topic Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ??? in HPE EVA Storage

SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Rainer von Bongartz — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 07:42:26 GMT

HP offers these both MultiPath solutions for EVA3000

As SecurePath is quite expensive I'm thinking of using HP_MPIO which comes for free.

Does anybody have any experience with MPIO ?
Is it a stable solution (yet still ver. 1.0)

Regards
Rainer

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Andrzej Kowalik — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 08:24:15 GMT

I install MPIO driver with clustered MS SQL (EVA3K) on DLs and BLs. Works fine without problem. But you must remember, that current basic MPIO drivers has limitations to Path Failover only (mean no load balancing), no automatic failback, not possible coexistence with SecurePath, can not boot from SAN
regards,
Andrzej

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Uwe Zessin — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 08:41:11 GMT

I guess you are talking about the Windows MPIO, although you appear to be a HP-UX man ;-)

- last time I checked, it wasn't supported with Business Copy

- I've tried to find out if the MPIO module is supported on an EVA management server, but I didn't get a definite answer, yet

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Rainer von Bongartz — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 08:56:25 GMT

Sorry Uwe, but sometimes you simply can`t avoid those MS boxes

Regards
Rainer

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

SAKET_5 — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 23:25:15 GMT

G'day Rainer,

Yes, in my experience with MPIO - no load balancing + no failback (but you can get path failback/failover functions enabled from the EVA Controller End when selecting a preferred path for your Vdisk - this is what we do on Tru64 UNIX and a few others which don't run a Secure Path of a kind).

The most frustrating thing that I found with the current version of MPIO is there is no management interface - a path failover, loss of paths events will need to be extracted by scrolling down the Windows Event Viewer.

Regards,
Saket.

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Doug de Werd — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:55:19 GMT

FYI...

The "Full Featured" version of Windows MPIO will be coming out in a couple of months. I believe that it will be available first for MSA1000/1500 around June, then followed by EVA shortly after.

Full Featured MPIO will have support for lots of features, such as: dynamic load balancing, management GUI via MMC snap in, iSCSI support, auto-failback, LUN persistency on boot, SAN boot, compatibility with CA/VR/BC/VSS.

So for the interim before the Full Feature version comes out, there are still good reasons to use SecurePath, but that will pretty much be equalized when FF comes out.

Also, MPIO will not support RA4100, VA7xxx, HSG80, or CLI.

Thanks,
Doug

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

DragomirAtea — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 02:10:50 GMT

Hiya folks!

Just want to remind you that Secure Path and MPIO can NOT coexist. It's either MPIO or Secure Path. We tried to mix them in a labexercise, the whole system went bezerk.

So!

If youre planning to use the FF MPIO, choose the crappy MPIO for now, waste of money to buy Secure Path in that case.

Otherwise go with Secure Path and forget about MPIO.

imho
Dragomir Zekic

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

DragomirAtea — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 02:15:28 GMT

Baaah!

It's early and I need some coffee, you've allready mentioned that they cant coexist...

Man! I need some coffee...

Sorry folks!
Dragomir "not yet awake" Zekic

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

andy steven — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 07:41:52 GMT

Hi Doug

do u have any more info on the FF MPIO driver, is there a beta website or somewhere i can get more info, currently using V1.1 for msa1500s and would be keen to learn more.

many thanks

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

Doug de Werd — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:10:57 GMT

FYI - the FF MPIO will support co-existence with SecurePath (but the current Basic MPIO does not).

The MPIO architecture for Windows is owned and developed by Microsoft. The only part HP provides is what is called a Device Specific Module (DSM). So HP is dependent on MS to release the next version of MPIO (FF) before we can release our FF version of the DSM. I checked out on MS's web site and I did not see anything regarding a downloadable beta version of FF MPIO.

Here's a link to the MS MPIO web site. Some good info, especially the Architecture technical paper.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/storage/mpio/default.mspx

Thanks,
Doug

Re: SecurePath or HP_MPIO What to choose ???

andy steven — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 10:14:25 GMT

Thanks

just what i was after