Veritas Flex System 5340 SAN Storage System

The Veritas Flex System 5340 SAN Storage System is a high-performance, next-generation storage solution engineered to meet the evolving needs of modern data centers. Built around an Information-Defined architecture, this system intelligently manages data across on-premises infrastructure and cloud environments, delivering unmatched protection, agility, and efficiency. Designed for enterprises that demand scalable capacity, robust data protection, and seamless cloud tiering, the Flex System 5340 combines powerful hardware with intelligent software to simplify storage management while accelerating business-critical workloads. Whether you’re consolidating disparate silos, protecting sensitive information, or expanding into hybrid cloud models, this SAN storage system offers a versatile foundation for resilient, future-ready storage infrastructure.

• Information-Defined architecture: An intelligent data placement and policy-driven system that automatically optimizes protection, performance, and cost across all storage tiers, ensuring critical data stays readily accessible while less active data moves to appropriate storage tiers.
• Hybrid cloud tiering: Seamlessly tier and migrate data between on-premises storage and public or private clouds, enabling cost-efficient backups, disaster recovery, and long-term archival without sacrificing accessibility or control.
• Scalability and resilience: Modular, scale-out design with redundant components and non-disruptive upgrades to accommodate growing workloads, peak I/O, and mission-critical applications.
• Advanced data protection: Rich features for snapshots, replication, DR orchestration, and ransomware recovery, helping safeguard data across global sites and cloud environments.
• Unified management and virtualization integration: Centralized visibility and control through Veritas management tooling, with strong compatibility for popular virtualization platforms to streamline operations.

Technical Details of Veritas Flex System 5340 SAN Storage System

• Architecture: Information-Defined storage platform that orchestrates data placement, protection policies, and tiering across multiple storage tiers and cloud targets.
• Performance and capacity: Scalable configuration options designed to meet a range of workloads, from high-transaction databases to large-scale backups and archive workloads, with flexible expansion capabilities.
• Connectivity: Multi-protocol support to accommodate diverse environments, including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and Ethernet-based networks, enabling versatile SAN and IP-based access.
• Data protection: Integrated capabilities for snapshots, cloning, replication, disaster recovery workflows, and automated ransomware containment, enabling rapid recovery and minimal data loss.
• Security: Encryption at rest and secure access controls to protect data across on-premises and cloud paths.
• Cloud integration: Native tiering and data movement to public and private clouds for cost optimization, offsite DR, and long-term retention.
• Management: Centralized, policy-driven management with intuitive dashboards and automation features to reduce administrative overhead and accelerate deployment.

how to install Veritas Flex System 5340 SAN Storage System

Preparing for deployment begins with a converged strategy that aligns storage, protection, and cloud tiering goals. Start by verifying hardware readiness, licensing, and access to the management console. Gather details for network configuration, replication targets, and cloud credentials so you can predefine protection policies and tiering rules before rack installation.

Step 1: Rack, power, and cabling — Install the chassis in a suitable rack, connect redundant power supplies, and route network cables to ensure both management and data paths are correctly wired. Use dedicated management networks for control plane operations and a separate data network for high-throughput I/O to maximize performance and minimize contention.

Step 2: Initial boot and management access — Power on the system and access the management interface through the designated console or IP address. Configure the initial administrator account, set strong credentials, and enable secure management protocols. Confirm that management connectivity to any required cloud services or on-site orchestration tools is functional.

Step 3: Network, storage pools, and protection policies — Define network segments, create storage pools, and establish protection policies (snapshots, replication schedules, retention rules). Align these policies with business SLAs and RPO/RTO targets. If you plan to tier to clouds, configure cloud destinations and encryption keys as needed for secure data movement.

Step 4: Cloud tiering configuration — Set up hybrid cloud tiering rules to automatically move colder data to cloud storage while keeping hot data on fast local tiers. Verify policy-driven data rebalancing, lifecycle transitions, and automatic failover to cloud DR targets where appropriate.

Step 5: Integrations and validation — Integrate with your virtualization platform(s) and any backup or DR orchestration tools you rely on. Run validation tests to confirm backup/restore workflows, replication consistency, and failover procedures across sites. Document the configuration for ongoing governance and audits.

Step 6: Monitoring and optimization — Enable proactive monitoring, alerting, and capacity planning. Leverage the system’s analytics to tune performance, balance workloads across tiers, and optimize cost by refining data movement patterns between on-premises storage and cloud targets.

Post-deployment, maintain a cadence of policy reviews, firmware updates, and security hardening to ensure the Flex System 5340 continues to meet evolving business requirements. By combining automated data protection, adaptable tiering, and centralized management, you can simplify operations while delivering consistent performance and reliability for workloads ranging from OLTP databases to large-scale backup ecosystems.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the Veritas Flex System 5340 best used for?
A: It is designed for enterprises needing a flexible, scalable SAN storage platform that blends on-premises performance with cloud-enabled protection and tiering. It supports data-intensive applications, comprehensive data protection, and hybrid cloud deployments, making it suitable for mission-critical databases, virtualization hosts, large backups, and DR sites.

Q: How does Information-Defined architecture improve data management?
A: Information-Defined architecture uses policy-driven rules to determine where data resides, how it is protected, and when it should be moved between storage tiers or to the cloud. This results in optimized performance for hot data, reduced storage costs for cold data, and automated protection across environments.

Q: Can I tier data to public or private clouds with this system?
A: Yes. The Flex System 5340 is designed to seamlessly tier data to both public and private clouds, enabling cost-effective storage, scalable DR, and long-term retention without sacrificing accessibility or control.

Q: What kind of protection features are included?
A: The platform typically includes snapshots, replication, disaster recovery workflows, and ransomware recovery capabilities to help protect data across sites and cloud destinations. These features reduce recovery time and protect against data loss from cyber threats or site outages.

Q: How scalable is the system?
A: The architecture supports modular expansion, allowing capacity and performance to grow as your workloads increase. It’s designed for non-disruptive upgrades so you can add shelves, expand pools, and enhance protection without downtime.

Q: What management tools are used?
A: The system is managed through Veritas management software, offering centralized dashboards, policy automation, and integration with virtualization platforms. This provides a single pane of glass for monitoring health, performance, and data protection across all tiers and targets.

Q: What deployment models are supported?
A: The Flex System 5340 supports on-premises deployments with optional cloud tiering, enabling hybrid configurations. It can serve as the core SAN storage for data centers while leveraging cloud resources for DR and archival workloads.