The highlight of the recent IBM Edge 2012 storage conference, writes Wikibon CTO David Floyer in his latest Wikibon Alert,  was the announcement of the addition of the IBM RTC (real-time compression) appliance to the mid-range Storwize V7000 unified storage array. The addition of this inline compression appliance, ironically the technology developed by Storwize and the reason IBM acquired the startup, allows inline, real-time compression of at least 2.0 (50%), depending on the type of data, transparent to users and with no performance degradation of the overall system.

Although Wikibon has yet to test the Storwize/RTC combination, the original Storwize compression appliance achieved an impressive 171 in Wikibon’s CORE (Capacity Optimization Ratio Effectiveness) rating test, in which 1 is break-even. Floyer expects the new system combination to achieve similar results.

This is one of several factors that makes the Storwize V7000 best-of-breed and specifically makes it a better choice than IBM’s n-series and XIV arrays for most installations, he writes. It also scores higher than competing arrays from other vendors, specifically the EMC VNX and NetApp’s arrays. The NetApp and IBM n-series CORE scores are only 0.4, making them suitable for very low IOPS environments. EMC VNX compression is similar to the NetApp implementation, and Wikibon expects therefore that the VNX would have similar CORE ratings, although it has net to test this system.

As a result, Floyer says, “CXOs and senior storage managers should include the IBM Storwize 7000 for all midrange RFPs.”