Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) disk technology is a great choice for entry-level network storage because it offers the same advantages that FC disks provide for large enterprise disk arrays, but at a more affordable price point. In addition, SAS offers a simple migration path from storage directly attached to servers (DAS) to a storage area network (SAN).
If you don't want to add different networking technology, consider iSCSI. By leveraging the current high-speed network switching infrastructure in your data center, your organization can implement an iSCSI solution over gigabit Ethernet. This implementation also takes advantage of your infrastructure team's networking experience to reduce the complexity of supporting another connectivity technology.
Fibre Channel is a popular disk technology commonly found in SANs. It offers gigabit bandwidth, supports multiple protocols and provides a high-efficiency solution.
Serial ATA (SATA) disks available for HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Arrays (MSAs) provide a much lower cost per megabyte than SAS or fibre channel disks. Buyers considering SAN solutions can choose between lower-cost, lower-reliability SATA disks, or opt for performance and reliability in mission critical applications with SAS. MSAs built using SATA disks integrate with HP StorageWorks deliver a much lower cost per gigabyte than SAS or fibre channel disks. This reduces your investment while at the same time increases your choice and ease of deployment. Ultimately, you can buy one server or storage solution and customize the technology to fit your unique needs.
SATA is not intended as a replacement technology. SAS or fibre channel disks remain a better choice for reliable, high performance storage. However, if you want cost-effective storage for infrequently accessed data—such as data repositories or reference information—then SATA is perfect.
The MSA family
The HP MSA family highlighted in this how-to guide offer a choice of host connect interfaces, making it ideally suited for application environments in small and midsized businesses, remote offices, and as tier two or three archived storage for the enterprise. (Note: tiered storage is covered later in this guide.)
HP StorageWorks 2000sa Modular Smart Array
HP StorageWorks 2000fc Modular Smart Array
HP StorageWorks 2000i Modular Smart Array
Modular, reliable, affordable and easy-to-manage shared storage solution
Flexible, scalable Fibre Channel SAN Solution
Flexible, scalable iSCSI SAN Solution
Disk technology
Serial Attached SAS
Fibre Channel
iSCSI
Scalability
Up to 48 TB
Up to 48 TB
Up to 48 TB
Operating Systems
• Windows 2008 • Windows 2003 R2 • Windows 2003 X64 • Red Hat Linux 5 • SUSE Linux 10 • VMware ESX 3.5
• Windows 2008 • Windows 2003 R2 • Windows 2003 X64 • Red Hat Linux 4, 5 • SUSE Linux 9, 10 • VMware ESX 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.5
• Windows 2003 R2 • Windows 2003 X64 • Red Hat Linux 4, 5 • SUSE Linux 9, 10 • VMware ESX 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.5
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