Dell PowerStore 500T
The Dell PowerStore 500T is an entry-level all-flash enterprise storage appliance designed to bring NVMe performance, hardware-accelerated inline data compression, and unified block, file, and vVols storage to mid-market organizations. Housed in a 2U dual-node chassis operating in active-active redundancy, the 500T supports up to 25 NVMe solid-state drives in the base enclosure and scales seamlessly across up to 4 clustered appliances. Running PowerStoreOS with automated machine learning tiering, it eliminates manual storage tuning. Pre-owned storage buyers must confirm node controller synchronization and verify that NVMe drive carriers match Dell proprietary bezels.
Also written as: PowerStore 500T, Dell EMC PowerStore 500T, PowerStore 500
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | PowerStore |
| Form factor | 2U rack |
| Released | May 2021 |
| Cpu platform | Dual active-active storage nodes, Intel Xeon Silver 4214 (12 cores per node, 24 cores per appliance) |
| Memory max (GB) | 192 |
| Drive bays | Up to 25x 2.5-inch NVMe SSDs in base DPE; expansion DAE support up to 97 drives |
| Raw capacity | Up to 1.2 PB effective capacity with 4:1 data reduction guarantee |
| Network onboard | 4-port 25GbE / 10GbE Mezzanine card per node; optional 32Gb Fibre Channel I/O modules |
| Power supply | Dual redundant hot-plug 1450W Platinum power supplies |
| Power draw | idle 260 W, typical 580 W, max 980 W (rack-density.com) |
Generations
- Previous generation: Dell Unity XT 380XT
Works together
How the Dell PowerStore 500T connects to servers, storage and the network: 3 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
Fibre Channel SAN
Match the speed: 16Gb and 32Gb FC HBAs, switches and array ports work together, and each generation also runs one or two speeds below its own (a 32Gb port runs at 16Gb and 8Gb).
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-BBUU Dell Emulex LPe31002 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
540-BCMT Dell QLogic 2772 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
540-BCMU Dell Emulex LPe35002 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
540-BBUV Dell QLogic 2692 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
Switches
Dell Connectrix DS-6610B 1U rack
Dell Connectrix DS-6620B 1U rack
Dell Connectrix DS-7720B 1U rack
Dell Connectrix MDS-9148T 1U rack
Optics
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 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-BCOW Dell Intel E810-XXV Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Network Adapter
540-BDCE Dell Intel E810-XXV Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Switches
Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5232F-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
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-BCOW Dell Intel E810-XXV Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Network Adapter
- 540-BDCE Dell Intel E810-XXV Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
Switches
- Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5224F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5232F-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
Power draw of the Dell PowerStore 500T: about 580 W typical and 980 W at full load, 2U. Measured figures on rack-density.com.
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- SAN transport and NVMe over FC for backup 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 PowerStore 500T.
- 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
- Pure Storage Storage Flasharray X10
- NetApp Aff A150
- HPE Alletra 5000 · compare
Buying a used 500T: what to check
Verify that both storage processor nodes (Node A and Node B) have matching CPU and 96GB RAM per node. Check that power supplies are intact and ensure drive carriers include Dell PowerStore NVMe interposers.
FAQ
Does the PowerStore 500T support unified file and block?
Yes, PowerStoreOS provides native concurrent support for block (FC, iSCSI, NVMe-oF), file (NFS, SMB), and VMware vVols.
What data reduction ratio does PowerStore guarantee?
Dell guarantees an average 4:1 data reduction ratio combining inline hardware deduplication and compression.
Buying or selling 500T?
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 PowerStore 500T Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27