HP has released some updates to its Converged Storage portfolio. This includes backup, dedupe, 3PAR arrays and storage services – all available in a single architecture. This is part of an overall convergence strategy that has been going on among the big storage vendors for a year or two – and HP is no exception.
StoreAll
HP StoreAll Storage is a single platform for object and file data access that can accommodate a big data archive and cloud storage.
HP StoreAll Express Query is a metadata database that allows clients to conduct search queries 100,000 times faster than previous file system search methods, according to Patrick Osborne, Director of Product Management, HP Storage. Integration with HP Autonomy Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) offloads processing tasks to HP StoreAll so that analytics can be rapidly performed with more current data and using less compute hardware.
“You can search petabytes of data in seconds versus days,” said Osborne. “HP StoreAll Express Query can be used standalone or in conjunction with big data archive and analytic applications, such as Autonomy IDOL.”
Integration between HP StoreAll and HP Autonomy Consolidated Archive, as well as certification of other independent software vendor applications is intended to ensure long-term retention of digital assets. HP StoreAll Storage is expected to be available before Christmas with pricing of $0.91 per GB.
“HP can address the archival of Tier 1 application data for applications like email, databases and file collaboration with HP StoreAll Storage and HP Autonomy Consolidated Archiving, as well as solutions for unstructured data archiving and content depots with StoreAll,” said Osborne.
3PAR
HP’s faith in its 3PAR acquisition is shown by the fact that the company is trying to lure its legacy HP EVA array customers over to 3PAR storage arrays. Existing HP EVA users can take advantage of HP 3PAR Online Import software to move data from HP EVA to HP 3PAR StoreServ using Command View EVA.
In essence, HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage is a midrange quad-controller platform that claims to offer Tier 1 storage availability and quality of service that supports block and file data services, as well as both hard drives and solid state drives (SSDs). If the user selects an all-SSD configuration, it can achieve more than 320,000 input/output operations per second. To come later is an SSD-optimized 3PAR model. As it is self-configuring, self-provisioning and self-optimizing, HP believes that it reduces storage management time by up to 90 percent. Known as HP 3PAR SmartStart, it streamlines deployment to five steps. StoreServ 7200 is priced starting at $20,000 while the quad-controller StoreServ 7400 starts at $32,000. Both will be available in mid- December.
StoreOnce
HP StoreOnce 2000 and 4000 Backup combined with StoreOnce Catalyst software supplies data movement and deduplication. HP claims it is 35% faster in backup than the offerings of its competitors.
“HP Converged Storage helps simplify infrastructure and reduce costs with a common architecture across storage segments and categories,” said David Scott, senior vice president and general manager of HP’s Storage Division.
StoreOnce Catalyst software enables deduplication on application servers or backup servers before it is transferred to a centralized HP StoreOnce Backup system. This cuts down the amount of data that has to be sent across the network considerably.
The HP StoreOnce 6000 series backup system is the large-scale version. In addition, the HP StoreOnce Backup System Health Check Service provides a review of operational, capacity and performance data. HP StoreOnce 6200 Backup systems are available worldwide immediately for a starting price of $250,000. HP StoreOnce 2000 Backup systems start at $10,000 and HP StoreOnce 4000 Backup systems start at $30,000. HP StoreOnce Catalyst Software licenses start at $500.
Integrated Services
All of these new products are brought together under the management umbrella of HP Storage Management Services. The idea is to simplify the infrastructure, align business requirements and scale storage while meeting compliance requirements.
For example, the integration of the 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage into HP Storage Management Services enables users to align capacity and performance demands with budget restrictions. Benefits are said to include faster provisioning, synchronous and asynchronous replication on the same device, as well as consolidation across multiple locations. While all of this has been announced, overall availability varies between mid and late December.
