Upgrade MSA 2012fc G1 to MSA 2040

[BlScOfDe]

Hello,

as the title says, i want to upgrade my MSA 2012fc G1 Storage to something new. Sinze i don't have good use for something like a 3PAR, i want to stay with goold old MSA. The latest generation MSA2040/1040 seems to be a good choice for me.

But i like to have a few questions answerd before i throw my money at HP and i hope you can help me out :)

1) The MSA series semms to have a high compatibility between all the different generations of chassis. For instance an MSA P2000 can upgraded to an MSA 2040 just by changing the controller(s). The only downside is that SSD’s are not supportet in this case.
So is it possible to add an MSA2040 Controller to an MSA G1 chassis?

2) If i decide to replace the whole MSA G1, is it possible to move all the harddrives to the new chassis without loosing any volumes/data?

3) Can i attach an MSA 2040 to an MSA G1 or vice versa as expansion (with SAS connection) to use both?

My last question is kinda a noob one, but i didnt found any reliable source :) The MSA 2012fc G1 is attached to an 4Gb fc switch. Sinze MSA 2040 has an 16Gb / 8Gb fc connectors, do i need to upgrade my fc switch to at least 8Gb?

[CalvinZito]

Hi - here are answers to your questions:

•  #1 (add 2040 controller to 2012fc G1) answer is no.   
• The question about whether you can move your drives to the 2040 from your 2012fc G1: the answer is no.  The 2040 uses 12Gb or 6Gb SAS drives and you can't take your G1 drives to the 2040. 
• Question 3 - about attaching the MSAs. You can't attach controller chassis to each.  
• You asked about your 4Gb FC switch. The MSA2040 would negotiate down to 4Gb with either the 8GB or 16Gb FC optics on the MSA 2040. Note this is dependent on the switch you have supporting the rest of your connectivity stack (server, HBA, switch, MSA). Also consider the chances are good that your 4Gb FC is end of life and really probably time to consider upgrading your FC switches to 8Gb FC. 

For all connectivity question, I HIGHLY recommend SPOCK (Single Point of Connectivity Knowledge) - this is your bible for what is supported including HBAs, servers, and more across the connectivity stack.  

The MSA has come a long way since you bought your G1. The architecture now includes virtual volumes, SSD support, cool UI, performance and bandwidth that surprises anyone who has not looked at MSA arrays for some time. Check out my recent blog post that gives a good overview of the MSA family.  

The answer to a lot of your questions was no - had you looked to upgrade your MSA G1 to G2 or G3, much of what you wanted to do would be fine. But jumping from G1 to what effectively is G4 MSA is a very big leap.