February 2010

Monthly Technical & Sales Updates from HPM Networks

HP Smart Array P812 Controller
QuickSpecs

• The HP Smart Array P812 provides superior RAID
• Performance, while delivering high levels of connectivity, reliability, and many advanced features
• Increased connectivity with 8 internal ports and 16 external ports
• 1 G 72-bit wide DDR2-800 flash-backed write cache (FBWC)
• Smart Array Advanced Pack (SAAP) license key included standard

HP Serial ATA (SATA) Entry (ETY) and Midline (MDL) Hard Drives
QuickSpecs

• Introducing the largest Midline capacity drive in the industry,  with robust features optimized for more demanding storage environments
• Now offering  the 2TB capacity with robust Midline features, such as, rotational vibration sensors, native command queuing (NCQ), Time Limited Error Recovery (TLER) and 3Gb/s
• Also introducing is the 1TB Midline Non-Hot Plug(NHP) drive, as well as, the 250GB Hot Plug and NHP Entry drive for the Entry Server space
• For additional features please go to the key benefits page

HP 100 Series Rack - V142
QuickSpecs

 This rack will support 2000lbs at the price which is must lower then any other vendor in the world, it designed and tailored to fit all HP servers and storage

HP NC550SFP Dual Port 10GbE Server Adapter
QuickSpecs

• NC550SFP protocol speed of 10Gbps meets the needs of the most demanding ProLiant Server workloads
• Workloads created by virtualization require the increased I/O delivered by the 10GbE NC550SFP
• SFP+ ports on the NC550SFP can be used in either copper or fiber-optic environments
• 10 Gigabit networking prepares an infrastructure for 10GbE converged network fabrics

HP NC550m 10Gb 2-port PCIe x8 Flex-10 Ethernet Adapter
QuickSpecs

• Support’s HP exclusive Flex-10 technology
• 40Gbs (full duplex) to each server per adapter. Up to 3 adapters per FH server!
• TOE capability decreases utilization significantly for an enhanced performance experience

Refresh:
Smart Array P410/512MB FBWC, Smart Array P410/1G FBWC, Smart Array P411/512MB FBWC, Smart Array P411/1G FBWC
QuickSpecs; QuickSpecs

• FBWC support for the Smart Array P410 and P411 Controllers
• Increased cache size to 1G FBWC
• Good for the environment: Batteries require a special disposal process,
  Flash does not
• No need for periodic battery replacement
• Increase cache data retention capabilities in excess of existing battery backed write cache (BBWC)
• No 72-hour deadline for retrieving the data like with BBWC

HP ProLiant DL120 G6 Server
QuickSpecs

• Support for Intel Pentium and Core i-3 dual-core processors
• Support for Non Hot Plug SAS Hard Drives

HP ProLiant ML110 G6 Server
QuickSpecs

• Support for the latest Intel Dual-core Core i3, Pentium and Celeron processors

HP StorageWorks P4000 G2 SAN Solutions
QuickSpecs

• Adding significant capabilities without extra cost via free software upgrade for current customers
• Increase usable capacity by 50% while maintaining industry leading high availability with new data protection levels [Network RAID 5 and Network RAID 6]
• Improve business continuity with application integrated snapshots supporting features such as remote copy, scheduling, etc
• Ensuring best-in-class operations with built-in best-practice analyzer which automatically recommends SAN best practices and how to implement those
• Delivering more value for less: lower $/GB for Starter SANs: P4300 G2 7.2 TB SAS and P4300 G2 16 TB MDL SAS; approximately 10% lower power consumption; offering 60 TB MDL SAS Scalable Capacity SAN
• Repurpose e.g. Dell storage to deliver synchronous replication via P4000 VSA Software supporting external FC/SAS/iSCSI arrays

HP StorageWorks P2000 G3 Modular Smart Array System
QuickSpecs

• Increasing scalability over the G2 series with a 50% in the supported number of SFF drives, 60% in Large Form Factor drives. Modular approach allows user to start small and grow as the need grows
• Offering single or dual 8 Gb Fibre Channel or Combo FC/iSCSI controllers, giving the flexibility to allow a single array to match the performance needs and budgetary constraints of diverse departments
• Supporting sixty-four snapshots and clone capability for increased data protection at no extra cost. Optional Remote Snap software allows replication over iSCSI or Fibre Channel
• Featuring the new 6 Gb SAS backend access to drives and enclosures, compared to the 3 Gb access provided by earlier generations.

HP StorageWorks Converged Network Adapters
QuickSpecs

• Converged Infrastructure
• Reliability
• Provides HP ProLiant Connectivity to Storage and Networks
• Flexible Connect

HP StorageWorks SN6000 Stackable 8Gb Fibre Channel Switches
QuickSpecs

• Build a Scalable SAN with Less Hardware and Less Complexity
• Affordable Performance
• Gain Operationally Efficiencies with Unique SAN Management Software
• Interoperability

HP StorageWorks 2000fc 2000i 2000sa G2 Modular Smart Array
New Hard Drive Support
QuickSpecs, QuickSpecs, QuickSpecs

• Adding support for 6G SAS drives: HP P2000 300GB 6G SAS 15K 3.5-inch LFF DP ENT HDD, HP P2000 450GB 6G SAS 15K 3.5-inch LFF DP ENT HDD, HP P2000 600GB 6G SAS 15K 3.5-inch LFF DP ENT HDD
• Adding higher capacity SATA drive: HP P2000 2TB 3G SATA 7.2K 3.5-inch LFF MDL HDD

HP StorageWorks Replication Solutions Manager Software
QuickSpecs

• RSM 5.1 release with enhancements
• support for Windows 2008 R2
• RSM performance improvements
• BC/DCM support for VMFS volume

HP SmartStart for EVA Storage
QuickSpecs

• SmartStart v 3.2 for Linux
• Support Command View  EVA 9.2 feature Command View on VMware Guest Operating System
• Support Command View EVA 9.2 feature Command view on windows server 2008 R2
• SmartStart v 3.2 supports  Linux OS application storage server

Date:
February 24, 2010

Time:
1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Location:
Hewlett Packard
19111 Pruneridge Avenue Building 48
Cupertino, CA 95014
The Oak Room
Phone: (408) 725-8900

Location Map

» Register today

• Are you interested in learning how to reduce your IT operations and maintenance resource costs?
• Is your budget trapped in silos that are costly and underutilized?
• Are you ready to transform your data center to operate more efficiently?

From Green IT and virtualization to cloud computing, today's mega-trends demand a new approach to infrastructure—an infrastructure that matches the supply of IT resources with the demand for business applications.

 See how the HP converged infrastructure architecture is breaking down technology silos to simplify IT and accelerate business results.

Day 1 will highlight presentations on:

• Managing explosive data growth
• Transforming productivity through Unified Communications
• Bulletproofing your virtualization strategy
• Thermal Logic and Dynamic Power Capping reduce costs and extend the life of your datacenter

Day 2* HP experts will provide technical details including demonstrations of the powerful HP innovations that make Converged Infrastructure real:

• HP BladeSystem Matrix and Insight Software: Converged Infrastructure solution for delivering shared services
• Flex Fabric to dynamically connect resources
• Unified Storage for flexible, resilient scale-out storage
• BladeSystem with G6 processors for maximum performance and power efficiency
• Detailed technical teardown of competitive systems to see what’s really under the covers

The Intel® processor roadmap for industry-standard servers, 10th edition - technology brief, October 12, 2009 - Intel® continues to introduce processor technologies that boost the performance of x86 processors in multi-threaded environments. This technology brief describes these processors and some of the more important innovations as they affect HP industry-standard enterprise servers.

The AMD processor roadmap for industry-standard servers, 6th Edition - technology brief, October 12, 2009 - Since 1996, HP and AMD have collaborated to provide high-performance, energy efficient solutions that deliver quality, variety, and value in industry-standard servers. This collaboration includes the adoption of the latest multi-core AMD Opteron™ processors. This technology brief discusses current and near future AMD Opteron processors and the evolving AMD Opteron processor microarchitecture.

HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System technology, technology brief, November 21, 2009 - The HP ProLiant SL6000 Scalable System implements an entirely new mechanical design and architecture in the industry-standard server market. The SL6000 server family is optimized for extreme scale-out computing applications such as High Performance Computing, large-scale enterprise server deployments, and the latest web and cloud computing applications.

Configuring SATA and SAS in HP ProLiant SL6000 servers, How to, November 12, 2009 - This paper provides guidance for users reconfiguring hard disk drives in any of the SL6000 Scalable System server nodes. The SL6000 server nodes are primarily intended for SATA hard drives, but SAS options are available. The hardware required to connect the disk drives depends on the type of server node, the type of drive (SATA or SAS), the drive form factor (LFF or SFF), and the number of hard drives in the configuration. The paper describes the required controllers, cables, and components for each SL6000 server node and disk drive configuration.

HP has developed the HP Sizer for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 to assist you with proper server and storage sizing for Exchange Server 2010 deployments.

You’ll find support for HP tower, rack mounted, or HP BladeSystem server platforms, as well as direct attached or SAN-based storage solutions. Additionally there are options for showing multiple site deployments, varied client types and access methods, all Exchange Server 2010 server roles, and Database Availability Group (DAG) high availability options.

Download this free tool now!

Virtual Connect Ethernet Cookbook (version 2.30)

Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Cookbook (March 2009 edition)

Nexus 1000V on HP BladeSystem: A Reference Architecture for optimal VMware vSphere design using HP BladeSystem (w/Virtual Connect) and Cisco Nexus network infrastructure
This Technology Brief is designed to better educate the reader on the use of HP BladeSystem (and Virtual Connect) with Cisco Nexus technology.  The document reviews all the VMware virtual switch technologies and it specifically addresses the potential issues surrounding the use of VNTag and the Cisco Nexus 1000V vDS.

This document is written in plain, easy to understand terms and it will help you have an informed discussion with your customers about these technologies.  This document does not review any future technology.  It is designed to inform the reader about current technologies. 
Click Here to View

Title: HP BladeSystem Reference Architecture: Virtual Connect Flex-10 and VMware vSphere 4.0
The Reference Architecture outlines several configuration scenarios deploying HP Virtual Connect and ESX vSphere technologies.  Discussed are some best practices to install and configure virtual connect Flex-10 and VSphere 4 Networking.
Click Here to View

Title: HP BladeSystem ProLiant firmware management best practices - General overview
The document details firmware best practices for HP c-Class BladeSystem products including:
• What firmware to update
• Which tools to use
• What dependencies to consider for the update process
• How to deploy firmware update

Click Here to View

Configuration best practices for HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) family and VMware vSphere 4
Download Here

Best practices for deploying the HP XP24000 Disk Array with VMware vSphere 4(includes use of both ProCurve and Virtual Connect)
Download Here

HP reference configuration for virtualization - HP ProLiant BL490c G6 servers and VMware vSphere 4 (includes use of Flex-10, Virtual Connect and MSA2300fc)
Download Here

HP reference configuration for virtualization - HP ProLiant BL495c G6 servers and VMware vSphere 4 (includes use of Flex-10, Virtual Connect and MSA2300fc)
Download Here

ISS Technology Update Volume 9

• Recently published industry standard server technology papers
• How many bytes are in a GB?
• Disabling AMD® processor cores in ProLiant 300 series G5 and G6 servers
• Quick tip: Efficient deployments—Sun Solaris 10 for x86/x64 Systems
• Meet the Expert—Siamak Tavallaei

HP Power Advisor Utility: a tool for estimating power requirements for HP ProLiant Rack-Mounted Systems, Technology Brief

HP has created the HP Power Advisor utility to provide more accurate and meaningful estimates of power needs for HP ProLiant BL, DL, and SL systems so that IT infrastructure designers can determine the most efficient hardware configuration. This technology brief identifies factors affecting power requirements, explains how the Power Advisor works, and provides an example of how it can be used.

Effective May 2010, VMware will remove all but the most recent versions of our Virtual Infrastructure product binaries from our download web site. As of this date, these Virtual Infrastructure products will have reached end of general support according to the published support policy. The downloadable products removed will include both ESX and Virtual Center releases.

For reference,the VMware VI3 support policy can be viewed at this location: www.vmware.com/support/policies/lifecycle/vi.

By removing older releases, VMware is establishing a long-term sustainable product maintenance line for older ESX product releases which have transitioned into the Extended Support life cycle phase. This enables us to baseline all patches and critical fixes against these baselines. This translates to faster customer turn-around and greater product stability during the extended support phase.

Virtual Infrastructure products being removed by May 2010:

• ESX 3.5 versions 3.5 GA, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3 and Update 4
• ESX 3.0 versions 3.0 GA, 3.0.1, 3.0.2 and 3.0.3
• ESX 2.x versions 2.5.0 GA, 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 2.1.3, 2.5.3, 2.0.2, 2.1.2 and 2.5.4
• Virtual Center 2.5 GA, 2.5 Update 1, 2.5 Update 2, 2.5 Update 3, 2.5 Update 4 and 2.5 Update 5
• Virtual Center 2.0

Virtual Infrastructure products remaining for Extended Support:
These versions will be the baseline for ongoing support during the Extended Support phase. All subsequent patches issued will be based solely upon the releases below.

• ESX 3.5 Update 5 will remain throughout the duration of Extended Support
• ESX 3.0.3 Update 1 will remain throughout the duration of Extended Support
• Virtual Center 2.5 Update 6 expected in early 2010

Customers may stay at a prior version, however VMware’s patch release program during Extended Support will be continued with the condition that all subsequent patches will be based on the latest baseline. In some cases where there are release dependencies, prior update content may be included with patches.
To submit a support request, please use the VMware support web site, www.vmware.com/support

The current naming convention, using the “metals” designation (e.g., Gold Support), does not provide clear differentiation, nor does it accurately reflect the level of support customers will receive.  Therefore, we will be renaming two of our support offerings in order to more be more descriptive about the level of support the customer is purchasing. The changes are as follows:

o   Gold Support will now be called Basic Support. Basic Support is for test, development and non-production environments, where basic response time targets and 12 x 5 support is acceptable. There are no changes to the features, availability or pricing for this support offering.

o   Platinum Support will now be called Production Support. Production Support is for production environments, where faster response time targets are needed, and 24 x 7 assistance for Severity 1 issues is required. There are no changes to the features, availability or pricing for this support offering.

SILVER SUPPORT END-OF-LIFE

Effective 1 April 2010, we will end-of-life our Silver Support and Subscription Service, and no new orders for Silver Support contracts will be accepted. This support program is available only for Workstation customers. Current Silver Support and Subscription Service contracts will remain valid and in effect through their natural expiration date.

Important note on vSphere bug
Not sure if everyone has seen this – http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014176 - but it talks about how low disk space on a VMFS partition can impact – in fact stop – VMotion activities.  You do need to maintain sufficient disk space on your VMFS partitions for cache changes, snapshots, and now for VMotion activities.  Make sure to understand the KB article.  And we are working to improve this too.  This KB article references an interesting KB article about troubleshooting a datastore or VMFS volume that is full or near capacity and it is at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003412 .

Cisco Nexus

Cisco Nexus 1000V and HP Virtual Connect
This one is a video on how the both of these can work together.  See it at https://www.myciscocommunity.com/videos/2972 .