Dell VMAX 850F
The Dell EMC VMAX 850F is an enterprise scale-out all-flash powerhouse delivering up to 4 million IOPS and multi-petabyte capacity across 16 active-active directors. Designed for global financial institutions and large cloud operators demanding absolute non-stop operation, the 850F provides massive 16TB cache mirroring, sub-millisecond latencies, and military-grade encryption.
Also written as: VMAX 850F, Dell EMC VMAX 850F, High-End VMAX All Flash
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | VMAX |
| Form factor | system bay multi-cabinet |
| Released | Feb 2016 |
| End of sale | May 2018 |
| End of support | May 2023 |
| Cpu platform | Up to 8 V-Bricks (16 directors), Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 (14 cores per director, 224 cores total) |
| Memory max (GB) | 16,384 |
| Drive bays | Up to 480x 2.5-inch SAS SSDs across high-density DAE enclosures |
| Raw capacity | Up to 4.5 PB effective all-flash capacity |
| Network onboard | Front-end ports supporting 16Gb/8Gb FC, 10GbE iSCSI, and 16Gb FICON |
| Power supply | Multi-cabinet redundant AC power distribution assemblies with SPS backup batteries |
Generations
- Previous generation: Dell VMAX 400K
- Next generation: Dell VMAX 950F
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 VMAX 850F connects to servers, storage and the network: 2 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 R830 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge C4130 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge C4140 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R230 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R330 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R440 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 MDS-9718 26U director chassis
Dell Connectrix DS-6620B 1U rack
Dell Connectrix MP-7840B 2U switch
Dell PowerSwitch S4148U-ON 1U switch
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 R830 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge C4130 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge C4140 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R230 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R330 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R440 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 S4048T-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N1524 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N1524P 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N1548 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)
SFP-10G-LR-AR Arista 10GBASE-LR SFP+ 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
- 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 VMAX 850F.
- 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 VMAX 850F: what to check
Verify interconnect fabric health across all director bays, inspect SPS battery packs for cell degradation, and ensure cabinet shipping brackets and specialized multi-phase power leads are available.
FAQ
What is the peak bandwidth of the VMAX 850F?
The 850F delivers up to 150 GB/s of sustained bandwidth across its 16 director boards.
How does the 850F protect data in case of complete datacenter power loss?
Dedicated SPS batteries maintain director power while all in-flight cache is safely vaulted onto internal flash drives.
Buying or selling VMAX 850F?
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 VMAX 850F Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27