HP AutoRAID 12H manual Section Hp storage white paper, Faqs

section 1

hp storage white paper

Every LUN would have 30 spindles at its disposal.

for more details.

And don’t forget, in the virtual array the spare

Question: Shouldn’t a good system administrator

disk capacity is also

spread

across all of the

know which RAID level the data is in? With the

spindles, i.e., there are no unused spindles in an

virtual array, I have no idea if it is in1RAID 5 or

HP Virtual Array.

RAID 1+0.

Second, the virtual array automatically performance

Short answer: Both the HP Surestore Virtual

Array 7100 and the HP Surestore Virtual Array

tunes the array 24 hours per day, 365 days per

7400 can be configured to run in either fixed

year. The RAID level is matched with the workload.

Data with access patterns that would benefit

RAID 1+0 or AutoRAID modes. And to help with

from RAID 1+0 storage are automatically directed

performance analysis, the controller can provide

to a RAID 1+0 section of the array. Infrequently

data on the actual usage of each RAID level.

used data, or data whose access patterns match

Long answer: With the HP Virtual Array, if

RAID 5DP performance characteristics, are

your data is frequently used, it WILL be in RAID

directed to the RAID 5DP section of the array.

1+0 and will have the best performance. The

These are the same rules that a storage expert

virtual array RAID level policies were developed

would use to optimize an application’s performance.

after researching

the

decision patterns of

In addition, like an expert storage administrator,

experienced

system

and

database

any changes to the configuration are made only

administrators.

Almost

always,

technology

during

low-usage periods

or

when disks

are

progresses

from

highly

manual

to highly

added.

Note: When

disks

are

added,

the

automated operations. In almost every case, the

existing LUNs are automatically extended across

developers of automation simply replicate the best

the new

disks. This

normally requires

data

of the already

developed

manual

processes.

movement

within

the

array.

However,

This is exactly what HP did with the HP Virtual

administrators have the option to postpone this

Array. Also please note: The Virtual Array

data movement by simply turning off the array’s

“Auto-Include” feature.

policies are improved over those of the Model

faqs

12H. The virtual array really does strive in almost

every instance to do any background data

movement during periods of low array activity.

Question: Isn’t this virtualization technology

new and doesn’t that make it risky and untried?

Question: On which disks is my data kept? I

Answer: It would be new for HP’s competitors,

suppose the virtual array can be trusted to handle

the RAID level decisions, but I also need to know

but HP has been virtualizing arrays since 1995,

on which disks my indexes and redo logs are

and since then HP has sold over 20,000 virtualized

kept. The way the virtual array moves data and

arrays. The technology is neither new nor risky

and it offers a simple and compelling value

stripes across all the disks means I have no idea

proposition, i.e., great ease of management and

where my data is kept.

great data protection. For arrays, management

Answer: First, if you are worried about the

costs are far more costly than the initial purchase

integrity of your data, the HP Virtual Array does

price. The HP virtual array is the easiest array in the

a combination of things to protect your data that

world to configure, add capacity, and manage—

no other array does. First, the HP Virtual Array

the administration savings are significant. It also

offers end-to-end

checksum, ECC

protected

has the best availability of any mid-range array

memory, parity coherence, disk scrubbing, and

on the

market. See

the

white

paper

titled

RAID 5DP

which,

in a

typical configuration,

“VA7100 Hardware High Availability Features”

1.6