Array Of Choices: HP Updates MSA Line

Pat McMullan, product manager for entry-level SANs at HP, introduced the new array to solution providers attending QLogic's channel summit last week in Huntington Beach, Calif.

The MSA1500 uses the same RAID controller as the company's MSA1000. However, while the MSA1000 came packaged with the controller and a disk array as an integrated unit, the MSA1500's controller head, with one or two controllers, is separate from the disk enclosure, McMullan said.

"We don't know what customers want, SATA or SCSI," he said.

In back of the MSA1500 are slots for four HP I/O modules. The modules can be connected to either one MSA30 disk enclosure or two MSA20 disk enclosures.

The MSA30 is an Ultra320 SCSI-based JBOD (just a bunch of disks, or non-RAID) array currently shipping for use in expanding the capacity of the current MSA1000 with a maximum capacity of 2 Tbytes. The MSA20 is a new SATA-based JBOD designed for the MSA1500, and can be configured for up to 3 Tbytes of storage per enclosure.

When the MSA1500 initially ships, it can be used with one to four of the I/O modules for a maximum of 8 Tbytes of SCSI or 24 Tbytes of SATA capacity, McMullan said.

Carl Wolfston, director of Headlands Associates, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based HP solution provider, said HP has done a great job with the MSA1500.

The MSA1500 is a big place to store a lot of data cheaply, Wolfston said. In fact, he said, disk-to-disk backups to such arrays could put a dent in the move by many vendors to offer tape emulation on disk-based arrays. "Other vendors have tape emulation," he said. "But now I can back up to SATA drives. Why would I want to use tape emulation?"

The MSA1500 and MSA20 are both expected to ship within 45 days, McMullan said. Pricing information was not available.