VA 7400 vs Hitachi 9200

[Morris Makuch]

We are in the process of trying to decide which storage solution would be best for us, a VA 7400 or a Hitachi 9200. One of our vendors is trying to scare us away from the VA 7400. This would be attached to 2 rp5430 servers. Has anyone else been through this exercise or had this experience?

[Mark Malko]

We tried to evaluate the Hitachi box, but never did. We had already settled on a 7400. We are using it as an nfs server, and it is attached to 2 rp5400's thru a pair of brocade switches.
What you purchase should depend on what you want todo with it. We originally had planned to share between unix and windows. The windows team had issues, and we ended up with the whole box ourselves. Had some minor startup issues, but it has been rock solid ever since (almost 2 months of production).

[Quin Hammes]

I would go with the HDS. I really think that HP is going to be dropping or putting a smaller focus on the VA and going with Storage Works which is junk.

If you believe that the VA will be around and the systems are not highly critical and you can get the VA for much less than I would say the VA. I bring up critically because the VA seems to be a little more buggy than HDS, Still high quality products though. Also the VA is going to be easier to use so if adminstration time is an issue than I would go with the VA.


Of course since this is a HP forum, you are going to get a biased answer from alot of people regarding the VA (not alot of HP employees are going to post anything negative regarding their own products unless they got their resume up to date).

Quin

[Vincent Fleming]

My, aren't you cynical Quin!

As proof that HP isn't dropping the VA for any other product anytime real soon, the VA7410 was announced last week. It will ship around the end of the month.

Read this forum yourself - there are lots of good comments about the VA. It works. It uses a bit of a different paradigm than the HDS 9200 and other traditional arrays, so there's lots of questions about it, but from what I've seen, it looks like custmers that have them, like them a lot.

Good luck!