Dell PowerScale A300
The Dell PowerScale A300 is a dense 4U deep-archive scale-out NAS solution designed for long-term active archiving, regulatory retention, secondary backup repository, and cold media storage. Housed in a 4U enclosure integrating four independent storage nodes and sixty 3.5-inch SATA hard drives, the A300 packs up to 1.2PB of raw capacity into 4U of rack space. Operating under the OneFS distributed file system, it provides automated lifecycle tiering from high-performance flash nodes down to archive pools. Refurbished system shoppers must verify that all four internal nodes and all 60 drive caddies are functional.
Also written as: PowerScale A300, Dell EMC PowerScale A300, Isilon A300
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | PowerScale |
| Form factor | 4U |
| Released | May 2021 |
| Cpu platform | Single Intel Xeon Silver 4210R per node (4 nodes in a 4U chassis) |
| Memory max (GB) | 384 |
| Drive bays | 60x 3.5-inch SATA hard drives per 4U chassis (15 drives per node, 4TB to 20TB HDDs) |
| Raw capacity | 120TB to 1200TB (1.2 PB) raw capacity per 4U chassis (up to 75 PB in a cluster) |
| Network onboard | Dual 25GbE / 10GbE front-end ports; dual 25GbE back-end clustering ports per node |
| Power supply | Quad redundant hot-plug 1450W power supplies in 4U chassis |
Generations
- Previous generation: Dell Isilon A200
Compatible parts
Hard drives
400-BCQW Dell 18TB 7.2K RPM 512e SAS 12Gb/s 3.5-inch Hot-Plug Hard Drive
Works together
How the Dell PowerScale A300 connects to servers, storage and the network: 1 way, with the parts and products on each path.
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 R650 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R750 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R660 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R760 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R640 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R740 2U 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-BBRL Dell Intel X710 Quad Port 10GbE SFP+ Full-Height PCIe Adapter
540-BDCE Dell Intel E810-XXV Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Switches
Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5232F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
Optics
407-BBOU Dell 10GbE SFP+ SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 300m MMF)
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
SFP-10G-SR-AR Arista 10GBASE-SR SFP+ Optical Transceiver
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- NFS explained mrplanb.com
- Block vs object storage mrplanb.com
- Object storage Ledger 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 PowerScale A300.
- 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
- Qstart Labs
- Scality Ring
Buying a used A300: what to check
Confirm all 4 internal node modules in the 4U chassis are functional, inspect high-density drive bays and SAS interposers, and verify 25GbE back-end clustering cables.
FAQ
How many nodes are inside the 4U A300 chassis?
The 4U chassis houses 4 independent nodes and 60 top-loading 3.5-inch hard drives (15 drives per node).
What is the primary workload for the A300?
Active enterprise archiving, PACS medical imaging storage, video surveillance archives, and long-term regulatory compliance.
Buying or selling A300?
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 PowerScale A300 Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27