QLogic's 10GbE iSCSI connectivity solution for HP EVA storage systems

ALISO VIEJO, USA: Continuing its collaboration with leading OEMs to address the challenges of next-generation data centers, QLogic Corp., a leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, announced that its 6200 Series intelligent Storage Router, branded by HP as the HP StorageWorks MPX200 Multifunction Router, is now available from HP as a 10GbE iSCSI connectivity solution for all HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) storage environments.

Fully integrated with the HP StorageWorks Command View storage management console, the solution simplifies and unifies the management of Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage pools and addresses many of the challenges created by the massive proliferation of virtual machines (VMs) in the enterprise.

"Hypervisors introduce lots of small systems to manage in the form of virtual machines. When a Logical Unit Number (LUN) associated with a VM is managed by a hypervisor, this adds complexity to storage management due to fundamental changes in the way storage is managed, allocated and provisioned," said Shishir Shah, vice president and general manager, Storage Solutions Group, QLogic.

"The HP MPX200 solves this issue by using initiator virtualization technology and iSCSI protocols to move all the plumbing into the guest VM's operating system such that storage management between server and storage array remains consistent with the way it was managed prior to the introduction of server virtualization.

"When a VM is moved, all the storage associated with the VM goes with it. This capability greatly simplifies the complexities that VMs introduce to LUN management for HP EVA customers."

Available now as an option to HP EVA storage customers, the MPX200 is integrated -- just like a drive tray-in EVA storage systems and is managed through the highly intuitive HP Command View management console.

By incorporating four ports each of 10GbE iSCSI and 8Gb/sec Fibre Channel (dual blade), the multi-protocol HP MPX200 simultaneously serves FC and iSCSI operations, empowering customers to cost-effectively scale blade servers and rack servers in a number of environments, including branch office storage consolidation, application test and development, VM deployments and bandwidth aggregation.

"Customers want to maximize the number of virtual machines running on each server to drive increased availability, scalability and performance," said Kyle Fitze, director of marketing, Storage Platforms Division, HP. "With HP StorageWorks EVA and MPX200 10GbE connectivity, customers can do more with less because of its faster throughput and ease-of-use."

Based on an innovative dual-blade architecture, the HP MPX200 router enables VMs to use iSCSI and link to existing Fibre Channel infrastructure. This is significant for IT management as it allows the leverage of existing Fibre Channel infrastructure in VM environments without the performance, data management and potential quality issues.

Additionally, the MPX200 eliminates limitations on the number of host storage connections and allows more VMs to run against the storage backend, without running out of logical host connections for EVA storage systems. This enables customers to connect 600 servers or VMs through network links fanning into the MPX200 router, without requiring a massive number of physical ports.

The industry-leading architecture of the MPX200 features two hot-replaceable router blades -- which can be zoned for full redundancy or utilized for separate applications -- and two hot-replaceable power modules for a fully redundant, high-availability design.

The MPX200 architecture features adaptive tuning technology that enables the system to self-configure itself following the immediate removal of any hot-replaceable components, ensuring no manual intervention is required from end-users. If a router blade is removed and replaced, it is quickly rebooted within sixty seconds and all zoning and configuration data is automatically loaded.

In addition to the HP MPX200 model with four 10GbE iSCSI ports and four 1Gb/sec iSCSI ports, a second configuration is available with eight 1Gb/sec iSCSI ports (dual blades). Both versions include four 8Gb/sec Fibre Channel ports standard. Either version can be easily deployed in 1GbE or 10GbE server environments.