HP StorageWorks 4000 Compaq RAID Array 4000 Overview - Page 1

Technology Brief June 1999 ECG0205699A Prepared by ECG Technology Communications Group Compaq Computer Corporation Contents Introduction 3 Hardware Technology 4 StorageWorks RAID Array 4000 4 StorageWorks RAID Array 4000 Controllers 5 Compaq StorageWorks Fibre Channel Host Adapter 7 StorageWorks Fibre Channel Storage Hub 7 10 StorageWorks Fibre Channel Storage Hub 12 10 Gigabit Interface Converters....11 Cables 12 Hardware Architecture 12 Firmware 14 Operating Systems Supported 15 Redundant Operating Systems Supported 15 Non-redundant Operating Systems Supported 15 Compaq Utilities 16 Array Configuration Utility........16 Fibre Fault Isolation Utility .......17 User Diagnostics Utility............18 Array Diagnostics Utility...........19 Compaq Insight Manager ........19 Compaq Redundancy Manager for Microsoft Windows NT 19 Performance 20 Migration to RA4000 from SCSI Technology 21 Clustering with RA4000............22 For More Information 22 APPENDIX A: User Diagnostics Utility 23 Compaq RAID Array 4000 Overview Abstract: The Compaq StorageWorks RAID Array 4000 (RA4000), formerly the Fibre Channel Storage System, is an external storage solution incorporating Fibre Channel interconnect technology. This solution overcomes inherent limitations of small computer systems interface (SCSI) interconnect technology. Fibre Channel interconnect technology is designed to satisfy the requirements of such enterprise applications as databases, data marts, email, groupware, Web servers, and file and print for large storage capacity and scalable input/output (I/O) performance. The architecture of this Fibre Channel storage solution enables administrators to simultaneously achieve multiple goals: • To provide hardware redundancy and failover capabilities with no single point of failure (NSPOF). • To build a scalable external storage solution for high capacity or high growth applications by: • Scaling a single I/O slot to more than 3.2 TB. • Scaling an 8-PCI-slot server to more than 25.6 TB. • To scale cache and processing power for increased I/O performance. • To conserve I/O slots for connecting other types of I/O devices. This technology brief explains the hardware components, hardware architecture, firmware functionality, software support, and performance expectations for the RA4000.