A Two-For-One Storage System For SMBs

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HP (Quote) said it has added two new direct-attached
storage (DAS) (define) machines for small- and medium-sized
businesses, offering customers new choices from the computer maker’s
entry-level Modular Smart Array (MSA) line.

The HP StorageWorks MSA60 and MSA70 enclosures support serial-attached SCSI
(SAS) (define) and serial ATA (SATA)
(define) drives in the same enclosure.

Charles Vallhonrat, manager of entry-level SANs for HP’s StorageWorks group,
said providing machines that can house both frequently used,
performance-driven data created in SAS, as well as seldom-used data created in
SATA on one system is important.

SMB customers, who typically have smaller budgets to play with, don’t have
to buy separate machines to store SAS and SATA data created from a glut of
e-mail, archiving applications or document-imaging repositories.

The idea, HP believes, is that customers will flock to the MSA60 or MSA70
because they feel they are getting a two-for-one device to handle all of
their data, cutting their hardware infrastructure costs.

The HP StorageWorks MSA60 is a 2U (1U = 1.75 inches) disk drive box that
supports up to 3.6 terabytes (TB) (define) with 12 3.5-inch
SAS drives or 9 TB on 12 SATA drives.

The machine attaches directly to HP ProLiant and HP Integrity servers. But
customers who require more data storage may link from one to four MSA60
systems.

To do this, Vallhonrat said users can connect an HP Smart Array PA800
controller to an HP server, plug a SAS cable into the of the controller,
then snake the SAS cable to up to three additional MSA60s in a “daisy chain”
configuration.

The HP StorageWorks MSA70 is a 2U disk drive device supporting up to 3.6 TB
with 25, 2.5-inch SAS drives or 1.5 TB with 25, 2.5-inch SATA drives.

The MSA70 supports direct attach to HP ProLiant and HP Integrity servers and
can connect to one additional MSA70 with a P800 controller and a SAS cable.

Both systems also offer RAID 6 with Advanced Data Guarding to stave off
downtime or data loss during upgrades or drive failure.

“You need extra protection from a drive failure in case you have to have a
long rebuild,” Vallhonrat said.

The HP StorageWorks MSA60 is available now, starting at $2,999. The HP
StorageWorks MSA70 is expected to be available in the first half of 2007.
Vallhonrat said the MSA70 pricing has not been finalized but won’t exceed
$3,250.

Vallhonrat said the new machines follow, but don’t replace, the first HP
enclosure to handle SAS and SATA in the same box, the MSA50. The MSA50 is a
1U, small form-factor box using up to 10 drives and designed for limited
external storage.

HP hopes the new MSA60 and MSA70 enclosures help build the company’s
leadership position in the external DAS market.

This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.