Dell PowerStore 7000T
The Dell PowerStore 7000T is an all-NVMe unified storage appliance from the first generation of the PowerStore line, placed between the 5000T and the 9000T. The base enclosure is 2U with two nodes and 25 NVMe slots, and three optional 2U SAS expansion enclosures take one appliance to 96 drives and 898.56 TB raw. It serves block over FC, iSCSI, NVMe/FC and NVMe/TCP, plus file over NFS and SMB, and up to four appliances form a cluster. Dell's spec sheet gives it 6,000 block volumes and 13,600 vVols per appliance.
Also written as: PowerStore 7000T, Dell EMC PowerStore 7000T, Dell PowerStore 7000T
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | PowerStore |
| Form factor | 2U rack |
| Cpu platform | Two-node (dual controller) base enclosure with Intel Xeon Scalable processors; Dell's family spec sheet does not give core counts per model |
| Drive bays | 25x 2.5-inch NVMe slots in the base enclosure; up to 3 SAS expansion enclosures of 25x 2.5-inch each; 96 drives maximum per appliance |
| Raw capacity | Up to 898.56 TB (817.36 TiB) raw per appliance; up to 8 EB logical per appliance |
| Network onboard | Up to 2 mezzanine cards and 4 I/O modules per appliance (one mezzanine and two I/O modules per node, mirrored); 4x 12Gb/s SAS ports per appliance for the back end; up to 24 front-end ports |
| Power supply | 2 redundant power supplies per enclosure |
Works together
How the Dell PowerStore 7000T connects to servers, storage and the network: 4 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 R HS5610 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R HS5620 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R250 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R260 1U rack (short-depth)
Dell PowerEdge R350 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R450 1U rack
Adapters for the server
540-BBUU Dell Emulex LPe31002 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
540-BBUV Dell QLogic 2692 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
540-BCMS Dell QLogic 2770 Single Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
540-BCMT Dell QLogic 2772 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe 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
407-BBOG Dell 16Gb Short Wave SFP+ Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
407-BCBI Dell 32Gb Short Wave SFP28 Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
57-1000262-01 Brocade 16Gb Shortwave SFP+ Optical Transceiver
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 R250 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R350 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R450 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R550 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R650 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R650xs 1U 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 S4112F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S4128F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON 1U rack
Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
Optics
Direct-attached SAS
12Gb SAS uses Mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) connectors; older 6Gb gear uses Mini-SAS (SFF-8088). Adapter cables exist, but the link runs at the slower speed.
Servers
- Dell PowerEdge R HS5610 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R HS5620 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R250 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R260 1U rack (short-depth)
- Dell PowerEdge R350 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R450 1U rack
Adapters for the server
405-AANT Dell 12Gbps SAS HBA Dual Port External PCIe Controller
405-AASU Dell HBA355e External SAS 12Gb/s Host Bus Adapter
05-50076-01 Broadcom HBA 9500-16e PCIe 4.0 Tri-Mode 16-Port External Host Bus Adapter
804398-B21 HPE Smart Array E208e-p SR Gen10 12G SAS External Controller
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 R250 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R350 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R450 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R550 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R650 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R650xs 1U 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 S4112F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S4128F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON 1U rack
- Dell PowerSwitch S5212F-ON 1U rack
Optics
Plan and size it
- 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 7000T.
- 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 7000T: what to check
Ask for the appliance service tag and check that both nodes, the NVRAM units and the battery modules report healthy. Confirm which mezzanine card and I/O modules are fitted, as FC, 25GbE and 100GbE modules are separate options, and check that optics are included. Software and support entitlement may not transfer, so confirm the PowerStore OS version and support status with Dell before you rely on it.
FAQ
How many drives can a PowerStore 7000T hold?
One appliance holds up to 96 drives: 25 NVMe slots in the base enclosure and up to three 25-slot SAS expansion enclosures. Dell lists the maximum raw capacity as 898.56 TB per appliance.
Which host protocols does the PowerStore 7000T support?
Dell lists block access over FC, NVMe/FC, iSCSI and NVMe/TCP, vVols over the same transports, and file access over NFS and SMB.
How many PowerStore 7000T appliances can be clustered?
Dell's spec sheet allows up to four appliances in one cluster, with up to 96 front-end ports and 32,000 volumes and vVols across the cluster.
Buying or selling 7000T?
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 Family Spec Sheet (Gen 1 appliances), h18143, checked 2026-10-27