Dell Isilon A2000
The Dell EMC Isilon A2000 is a high-density 4U 4-node deep archive scale-out system engineered for massive multi-petabyte unstructured data retention. Housing 80 large-capacity 3.5-inch SATA hard drives in a heavy-duty deep chassis, the A2000 maximizes floor space efficiency and slashes power consumption for enterprise legal discovery archives, healthcare history, and media vaults.
Also written as: Isilon A2000, Dell EMC Isilon A2000, Deep Archive High-Density NAS
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | Isilon |
| Form factor | 4U 4-node chassis |
| Released | May 2017 |
| End of sale | Jan 2022 |
| End of support | Jan 2027 |
| Cpu platform | 4x Intel Pentium or Xeon D processors (4 cores per node, 16 cores per chassis) |
| Memory max (GB) | 256 |
| Drive bays | 80x 3.5-inch SATA hard drives (up to 16TB drives) across deep 4U chassis |
| Raw capacity | 800TB to 1.28PB raw capacity per 4U chassis |
| Network onboard | Front-end: Dual 10GbE SFP+ per node; Back-end: Dual 10GbE / 40GbE per node |
| Power supply | Quad redundant hot-plug 1450W power supplies |
Generations
- Next generation: Dell PowerScale A3000
Compatible parts
HBAs
540-BCMT Dell QLogic 2772 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
540-BCMU Dell Emulex LPe35002 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
Transceivers
407-BCBI Dell 32Gb Short Wave SFP28 Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
Rail kits
770-BCKW Dell ReadyRails II Sliding Rails for 2U PowerEdge Servers (B6)
Drive caddies
DXD9H Dell 2.5-inch Gen14/Gen15/Gen16 Hot-Plug Drive Caddy Tray (SFF)
SSDs
400-AZPZ Dell 1.92TB SAS Read Intensive 12Gb/s 2.5-inch Hot-Plug SSD
400-BDSD Dell 3.84TB SAS Read Intensive 12Gb/s 2.5-inch Hot-Plug SSD
Works together
How the Dell Isilon A2000 connects to servers, storage and the network: 1 way, with the parts and products on each path.
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Servers
Dell PowerEdge C4140 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R440 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R540 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R640 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R740 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R740xd 2U rack
Adapters for the server
540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
540-BBGO Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 PCIe Adapter
540-BBGP Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 OCP 3.0 Adapter
540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
Switches
Dell PowerSwitch S4128F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S4128T-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S4148FE-ON 1U switch
Optics
407-BBOU Dell 10GbE SFP+ SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 300m MMF)- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
QSFP-40G-LR4-AR Arista 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP+ Optical Transceiver Module
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- iSCSI explained mrplanb.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- Network monitoring tools compared mrplanb.com
- Dell E-Lab Navigator (Dell interoperability) dell.com
Check compatibility with Dell
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Dell has tested with the Dell Isilon A2000.
- Compatibility Dell E-Lab Navigator (storage and SAN interoperability) (free vendor sign-in)
- Support Dell Support: drivers, manuals and service tag lookup
Equivalent models from other brands
Buying a used Isilon A2000: what to check
Inspect heavy-duty chassis slides and cable management trays, check all four rear sled compute boards, test 80 drive connections, and confirm OneFS cluster join status.
FAQ
What is the difference between Isilon A200 and A2000?
The A2000 utilizes a deeper chassis housing 80 drives per 4U versus 60 drives on the standard A200, delivering 33% higher density.
Can an A2000 cluster withstand multiple simultaneous drive failures?
Yes, OneFS erasure coding allows configurations supporting up to 4 simultaneous drive or node failures without data loss.
Buying or selling Isilon A2000?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- Dell EMC Isilon A2000 Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27