Remove ViPR Controller from your question. It's not relevant. The newest version of the ECS software no longer requires ViPR Controller. There is no ViPR Controller with ECS. ECS has its own element management and cloud software. ECS can be deployed as a software-only solution or as an integrated appliance (ECS Appliance). A customer can have both the software-only on certified 3rd party JBOD and ECS Appliance in the same environment. It's the same software.  For customers that are also using ViPR Controller to manage file and block arrays, we will make a plug-in available for ECS so you can manage ECS from ViPR Controller just as you would any other array. The benefit is a single pane of glass. But ECS does not require ViPR Controller. 
Hi everyone, We are going to buy ECS. I took some time to study about the appliance. I wonder if ECS's ViPR Controller component can be used to manage other commodity hardwares or not. Could you share us some knowledge or experience about this question?
Using ViPR controller in ECS to manage other commodity hardwares