HP MSA50 - Manual (Page 2)

Customer Benefits Higher Performance
per U of Rack Space
The Serialized nature of SAS combined with the highest spindle count
per U of rack space allows the MSA50 to achieve the greatest I/Os per
second when compared to parallel SCSI.
Price Sensitivity The MSA50 will be the first SAS/SATA SFF JBOD product that will offer
a level of availability sufficient for the Enterprise and a price structure
that is attractive to SMB.
Investment Protection The MSA50 has the future potential to upgrade from 3GB to 6GB SAS,
as well as mix and match SAS or SATA drives within the same
enclosure. Thus making technology transitions simple and cost
effective.
Reduced Spares
Inventory
Universal SFF drives and similar physical characteristics between SAS
and SATA drives allow customers to mix/match SAS and SATA in the
same enclosure and allow the same drives to be used in servers and
external storage.
Key Features Features of the MSA50 include:
SFF (SAS/SATA) support - Delivering data transfer rates up 3Gb/s for SAS and 1.5Gb/s for SATA
NOTE: SAS/SATA performance requires a compatible SAS controller. This is noted in the product
documentation.
1U rack height.
Supports up to 10 SFF SAS and/or SATA Universal hard disk drives.
Provides storage capacity of up to 1.4TB per enclosure (using 146GB 10K disk drives)
Cascadable 1+1 for up to 20 spindles in a 2U configuration or 2.8TB.
Modular design allows the MSA50 to be used in any storage configuration from JBOD (Just
a Bunch of Disks) to Smart Array storage enclosures.
A common storage platform allows the potential for future storage consolidation to the SAN.
Universal SFF SAS drive carrier - provides better cooling and reliability for by providing
increased air flow through the storage unit.
Hot pluggable disk drives, fans and power supplies.
Field replaceable fans, I/O Module and mid plane
Easy removal of parts provides better serviceability. No tools are required!
Upgradeability Potential Upgrade path for a HP StorageWorks MSA50 is as easy as swapping out the I/O Module
on the back of the unit. The unit must be powered down to replace the I/O Module.
Mix and Match of Hard
Drive Types
A benefit of SAS and SATA is the use of a common physical connection which allows for both
drive types to be mixed together on the same backplane. This common backplane allows
customers the choice of using SAS and/or SATA and helps deliver HP's message of industry
leading innovation, reliability, adaptability, and performance by allowing customers to choose the
reliability of SAS or the lower cost of SATA for tiered storage.
Hot Pluggable Hot pluggable technology is designed into drives, fans and redundant power supplies. Hot
pluggable components can be replaced without powering down the storage system or stopping I/O
operations. This feature significantly enhances data availability.
Auto SAS ID Selection SAS ID is automatically set when a drive is inserted into a drive bay (See drawing on top of unit for
bay numbering).
LED Indicators Front panel LEDs indicate drive activity, required drive service, and power, giving a quick visual
assessment of overall system storage status.
Rack Density The MSA50 Enclosure has a 1U height.
Environment
Monitoring Unit (EMU)
Each MSA50 model is equipped with an EMU that constantly monitors the enclosure, the power
supplies, and fans to ensure suggested operating tolerances are maintained.
I/O Module The single I/O module installed allows one SAS controller to access all drives in the MSA50.
Fault Tolerance With redundant power supplies and fans, the MSA50 provides a high level of system availability.
Using an internal host based controller, the MSA50 can be configured for RAID levels 0, 1, 1 + 0,
5, 6 (RAID ADG) when using a HP Smart Array RAID controller.
QuickSpecs
HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Array 50 Enclosure
Product Highlights
DA - 12245 Worldwide QuickSpecs — Version 7 — 12-22-2006 Page 2