Clariion

Clariion
Name	Clariion
Developer	Data General
Released	1990s
Discontinued	2011
Type	SAN storage array
Os	Unisphere
Predecessor	Symmetrix
Successor	VNX

Clariion

Clariion was a family of midrange storage arrays introduced in the 1990s and popular through the 2000s, widely deployed in enterprise data centers alongside products from EMC Corporation, NetApp, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard. Clariion competed in markets served by arrays such as Symmetrix, VNX, Unity, 3PAR, Compellent, and EqualLogic, and interoperated with networks using protocols like Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCoE, and NAS gateways. Vendors and customers included Dell, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, SAP SE, and large-scale deployments at institutions such as NASA, Bank of America, AT&T, Verizon Communications, and Walmart.

History

Clariion originated as a midrange platform developed during the era of consolidation in the storage industry, a period shaped by mergers and competition among Data General, EMC Corporation, Engenio, NetApp, and Hitachi. The product family evolved amid landmark events like the Dot-com bubble, the rise of VMware, the adoption of SAN fabrics, and regulatory requirements from bodies such as SARBANES-OXLEY Act and standards organizations including SNIA and IEEE. Over time Clariion’s roadmap responded to trends driven by vendors like EMC Corporation, Dell EMC, and challengers such as Pure Storage, Nimble Storage, and Tintri. Strategic corporate moves—mergers involving EMC Corporation and VMware partnerships—shaped Clariion’s lifecycle until replacement by platforms like VNX and Unity.

Architecture and components

Clariion arrays used modular architectures integrating controllers, back-end disk shelves, and front-end host interfaces familiar to engineers from Sun Microsystems and IBM deployments. The controller design reflected concepts used in Symmetrix and 3PAR systems: redundant processor engines, battery-backed cache influenced by designs from HP Enterprise and Fujitsu, and multi-pathing compatible with software from Microsoft Multipath I/O and Veritas Volume Manager. Disk shelves supported drives from manufacturers such as Seagate, Western Digital, and HGST and used enclosures akin to those in NetApp FAS arrays and Hitachi storage. Connectivity and fabric integration referenced standards and products from Brocade, Cisco Systems, QLogic, and Intel.

Models and product evolution

Clariion’s product line paralleled offerings from Symmetrix, VNX, Compellent', and Equallogic in successive generations, with models addressing SMB and enterprise segments like deployments by Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. Model updates incorporated SSD tiers as pioneered by Fusion-io and Intel NAND innovations, and integrated thin provisioning strategies seen in NetApp and VMware vSphere environments. Firmware and hardware revisions tracked advances in CPU and memory from AMD, Intel Xeon, and networking accelerators from Broadcom and Mellanox Technologies.

Performance and features

Clariion delivered features such as RAID protection, snapshots, replication, and thin provisioning comparable to technologies from NetApp, EMC Atmos, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, and Veritas NetBackup. Performance tuning involved interoperability with hypervisors like VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and XenServer and database workloads from Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, and SAP HANA. Quality of service and latency metrics were discussed in white papers alongside analyses from Gartner, IDC, Forrester Research, and benchmarking efforts referencing tools from Iometer and FIO.

Management and software

Management tools for Clariion included suites similar to Unisphere, with integration points for orchestration platforms such as VMware vCenter, Microsoft System Center, Puppet Labs, Chef (configuration management), and Ansible (software). Data services interoperated with backup and replication products from Commvault, Symantec, and EMC NetWorker and leveraged protocols standardized by SNIA and IETF working groups. API and automation ecosystems aligned with trends promoted by OpenStack, CloudStack, and hybrid cloud initiatives pursued by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform adopters.

Deployment and use cases

Clariion arrays were deployed across sectors including finance, healthcare, government, and telecommunications, in environments run by organizations like World Health Organization, US Department of Defense, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Siemens. Use cases included virtualization farms supporting VMware vSphere clusters, database consolidation for Oracle Corporation and SAP SE, file services integrated with Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint, and backup targets for enterprise backup suites from Veritas and Commvault. Integration patterns reflected storage strategies advocated by consultancies such as Accenture, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG for digital transformation initiatives.

Category:Storage arrays