| Q1. |
Does the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Service Platform support storage pooling? |
| A1. |
Yes, it does. The HP SVSP uses virtualization technology to abstract storage from the physical devices, and create pools of virtual storage. HP SVSP can now provision multi-vendor server farms out of the virtual pools to satisfy application requirements. User can also add thin provisioning to increase storage utilization. |
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| Q2. |
How would the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Service Platform help in storage consolidation initiatives? |
| A2. |
The HP SVSP provides the pooling and sharing of heterogeneous storage resources that improve efficiency, simplify operations and lowers Total Cost of Ownership, which are at the core of the benefits seek with consolidation. Furthermore, the HP SVSP provides centralized management, provisioning and a consistent set of data and mobility services for the consolidated storage pool delivering greater operational flexibility and data protection capabilities.
With the extensive set of functionality offered by the HP SVSP platform, it becomes an ideal tool to realize the benefits on storage consolidation. |
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| Q3. |
Do I have to buy multiple HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Service Platforms to benefit from virtualization and the advanced data services? |
| A3. |
No, in fact a single HP SVSP hardware bundle and two Virtualization Services Manager servers (VSMs) are all that’s required. Once the HP SVSP components are installed, the SVSP can actually discover the remainder of the LUNS within the SAN that are presented to the VSMs and begin to centralize the management, pooling, and provisioning of those LUNs. As your environment grows, you can easily scale up your SVSP system flexibly to keep up with your evolving requirements. |
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| Q4. |
What data services are available in the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform? And how are they packaged? |
| A4. |
The HP SVSP includes a centralized set of data and mobility services for all the storage under management, including the following:
- Space efficient snapshot to improve application recovery
- Snapclone for full size replications
- Migration services for non-disruptive data movement/migration
- Sync and async, local and remote mirroring for Disaster Recovery solutions and thin provisioning for greater storage utilization
The HP SVSP product structure consists of the 4 following applications:
1) HP StorageWorks SVSP Volume Manager which includes:
- Virtual Disk (pooling/virtualization)
- Data Migration
- Sync Mirror (2 way)
- Import in place
2) HP StorageWorks SVSP Business Copy which includes the following services for a single domain:
3) HP StorageWorks SVSP Continuous Access, which includes the following services for multiple domains (remote):
4) HP StorageWorks SVSP Thin Provisioning for greater asset utilization
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| Q5. |
What are the benefits of Thin Provisioning? |
| A5. |
Thin provisioning allows the customer to resolve three major problems administrators experience when allocating or adding capacity to applications.
- Application Disruptions Required to Increase File System Size.
- Very Low Overall Storage Utilization.
- Over Buying to Minimize Downtime.
Thin Provisioning allows an administrator the ability to provision “thin” volumes of up to 2 TB and grow into the larger volume size over time – all without wasting storage space.
SVSP offers Thin Provisioning for any vendor’s hardware, unlike the competition that requires their storage platform in order to gain the tremendous TCO benefits of this functionality
SVSP gets it right by offering a solution that doesn’t require a rip and replace of the existing storage infrastructure.
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| Q6. |
What is so special about the Snapshots in the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform Business Copy? |
| A6. |
Snapshot in the HP SVSP provides a very flexible and high performance data service when compared with traditional “Copy on Write” snapshot technology. BC Snapshot in the HP SVSP enables clients to lower recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) by using up to 64 PiTs (point-in-time) per volume and virtual disk groups to rapidly recover entire applications in seconds. It also supports all storage under management, including non-HP arrays. |
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| Q7. |
What is a stretch domain? What is its value? |
| A7. |
A stretch domain is one where one half of the components are in each of two computer rooms. This includes the storage, servers, Data Path Modules and Virtualization Services Manager. It could be two rooms or two facilities of the same campus or within the same metropolitan area. A key requirement is that both halves be connected together with a common Fibre Channel storage Area Network. Stretch domains enable customer to implement mirroring solutions (synchronous or asynchronous) most cost effectively without the need to jump into long distance support of multiple domains. |
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| Q8. |
What is new about the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform? |
| A8. |
The HP SVSP provides centrally managed storage pooling and virtual volume provisioning for the entire SAN storage capacity (HP and Non-HP arrays). In addition, the HP SVSP adds a series of integrated advanced storage services to put storage virtualization to work and improve business outcomes.
New in this release is the introduction of brand new way to simplify the management of heterogeneous systems with Command View SVSP. It offers multiple productivity enhancements including a Back End LUN provisioning service which simplifies by as much as 80% the tasks of creating pools of virtual storage out of multiple EVAs.
Other developments include:
- New SMS-S and VSS providers
- Increase performance and scalability with support for up to 8 DPM's per domain
- Twice the capacity per systems and multiple other scalability increases
- Extended OS support matrix
- Extended array support matrix feature for the first time support for XP, DMX and other tier 1 arrays. Check the SPOCK streams documents for the latest on the support matrix at:
www.hp.com/storage/SPOCK
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| Q9. |
What is Storage Virtualization Services Platform (SVSP) and what is the benefit to the customer? |
| A9. |
Targeted at enterprise and mid-size firms that are experiencing significant storage growth, the HP Storage Virtualization Services Platform (SVSP) is a network-based virtualization application that helps customers improve efficiency, simplify operations and lower TCO by enabling the pooling and sharing of storage resources.
Specific benefits include:
1. Simplifies Management:
- Aggregates capacity of multiple heterogeneous arrays into virtual pools
- Enables easy provisioning of the right type of storage
- Migration services for non-disruptive data movement/migration
- Provides centralized management of pools and data services
2. Lower Costs:
- Increases storage efficiency via pooling
- Improves asset utilization with Thin Provisioning
- Streamlines operations with virtualization-enabled data services
3. Performance & Scalability that evolves with your needs:
- High performance, highly scalable split-path architecture
- Modular & flexible to grow with changing requirements
- Pay only for what you need
4. Reliability to help you decrease business risk:
- Recover faster from failures
- Supports extensive third party interoperability
- Robust local and remote heterogeneous mirroring capabilities for greater availability and more cost effective business continuity solutions
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