HPE MSA: Storage that grows alongside the organisation

Data is the lifeblood of every business, irrespective of its size, or the industry in which it operates. As a result, making informed decisions regarding how data is accessed and stored is critical.

In addition, it is a common misconception that, due to their size, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have correspondingly small data storage and backup requirements. In fact, small and mid-sized entities share similar data needs with their larger corporate counterparts but don’t have the same budgets to meet them.

SMEs also lack large technical teams and can easily get bogged down by the complexity associated with running many workloads across a range of environments, which is why they need solutions that are easy to manage and can meet their storage demands today, and into the future. After all, sudden growth and the under-provisioning that goes hand in hand with it can cause major issues for these businesses.

Furthermore, because each business has unique needs, they need to avoid falling into the trap of buying a solution that has insufficient capacity or spending too much on one that has far too much. What they need is a storage solution that can add capacity as needed and grow alongside the organisation. It also needs to be able to integrate seamlessly with current infrastructure.

Covered in this article

Modern architecture
A choice of three
Ideal for SMEs
System health
Performance tiering

Modern architecture

Fortunately, HPE has the ideal solution, with its Modular Smart Array (MSA) Gen6, its next-generation SAN storage solution. HPE MSA enables medium-sized businesses to secure their most valuable data and make it easily accessible to employees.

It features a modern architecture that includes a number of new internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI), serial attached SCSI (SAS), and Fiber Channel high-performance Gen6 controllers, and a choice of hard disc drive (HDD) and solid-state drive (SSD) media.

The HPE MSA entry-level storage portfolio enables customers to benefit from performance, simplicity, and flexibility over a vast array of workloads. Enhancements to the Performance Tiering option lets users configure a high-performance SAN solution with a minimal number of SSDs, enabling HPE MSA solutions to facilitate application acceleration without breaking the bank.

A choice of three

HPE MSA offerings now include three models that deliver simple, high-performance, flash-ready storage for SMEs.

Firstly, the HPE MSA 1060 was designed for users that have fixed capacity and performance needs and wants to support smaller IT workloads. It was built to meet entry-level storage requirements and is an ideal fit for budget-constrained customers.

The HPE MSA 2060 brings true flexibility to scale, not only performance but capacity too, to address the needs of even the most demanding IT workloads. It is a flash-ready hybrid storage system designed to deliver hands-free, affordable application acceleration for small and remote office deployments.

Finally, the HPE MSA 2062 is a flash-enabled system designed for affordable application acceleration for small and remote office deployments. It gives SME users a combination of simplicity, flexibility, and advanced features that they would never expect with such an affordable price tag.

Beginning with 3.84 TB of embedded flash capacity, customers are able to scale the system from that point with any combination of SSDs, high-performance Enterprise SAS HDDs, or even lower-cost Midline SAS HDDs. The HPE MSA 2062 is also able to deliver up to 395,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) to help users gain high performance with limited budgets.

Ideal for SMEs

All MSA Gen6 arrays come with a standard range of features that are perfect for SME customers who want to accelerate to hybrid-flash SAN infrastructure. For instance, the Gen6 architecture makes interacting with the array and using it simpler than ever before.

The range also boasts a Storage Management Utility (SMU v4) which offers intuitive, step-by-step guided workflows that configure the array fresh out of the box, eradicating common errors and significantly enhancing the user experience, particularly for tasks users do not need to carry out every day. Moreover, guided workflows simplify these tasks and in essence, put an end to the need for a reference manual.

System health

HPE has also made sure that users can establish how well their system is performing and be sure they are not overlooking anything in the system setup. With a few easy steps, MSA Health Check employs a cloud-based utility to assess the system’s compliance with all known HPE best practices and offers detailed next-step guidance to take care of any issues before they become a problem.

There are other compelling features too. For example, the Gen6 RAID controller architecture promises up to 50% higher performance, with reduced system latency, facilitating rapid access to applications and data. It is a dramatic performance boost that users will feel the second they use their applications.

Performance tiering

The HPE MSA range also comes with Performance Tiering 2.0 - a new “hands-free” algorithm that boasts up to 45% more workload application acceleration than the previous MSA offerings. By responding to I/O changes automatically, and in real-time, the enhanced Performance Tiering option helps to keep data that is accessed most frequently on the fastest media, ensuring rapid access times and enhancing system and user productivity alike.

Regardless of whether an SME is buying a new data storage solution, simply needs a refresh, or if it is battling with too much complexity with its current storage infrastructure, HPE MSA Gen6 arrays have a solution to suit every need and budget.

Contact Tarsus Distribution to supercharge your storage solution.