topic Re: Support Options in StoreVirtual Storage

Support Options

ECA-IT — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:14:31 GMT

We've got some long standing licnese for VSAs (the original purchase goes back to the Lefthand days), these have been kept under support & maintenance today & are currently running Version 12.5. The HPE support paperwork still shows the old P4000 SKU & we are now being told we can't renew support past next year. Apart from purchasing new licenses (Not going to happen) what options do we actually have? the implication of the above to me is that the VSA is (effectivly) a dead product.

Re: Support Options

ECA-IT — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:49:14 GMT

Had it confirmed by HP via their online chat, EOL for the Storevirtual VSA is 11/01/2018

the suggested replacement? - the HP Storeonce Deuplication range.. (really not sure the online tech had a clue, suspect he saw VSA & foudn another product with VSA in it)

Any suggetsions form the community for an equivalent product?

Re: Support Options

CalvinZito — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:13:58 GMT

There is no end of life date for StoreVirtual VSA - this information is incorrect. The information you might have got was that the end of support for version 12.5 is 11/01/2018 though even that doesn't make sense as I don't think we've decided that yet.

What products are you trying to extend support on - VSA or hardware based StoreVirtual/LeftHand appliances? Feel free to reach out to me via email with more details.

I'm sorry that you got someone on chat that doesn't understand things - StoreOnce VSA is NOT a product with the same features as StoreVirtual. StoreOnce is a disk-based backup platform and the VSA is a VM version of it. There's nothing similar about the two other than they run as VMs.

Re: Support Options

ECA-IT — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:02:05 GMT

Hi HPEStorageGuy

reached out via email.

Re: Support Options

CalvinZito — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:30:56 GMT

A bit more as I've dug deeper. The "old" version of LeftHand and P4000 VSA did enter end of life. A new StoreVirtual VSA was announced and named StoreVirtual VSA 2014. There was a support notice on this that discussed the path forward was to update to the new VSA 2014 software. I've sent you that via email and I have the StoreVirtual VSA team looking into what is your path forward.

Re: Support Options

Tom Lyczko — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:34:12 GMT

Thank you for explaining this!!

We bought our HP VSA in 2014, we should see a more current SKU when we renew??

Do we receive automatic notifications of renewals??

Thank you, Tom

Re: Support Options

ECA-IT — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:40:01 GMT

thankyou,

we are running the VSA 2014 :-)

this does raise the intreasting question though, given the version of software we're running is current (OK 1 version behind at present but effectivly current) why does support die? I assume that it has something to do with the move from a perpetual licence to a term one.

Re: Support Options

Tom Lyczko — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:42:56 GMT

I imagine most people on this list who use HP VSA are running the 2014 and later versions.

HPE must organize itself and issue a definitive statement about EOS/EOL for this product.

Re: Support Options

ECA-IT — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:56:05 GMT

Having re-read the document that HPEStorageGuy provided & the comments comming from him directly I *suspect* that the problem is 1 of 2 things:

1) who ever wrote it didn't understand that the version of the software could be updated (& if necessary the license could be upgraded / changed within the support agreement) so running a current version is possible even with the original SKU, this would match with my experience when trying to renew support a few years ago (HP demanded hardware details for the VSA - not just a MAC but a hardware serial number)

or (probably more likley in my opinion)

2) with the change from perpetual to term licensing someone thought "great way of getting more revenue - make all customers pay again for the license"

we'll see what comes back from our account manager

Re: Support Options

Tom Lyczko — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 17:00:53 GMT

Please update this thread with your findings.

Thank you, Tom

Re: Support Options

CalvinZito — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 18:06:45 GMT

Let me provide a bit more color. When you run StoreVirtual VSA, there are two main components:

the VSA (that runs as a VM) - you're running pre-2014.
The OS - and you're currently running 12.5.

So not to confuse things with today's containers but think of VSA as a container and StoreVirtual OS runs within the VSA container. When we moved to StoreVirtual VSA 2014, that underlying VSA changed dramatically to make it easier to support new features. From what I've heard, 12.5 is the last OS that will work with the old VSA. So what drove StoreVirtual VSA 2014 was technical. What I don't know is how to get you from the old to the new and that might take your account manager.

Re: Support Options

CalvinZito — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 18:15:11 GMT

@Tom Lyczko wrote:

I imagine most people on this list who use HP VSA are running the 2014 and later versions.

HPE must organize itself and issue a definitive statement about EOS/EOL for this product.

Tom - the definitive statement was released a few years ago. The issue here is that someone on chat didn't realize that StoreVirtual VSA 2014 is the replacement for the older VSA. The old VSA is EOS - and has been for over 2 years and it is EOL.

Re: Support Options

Tom Lyczko — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 18:26:36 GMT

OIC :) Thank you, Tom