New Entry-Level FC and iSCSI RAIDs by HP

HP introduced a new family of entry-level disk arrays
with enterprise-class features that can help customers more effectively
centralize storage to lower costs, increase administrator efficiency and
reduce business downtime.

The HP StorageWorks 2000 Modular Smart Array (MSA2000) family is
composed of low-cost Fibre Channel and iSCSI disk arrays for highly
available, storage area networks (SAN) that is designed for virtualized
server environments.

The easy-to-use, enterprise-class systems are designed for small and
mid-size businesses, however, enterprises also will find the MSA2000 is
an ideal solution for their remote office, departmental, secondary and
tertiary storage needs.

The entry-level external storage market was $2.8 billion in 2006,
according to analysts, and HP garnered a market-leading 21 percent
market share in this segment in 2007.⁽¹⁾

“HP’s market
strength and experience in the entry-level SAN segment allows them to
deliver cost-effective solutions that provide high levels of
availability and scalability,” said John
Webster, principal IT advisor, Illuminata Inc. “There
is a growing demand among customers with smaller storage needs for
features to support high-profile data and applications, as well as
deployments of virtual servers.”

The MSA2000 arrays are easily deployed in physical or virtual server
environments to deliver an available and automated infrastructure. The
modular arrays also support a wide range of application deployments,
including VMware virtualization software. The MSA2000 enables customers
to increase disk utilization by deploying any combination of SAS or SATA
drives to achieve an ideal mix of price, reliability and performance to
support their business.

New capabilities within the MSA2000 increase application uptime to
better ensure that the systems are available for the business. For
example, features such as dual power supplies, optional dual controllers
and redundant hardware with automatic failover significantly reduce
business downtime.

To further minimize the risk of business interruption, the MSA2000
includes optional management software for “snap
and clone” capabilities. These new data
duplication capabilities are critical in protecting data and
streamlining IT processes with rapid backup and recovery operations.
This more reliable data protection also features a persistent cache that
does not require a battery backup, thus reducing the potential disposal
of hazardous material.

Both the iSCSI and Fibre Channel MSA2000 arrays complement the HP
BladeSystem and feature a built-in management console to set up and
configure the storage without additional hardware and software. This
enables HP BladeSystem customers to easily fit the MSA2000 into their
current management environment and configure all their blades at once
instead of one blade at a time.

The flexible and modular nature of the HP
StorageWorks portfolio eases the addition of file services to the
MSA2000 family using HP
ProLiant Storage Servers or an HP
StorageWorks EFS Clustered Gateway. By leveraging familiar ProLiant
server configuration and system management tools, minimal training is
required for IT managers and administration is simplified.

“Our modular storage arrays are perfect for
customers who have a limited IT budget, but need a solution that is
quickly scalable for shared storage environments,”
said Robin Hensley, vice president of Entry Storage, StorageWorks, HP. “Customers
will benefit from consolidating their storage and can take advantage of
features like snap and clone to protect their data and deliver value to
their business.”

The MSA2000 disk arrays can scale up to 36 terabytes of capacity and
support either 4-Gb Fibre Channel (MSA2000fc) or 1-Gb iSCSI (MSA2000i)
host connectivity. The arrays can be configured with up to 48 SAS or
SATA disk drives for an optimal mix of performance, cost and energy
efficiency.

Pricing and availability
The HP StorageWorks 2000 Modular Smart Array starts at U.S. list price
of $4,999 with general availability expected in March.