Dell™ NX4 provides the flexibility to meet a wide range of connectivity requirements and affordable enterprise-class data management and storage capabilities. The NX4 allows businesses to consolidate Microsoft Exchange application storage, Microsoft SQL database storage, and general purpose file servers on to a single, unified storage platform. This consolidated storage methodology delivers network-attached storage (NAS) for file sharing and iSCSI or Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN) connectivity.

Even with the vast differences that can exist between two deployments, there are common elements that apply to most environments. Regardless of the platform, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and the file sharing applications must have optimal performance and need a place to store information, a method to create backups of critical data, and a plan for disaster recovery. This reference architecture (RA) provides proven solutions for use cases that enhance the performance, reliability, and resiliency of the IT environment while allowing system consolidation and enhancing manageability.