HP adds iSCSI capability to high-end disk arrays

HP has announced enhancements to its range of storage appliances to help firms consolidate systems.

The news follows updates to HP’s storage hardware last May and to its data protection and archiving products in the autumn.

The new enhancements to HP’s EVA range of disk arrays include iSCSI support. Using iSCSI would allow EVA arrays to handle the storage of a server not attached to a storage area network (SAN). Patrick Eitenbichler, director of marketing at HP’s Storage- Works, said this was better than rival offerings because HP’s iSCSI support is integrated into EVA hardware rather than requiring a separate server.

“Now we also have 4Gbit/s Fibre Channel interfaces,” Eitenbichler said. “[EMC] is not there yet, and our competitors also need a separate box for iSCSI.”

Eitenbichler added that a recent survey of visitors to HP’s web site indicated that storage consolidation was still the top priority for most corporate customers.

Eitenbichler noted that companies are consolidating storage systems to increase the agility of their business or to help them make better use of information throughout their organisation. “We call the first category strategic consolidation and the second information-centric consolidation,” he added.

HP is also a strong proponent of storage virtualisation, and has improved its high-end XP disk arrays to virtualise EVA arrays. This adds to the XP’s capability to virtualise third-party storage hardware. The XP has also been updated with a new double-capacity cache. The XP’s maximum capacity is 32TB when linked to external storage devices.

HP is expected to announce further developments later this year for the consolidation of email data.