HP unveils 3Par storage arrays with Peer Motion

HP has topped off its line of 3Par storage arrays with new hardware offering double the capacity, as well as debuting Peer Motion software designed to transparently move workloads between disk systems and simplify enterprise storage management.

The HP P10000 3Par Storage System, also known as the 3Par V-Class, is the first new hardware in the 3Par storage line since HP acquired the firm nearly a year ago, and is set to ship from September.

However, despite the new branding, HP said it recognised the importance of the 3Par name among customers, and will continue to use the brand and the yellow colour scheme characteristic of 3Par kit.

The two new models in the line-up, the V800 and V400, replace the current high-end arrays, offering improved performance and raw storage capacities up to 800TB and 1,600TB respectively.

But HP Peer Motion could prove the most significant feature, if this lives up to the company's claims.

The software provides storage federation capabilities, enabling arrays to seamlessly move data around if necessary, without causing interruption to applications accessing the data, according to the firm.

HP is positioning the technology as an alternative to storage virtualisation based on tiering, and as reducing cost by making storage management simpler.

"Virtualisation is a bit of a sticking plaster of a solution, as it puts a layer over the top of existing array solutions and thereby tends to add cost and complexity, as you end up having to manage both the storage and the virtualisation layer," said Catherine Campbell, storage chief technology officer for HP UK.

With storage federation, multiple arrays are arranged in a peer-to-peer relationship, making it easier for storage to scale beyond a single array, she said, while Peer Motion is the first implementation of this on 3Par hardware.

"We're aiming to let you address storage as a self-contained entity, so you stop having to worry at the host level about the physical detail of where stuff is, and you don't have to micro-manage it to the same extent that you have to today."

However, Quocirca service director Clive Longbottom said that HP is being slightly misleading to claim that it is not using virtualisation or tiering in high-end storage products.

"Virtualisation must be involved to move data around, and tiering must be involved to meet service level requirements, but if they are hiding and simplifying these, that must be regarded as a good move," he told V3.

Campbell confirmed that this is the case, explaining that this is handled automatically by the arrays, so if one experiences very high use of its SSD storage, data can be migrated automatically to another array with more SSD space.

HP will allow customers to update existing T-Class and F-Class 3Par arrays with Peer Motion, Campbell said, but she expects many customers will choose to deploy P10000 arrays for the most performance-critical workloads.

The arrays also feature completely refreshed components, the V400 boasting up to four controller nodes and up to 96 Fibre Channel host ports managing up to 960 drives, while the V800 has up to eight controller nodes and 192 ports for up to 1,920 drives.

Prices for the new hardware start at €200,000 (£175,195) from HP or its channel partners.