Laptops, VxRail And 5G: Dell Launches New Edge Computing Products
Dell Technologies launches a slew of new edge computing hardware, software and offerings that channel partners, investors and customers need to know about.
From new ruggedized laptops to VxRail satellite nodes, Dell Technologies is significantly ramping up its edge computing innovation with the launch of seven new products and offerings targeting the IT world’s “next great frontier.”
“The edge is technology’s next great frontier, and it’s all around us, everywhere from retail to manufacturing, smart cities and hospitals,” said Dell’s CEO and chairman Michael Dell in a statement today at Dell Technologies Summit. “At Dell, we’re innovating simple solutions, so organizations can analyze data closer to where it’s created, make faster decisions, improve outcomes and drive progress.”
The Round Rock, Texas-based infrastructure and PC giant is diving deeper into the growing edge computing market with new hyperconverged infrastructure nodes, edge gateways, data streaming data platforms, PCs and co-engineered validated designs—all on top of last week’s launch of a slew of new edge-focused PowerEdge servers.
The new edge product launches took place at the virtual Dell Technologies Summit today, a one-day digital conference with media and analyst around Dell’s growth strategy and vision.
CRN breaks down the seven of the most important products and announcements at Dell Technologies Summit today that channel partners, investors and customers need to know about.
VxRail Satellite Nodes
VxRail is the world’s market leading hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). With research firm IDC estimating that 50 percent of new IT infrastructure will be deployed at the edge by 2023, Dell is looking to make VxRail broadly available in all forms with the launch of its new VxRail satellite nodes.
The new Dell EMC satellite nodes bring VxRail’s operational model and efficiencies to edge sites with a reduced infrastructure footprint. As the only HCI solution jointly engineered with VMware, VxRail satellite node single-node deployments automate day-to-day operations, health monitoring and lifecycle management from a centralized location without the need for local technical and specialized resources. Dell says business verticals including retail, manufacturing and remote branch offices can now get started with VxRail for less.
The new VxRail satellite nodes extend automation and lifecycle management capabilities to Dell’s smallest configuration to date for edge workloads.
VxRail satellite nodes will become globally available on Nov. 30, 2021.
Dell Latitude 7330 PC For Windows 11
As Dell continues to gain steam in its PC business, the company is looking to boost its ruggedized edge PC portfolio to the next level with the new Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme laptop.
Dell said the new Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme laptop is 5G-capable and ready to take on the most extreme environments as the industry’s smallest 13” fully-rugged laptop.
Dell’s 7000 series of Latitude laptops are designed for the Intel Evo vPro Platform as well as Intel’s 11th Gen Core i7 processors.
The new Dell Latitude 7330 PC will become available on Dec. 9, 2021, shipping with Windows 11.
5G Enabled Edge Gateway
The company launched a new 5G-capable Dell EMC Edge Gateway to help customers securely connect multiple edge devices across IT and OT [operational technology] environments.
The fanless edge gateway includes 9th Gen Intel Core processors, designed to work in industrial environments and can withstand temperature ranges from minus-4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The Dell EMC Edge Gateway offers storage and compute capabilities that can run localized data processing and analytics applications, helping solve data collection and processing pain points.
Dell says the new gateway helps customers access the full potential of data generated at the edge by providing businesses with actionable insights where they need them as well as secure connectivity across IT and OT assets. The gateway is available directly to customers and through OEM engagements.2
The new Dell EMC Edge Gateway is set to become globally available in early 2022.
Dell Latitude 5430 PC For Windows 11
In addition to a new Latitude 7000 series edge-focused laptop, Dell also unveiled the Latitude 5430 Rugged laptop for Windows 11.
The new Latitude 5430 Rugged laptop is 5G capable and can work from anywhere as the industry’s lightest, most-powerful 14” semi-rugged laptop, Dell said. The company’s line of Latitude Rugged laptops are designed to withstand harsh edge environments while maintaining high levels of performance and connectivity.
Dell’s Latitude 5000 series of laptops include Intel vPro technology. Dell says its Latitude 5000 series are the most manageable vPro-enabled business laptops in the market today.
Dell’s new Latitude 5430 PC will become available on Dec. 9, 2021, shipping with Windows 11.
Bare Metal Orchestrator Software For Telecoms
Dell Technologies has created a new telecommunications software to automate the deployment and management of thousands of servers across geographically dispersed locations to support 5G and Open RAN deployments.
Dell’s new Bare Metal Orchestrator software gives communication service providers (CSP) a cost-effective way to deploy and operate their open network infrastructure across the globe. The software gives CSPs the tools to discover and inventory servers, bring them online and deploy software—regardless of where they reside in the network.
With what Dell dubs as “declarative automation”, Bare Metal Orchestrator tells the targeted server what to do, so that tasks and workflows – such as deploying software stacks and workloads – can be completed quickly and efficiently without human intervention.
The Bare Metal Orchestrator becomes available globally in November 2021.
Validated Manufacturing Edge Solution With Litmus, VMware
Dell Technologies is teaming up with edge intelligence specialist Litmus to launch a validated manufacturing edge computing solution to help businesses connect, manage and orchestrate disparate industrial edge devices, data and applications—from the factory floor to the enterprise cloud—with no programming required.
Litmus says it provides the industry’s only Industrial IoT Edge platform that unifies data collection and machine analytics with enterprise integration and application enablement. Litmus helps enterprises harness the power of their industrial data for condition-based monitoring, predictive maintenance, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
The new Dell Technologies Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge with Litmus offering combines Litmus’s edge platform with Dell’s VxRail or PowerEdge servers, with option to use VMware Edge Compute Stack.
With the joint solution, manufacturers can make quick decisions to repair equipment before it fails, improve production quality and save costs with real-time data analytics and centralized device management provided by Litmus’s enterprise-grade Industrial IoT edge platform. The offer provides out-of-the-box connectivity to devices and industrial assets.
Dell and Litmus’ new Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge will be globally available on October 26, 2021.
Dell’s Streaming Data Platform Gets A GPU Boost
In a move to dramatically boost GPU optimization at the edge, Dell unveiled updates to its Streaming Data Platform.
The platform will now optimize GPUs around streaming video and supports real-time analytics on Dell’s VxRail and PowerEdge systems. Over the past year, Dell has launched a slew of edge-specific versions of its hyperconverged infrastructure solution VxRail and its flagship PowerEdge server portfolio.
The Dell EMC Streaming Data Platform adds enhanced GPU optimization to ingest streaming video in a lower latency and frame rate environment and support real-time analytics on Dell hardware. Dell said organizations can run lightweight workloads on a single core using a new edge bundle, so they can start small and scale their infrastructure based on IT needs.
The new Streaming Data Platform updates will become globally available on Oct. 30, 2021.