WD OpenFlex F3200 Series Fabric Device

The WD OpenFlex F3200 Series Fabric Device is a revolutionary modular building block designed for open, composable disaggregated IT infrastructure. As businesses experience exponential data growth along with diverse workloads, the need for speed, agility, and value in IT infrastructure has never been more critical. The OpenFlex solution, utilizing NVMe™-over-Fabrics (NVMe-oF™), dramatically enhances compute and storage utilization, performance, and agility within the data center. By enabling data to live outside the server, it facilitates a more efficient way to manage and allocate storage resources.

• Transformative Composable Infrastructure: The OpenFlex F3200 leverages NVMe-oF™ to disaggregate storage from compute, allowing multiple applications and servers to access a shared pool of storage capacity. This optimizes data sharing and enhances application performance.
• Unmatched Performance and Low Latency: By maximizing NVMe device-level performance, the OpenFlex F3200 ensures the lowest end-to-end latency from application to shared storage, providing users with fast and reliable access to data.
• Versatile Storage Access: The device supports access to multiple storage tiers, including NAND flash, disk, GPUs, FPGAs, and even tape, all via NVMe-oF. This unified approach means that data center storage can effectively be addressed in a consistent manner.
• Dynamic Resource Management: The OpenFlex architecture allows for logical and dynamic configuration of resources without physical constraints, enabling businesses to deploy and redeploy assets in accordance with fluctuating business needs.
• Cost Efficiency: By reducing resource over-provisioning and enabling lower Capex and Opex, the OpenFlex F3200 assists organizations in maximizing their operational efficiency while minimizing wasted resources.

Technical Details of Product

• Model: WD OpenFlex F3200 Series
• Interface: NVMe-oF™
• Storage Types Supported: NAND Flash, Disk, Tape, GPUs, FPGAs
• Scalability: Enclosure or device-level scaling
• Dynamic Provisioning: Yes
• Compatibility: Open Composable Compatibility Lab (OCCL) certified

How to Install

Installing the WD OpenFlex F3200 Series Fabric Device is straightforward. Follow these simple steps:

1. Prepare your data center by ensuring that your existing hardware and orchestration frameworks are compatible with the OpenFlex system.
2. Physically mount the OpenFlex device in the designated enclosure or rack space.
3. Connect the device to your network using the appropriate NVMe-oF connections.
4. Utilize your existing data center orchestration tools to configure and provision the device according to your operational requirements.
5. Test the configuration to ensure that all applications can effectively access the shared storage pool.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is NVMe-oF?
  NVMe-over-Fabrics (NVMe-oF) is a networked storage protocol that allows disaggregation of storage from compute, enabling multiple applications to access shared storage resources efficiently.
• Can the OpenFlex F3200 integrate with existing infrastructure?
  Yes, the device is designed to work seamlessly with existing data center orchestration frameworks and supports various storage technologies.
• What are the scalability options for the OpenFlex F3200?
  The OpenFlex F3200 can scale at both the enclosure and device levels, allowing for flexibility in resource allocation based on your business needs.
• How does the OpenFlex F3200 enhance performance?
  By leveraging NVMe device-level performance and low latency, the OpenFlex F3200 enables high-speed access to shared storage, improving overall application performance.
• What support is available for OpenFlex users?
  Western Digital offers support through the Open Composable Compatibility Lab (OCCL), where users can collaborate and test compatibility with various technologies.