Traditional server storage is like an intercity train where the server storage carriages are powered by an engine at the front:
- Array controllers: 1-2 engines for performance & redundancy
- Disk shelves: The wagons for capacity
- For a short train, the locomotive may be oversized
- Adding wagons may exceed power limits and make the train slow
Virtualised storage is more like an underground train where each carriage has an engine:
- Each carriage has an engine for server storage capacity and performance
- If engine in one wagon goes off, other wagons take over
- Adding wagons scales performance in parallel
- The combination functions like a single train
Expanding the analogy further, each carriage holds a fixed amount of passengers (or data in this situation), and typically we purchase enough carriage for our data. With standard server storage, you have to allocate the passengers to the carriages in strict rotation. If you want to add extra passengers, you have to add extra carriages and put the people in the new carriages. It isn’t simple to move carriages once you have booked your seat and the train gets slower the more carriages you add.
With virtualised server storage, you can sit where you want, add extra carriages in any order you want and the train keeps going at the same speed as each carriage added has an engine.
The HP P4000 storage solutions are a simple, fast to deploy and affordable way of benefiting from virtualised storage for server environments.
Rather than using separate storage controllers and storage nodes, HP P4000 series virtualised storage relies on embedded virtualisation software to aggregate multiple storage nodes into a single server storage solution.
For more information speak to one of our server and storage specialists today on 0121 693 9283. We also have a number of Free workshops running over the next few months. Please register your interest online.