data relocations can occur & the granularity of that data movement.

• VMAX: data is collected continuously, analyzed continuously and can be moved continuously. The granularity of this data movement can be as small as 12 Symmetrix tracks or 768K
• VNX: data is collected continuously, analyzed once an hour, and moved once per 24hrs. The way to think about auto-tiering on a VNX is…

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