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Re: AUTORAID and VA7100 disk arrays for rp7400

 
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mghosalk
Advisor

AUTORAID and VA7100 disk arrays for rp7400

Hi,

i am in the process of defining the specs for a rp7400. a lil overwhelmed by the storage offerings from HP.
i wanted to know if any of ull hv any inputs regarding a disk array.
we currently hv a Model 30/FC disk array with 9gig drives.
I am looking for a similar or the next higher configuration disk array from HP.

Any inputs regarding VA7100 disk array or corresponding competetive disk aray from HP/competitor?

cache size 256/512/1024 MB? dont know which to go.
thinking of going for 18GB 15k rpm rather than 36GB 15K rpm. faster smaller drives.

the va7100 product specs on HP site mention more about AutoRAID (which is dynamic 0+1 or 5 configuration on the fly).
any inputs on AutoRAID for Oracle database files.
hv ull used 0+1 h/w configuration on VA7100? am i talking sense?

a good article to read, especially page 4
http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/products/disk_arrays/infolibrary/hp_va_and_san_virtualization.pdf


any inputs related to configuring a rp7400 are invited. my initial specs based on my current k570 is below.

current k570 (7.3.4)
4 * 200Mhz
2 gn ram

specs for rp7400 (8i/9i)
4 * 550MHz
6 Gb ram

and i thought it was easy.
take a few procs
add ram
add few disks,
(Baaam!) make sound and license
and u hv a server.

but look into a detailed partlist and configuration options at
https://www.e-solutions.hp.com/shop/cgi-bin/sweetspot.cgi


Thanks
Mandar

2 REPLIES 2
Eugeny Brychkov
Honored Contributor

Re: AUTORAID and VA7100 disk arrays for rp7400

VA disk arrays with autoraid technology and vitrualization are excellent in small and medium data transfers (note: NOT small/medium-size _block_ transfers). Data is organized by VA firmware to hold rarely used data in RAID5DP, and often used data in RAID0/1 levels. Large transfers are identified on the fly and going directly to RAID5DP - that's why large data transfer is a little slower than small/medium block transfer.
I saw some testing reports and remember that the best speed is achieved with 64K blocks (about 100mb/s!).
VA7100 is the best (in its 'economy' class) hardware for databases. The next is VA7400, which is for 'medium' business.
BTW, if possible use SAN switches from HP also (usually Brocades) - they have all possible licenses already installed and HP-oriented firmware
Eugeny
Brian M Rawlings
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: AUTORAID and VA7100 disk arrays for rp7400

Mandar: it sounds like you are interested in high performance, since you are looking for lots of fast small disks.

The VA7100 can't grow beyond its initial single chassis (other than adding a whole 'nuther one). I wouldn't seriously consider it unless you knew for sure you wouldn't outgrow it.

The VA7400 is intended to be very easy to use and administer (the 'auto' in AutoRAID), but that causes compromises in performance. It is an OK performer, but not at the top of that list. Its ease of use makes it nice for shops with limited admin bandwidth or know-how, however.

If you are looking for high performance, the CX400, or its big brother the CX600 from EMC are the hot box of the week right now in their respective capacities/market space. Disclaimer: this changes from month to month, and is hotly contested in some circles... but I believe it to be true.

I also like the ease of management that Navisphere (the EMC Clariion mgmt tool) provides. And there isn't a modular array out there with all the features, if you need extra stuff like replication to another array, or read/write snapshots, or clone-copy snapshots in addition to the normal "changes only" snapshots.

The Clariion CX line is not the cheapest in their capacity ranges, but they aren't much more, and you get what you pay for (often true, if timeworn).

Hope this was helpful. Later... --bmr
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