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MSA1510i Virtualization

 
Peter Turek
Frequent Advisor

MSA1510i Virtualization

I'm not sure so I'll ask: Can the HP MSA 1510i actually virtualize existing logical disk arrays like an EVA?

That is, can it take a 1.5TB (750GB SATA x 3 in RAID 5) logical disk and slice it into 20 75GB LUNs which can then each be presented to different hosts over iSCSI?

Dont have an MSA 1510i yet but what I'm looking to do is to create a cheap low-end iSCSI SAN for hosts like VMware hosts that don't need much in the way of disk performance.

thanks

Pete
1 REPLY 1
Richard Tengdin
Trusted Contributor

Re: MSA1510i Virtualization

Pete, the MSA uses the same Smart Array controllers in ProLiant servers, so it can do *some* things the EVA can, but it isn't a replacement. The biggest limitation is that you can only modify the last volume in a pool, including deleting unneeded volumes. This can cause problems down the line if you want to reconfigure your storage.

Another major limitation is you can only have 32 storage pools and 32 virtual disks overall, so I would not recommend creating separate volumes for your VMware guests.

Much better to create a single volume across your 3 drives and let VMware handle file access..... You won't see any difference in performance, it is all going across the same GigE port.

I suggest you get a 4th 750 GB drive to use as either a hot spare or better to create a RAID10 array on 4 drives. You get the same usable space but MUCH better read and write performance!