Dell Isilon H5600
The Dell EMC Isilon H5600 is an ultra-dense 4U 4-node hybrid scale-out NAS system engineered with a deep chassis holding 80 high-capacity 3.5-inch SATA drives and flash acceleration SSDs. Built for massive data growth in media streaming, autonomous vehicle testing, and large-scale multi-tenant file repositories, the H5600 delivers over 1.2PB of raw capacity and up to 8 GB/s bandwidth in a single 4U chassis.
Also written as: Isilon H5600, Dell EMC Isilon H5600, Deep-Chassis Dense Hybrid NAS
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | Isilon |
| Form factor | 4U 4-node chassis |
| Released | Apr 2019 |
| End of sale | Jan 2022 |
| End of support | Jan 2027 |
| Cpu platform | 4x Intel Xeon Silver 4114 (10 cores per node, 40 cores per chassis) |
| Memory max (GB) | 768 |
| Drive bays | 80x 3.5-inch SATA hard drives (up to 16TB drives) + 4x cache SSDs per chassis |
| Raw capacity | 800TB to 1.28PB raw capacity per 4U chassis |
| Network onboard | Front-end: Dual 25GbE / 100GbE per node; Back-end: Dual 40GbE / 100GbE per node |
| Power supply | Quad redundant hot-plug 1450W power supplies |
Generations
- Next generation: Dell PowerScale H7000
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 H5600 connects to servers, storage and the network: 2 ways, 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 R6515 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R7515 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R6525 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R7525 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R240 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R340 1U rack
Adapters for the server
540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
540-BBHB Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Network Adapter
540-BBJL Dell Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 Network Daughter Card (rNDC)
540-BCND Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Adapter
Switches
Dell PowerSwitch N3224F-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5232F-ON 1U rack
Optics
407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-AR Arista 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Servers
- Dell PowerEdge R6515 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R7515 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R6525 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R7525 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R240 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R340 1U rack
Adapters for the server
- 540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
- 540-BBHB Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Network Adapter
- 540-BBJL Dell Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 Network Daughter Card (rNDC)
- 540-BCND Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Adapter
Switches
- Dell PowerSwitch N3224F-ON 1U switch
- Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5232F-ON 1U rack
Optics
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
- QSFP-100G-CWDM4-AR Arista 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 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 H5600.
- 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 H5600: what to check
Verify deep rack cabinet depth and floor loading specifications, test all 80 drive carriers and backplane connections, verify 100GbE cluster back-end transceivers, and confirm node serial sync.
FAQ
What rack depth is required for the Isilon H5600?
The H5600 is a deep-chassis system requiring a minimum 1200mm (48-inch) deep enterprise server cabinet.
How does the H5600 protect data across drive failures?
OneFS FlexProtect erasure coding ensures continuous availability even if an entire node sled or multiple drives fail simultaneously.
Buying or selling Isilon H5600?
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 H5600 Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27