expand to modular storage array question

[razi_1]

hello,

i need help:

i have few hp dl380 g4 and few of hp dl580 g3. let say:

1. i use raid-5 using 72.8Gb scsi u320 10k hdd,and now i have equipped all available slots and still need space.

how can i expand to use the MSA (HP 335921-B21 MSA20 Base Chassis SATA 12-Drive Enclosure) ?

is it possible or i need a fresh install of everything after put in the MSA?

2. does this MSA work only for 1 server, or several server can share the array from the same MSA? if can how to i manage it, what software?

thanks

[razi_1]

any help would be appreciated please.

thanks

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hi!

http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/disk_storage/msa_diskarrays/index.html

here are more information about the MSAs.

1x ' do you have to expand the partition where you have installed the OS? With the MSA it should not be a problem to get another hard drive visible in the OS to get another partition.
If you want to get a larger partition tho it is a bit more tricky.. would probably be a better idea to make a backup and then put it back on.. but then again, might be cheaper to just buy bigger hard drives in that case :p

2x it is managed via ACU, array configuratino utility, if you have a supported OS you can have it installed, if not, it is available on CD.

"You can connect the MSA20 to the external port of any sixth-generation Smart Array
controller or to an MSA1500 controller shelf (MSA1500 cs)."

So by itself it seems like it is not possible to connect one MSA20 to several servers. Maybe an MSA2000 would be worth looking into.

[razi_1]

well, for me its really important to expand the current partition/array. that is what i have been doing, until 6 slots is finish and now i need more expansion.

so no easy solutions to this? obviously the expansion is most needed on /home partition.

any helps?

thanks

[Johan Guldmyr · Accepted solution]

Ah, yeah well if you already know how to do it in Linux then it shouldn't be a problem :)

The drives will come up as any other drives will under /dev/ so you can use your normal tools to expand the partition.

[razi_1]

haha yeah, i know how to expand using linux lvm.. quite tricky but can be done ;)

so im looking into the msa u recommended i can manage thing likes many server connect to it and seperate space for certain servers? just need to know before buying one. since i have few of this servers hpdl380 g4 so maybe jsut need to get one good msa then all of these server take space from the same sma. izzit reliable to do this?

thanks

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hi, yeah on the MSA1000, 1500, 2000 or the new ones 2200/2300 you can connect several servers and on them you can create several arrays and select which servers should get access to which arrays.

When the servers have access to the arrays you can partition them up however you want them.

This is if you're using fibre channel. Don't know exactly how to do it with many servers and SCSI.

Also one thing you might want to keep in the back of your head is performance. If your servers are doing a lot of hdd intensive work you might run into bottlenecks.

[razi_1]

hello,

oo ic im not using fibre channel, btw if my servers are hosting server, only god knows how intense it is working with thousands of domain name on each server. maybe not that intense after all but it still not just a storage server.

do you recommend this? if the traditional MSA20, will it be better in terms of performance. i dont mind buying seperate MSA for each server.

and this MSA is raid capable as well right?

thanks

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hi again

yes, the MSAs are raid capable. The technology varies slightly between them but the MSA20 have a smart array controller so the raid it is capable is the same as your other HP servers. You just go in to ACU and create an array.

Of course it's possible to get an MSA for each server, but it seems to me like a lot of space is wasted that way but maybe it's the way to go if you want to get extra storage via SCSI.
Performancewise it shouldn't be a bottleneck, SCSI is max like 320MB/s so then it's more likely the drives themselves will be the bottleneck :p

[razi_1]

ok now i fully understand due to your help.

thanks a lot