Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform, User And Reference Manual

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Hitachi VSP User and Reference Guide
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Introduction
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform overview
The Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is a high-capacity, high performance
data storage system that offers a wide range of storage and data services,
software, logical partitioning, and simplified and unified data replication
across heterogeneous storage systems. Its large-scale, enterprise-class
virtualization layer combined with dynamic provisioning, Dynamic Tiering,
and thin provisioning software, delivers virtualization of internal and
external storage into one pool.
Using this system, you can deploy applications within a new framework,
leverage and add value to current investments, and more closely align IT
with business objectives. VSP storage systems provide the foundation for
matching application requirements to different classes of storage and
deliver critical services including:
• Business continuity services
• Content management services (search, indexing)
• Non-disruptive data migration
• Thin provisioning
• Dynamic Tiering
• High availability
• Security services
• I/O load balancing
• Data classification
• File management services
New technological advances improve reliability, serviceability and access to
disk drives and other components when maintenance is needed. Each
component contains a set of LEDs that indicate the operational status of the
component. The system includes new and upgraded software features,
including Dynamic Tiering, and a significantly improved, task-oriented
version of Storage Navigator that is designed for ease of use and includes
context-sensitive online help. The system documentation has been changed
to a task-oriented format that is designed to help you find information
quickly and complete tasks easily.
Hardware overview
Virtual Storage Platform systems contain significant new technology that
was not available in previous Hitachi Data Systems storage systems. The
system can be configured in many ways, starting with a small, one rack,
diskless system, to a large, six-rack system that includes two controller
chassis, up to 2048 HDD drives, up to 256 SSD drives, up to 96 Flash
Module Drives, and a total of 1TBcache. The system provides a highly
granular upgrade path, allowing the addition of disk drives to the drive
chassis, and Virtual Storage Directors (microprocessors) and other
components to the controller chassis in an existing system as storage needs
increase. Virtual Storage Platform systems can be combined so that what
would previously have been two separate storage systems are now a single