MSA1000 SB Kit Compatibility with MSA2012FC

[Eric Distad]

We currently have an MSA1000 we purchased as part of the Small Business Kit. We upgraded it with the High Availability Kit so that the end result is that we have 2 Fiber Channel switches and 2 HBAs in each server.

With the MSA1000 going discontinued as well as the majority of the U320 drives, we were looking at adding additional storage to our storage network by adding an MSA2012FC.

The catch is that our reseller is indicating that the MSA2012FC would not be compatible, or at least not supported by HP, with our current storage network.

The indication was that the neither the switches nor possibly the HBAs that are part of the Small Business kit would connect properly to the newer MSA2012FC. I know there is a speed difference there - 2Gb vs 4Gb, but that is not a concern to us at the moment. Our MSA1000 is basically full and we need the additional storage more than we need the extra bandwidth. If it works, we can always upgrade the switches and select HBAs later when we need the increased bandwidth

The 2 switches we have are different. One firmware says Qlogic and the other Brocade. Both were HP part numbers - One is a Storageworks SAN 2/8. The others is a 2/8q

Most of the HBAs appear to be QLogic 2300 series HBAs.

So, is our reseller right? If we decided to put the MSA2012FC on our current SAN, will it work? Will HP not support this config?

[TTr · Accepted solution]

Based on the quick specs
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12991_na/12991_na.html
The MSA2/8 is supported. See section under Step4 fiber channel support. It also supports all servers that are industry standard x86. See the table right over the optional software ssection.

[Eric Distad]

Thanks for the quick response!

The part number listed on the quick specs appears to be a switch that is installed inside the MSA1000. Ours are standard rackmount switches. Does anyone know if that part (288247-B21) is the same or similar to the Qlogic or Brocade based switches that came with the High Availability and Small Business kits.

Or barring that, if HP might still support this setup.

One switch is a 2/8q and one is just a 2/8 (Brocade I think) from what I can see.