[Linux-cluster] HP msa20 and rhcs?

[Kovacs, Corey J.]

No, it is an external disk shelf (enclosure) that happens to have a raid
(SATA) module. If the
unit is connected to a 6400 series HP controller, then the controller acts
like a dumb
scsi card, and the "onboard" raid is used. If it's plugged into an MSA1500,
then the onboard
controller is bypassed and the MSA1500 (san) is the controller. The Docs also
say it is
it's connectivity is for a _single_ host so no failover for a cluster. It's
not a good 
"enterprise" solution anyway as SATA drives are not considered a "high
performance" 
drive anwyay. Spend some cash and get a SAN and real SCSI drives. Spend some
more and 
get a bigger SAN and Fibre Attatched SCSI drives. much faster and can
actually take a 
prolonged beating.

I never said it didn't work with a DL380, I said it will work with a DL360
and above. I'd 
say DL380 is _above_ DL360.  :)

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/sharedstorage/sacl
uster/msa20/index.html

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11942_na/11942_na.html



Anyway, it supports multiple "types" of raid cards and the starter kit gets
you a shelf and 
a raid card..  It is NOT meant for connecting two computers to..


Now back to the regularly scheduled program....


Corey

-----Original Message-----
From: Omer Faruk Sen [mailto:omer at faruk.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 7:05 AM
To: Kovacs, Corey J.
Cc: linux clustering
Subject: RE: [Linux-cluster] HP msa20 and rhcs?

Since msa20 allows multi-initiator connections than I think it works with
dl380 since it has an external scsi port. Also I have heard that msa20 can
have an internal raid controller so ACU can configure it.


By the way I have doubts to use shared scsi in RHCS. Does anyone use it (I am
sure there are) and those who use it recommend it for a cheap but RELIABLE
cluster storage with RHCS?



> The MSA20 is only a disk shelf. You'd need to have it conneted to a 
> raid controller which is built into the DL360 and above, or simply 
> access the individual drives themselves. It does allow multi-initiator 
> connections, but I think it's more along the lines of having multiple 
> paths to an MSA500 which is a two node non-fibre SAN if it can even be 
> considered a SAN since no fibre is involved. It's not more than a high 
> end external storage device.
>
>
>
> Corey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: linux-cluster-bounces at redhat.com 
> [mailto:linux-cluster-bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Lon Hohberger
> Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 10:11 AM
> To: omer at faruk.net; linux clustering
> Subject: Re: [Linux-cluster] HP msa20 and rhcs?
>
> On Mon, 2006-05-01 at 22:11 +0300, Omer Faruk Sen wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I need a cheap shared storage and wanted to know if anyone in this 
>> list used HP MSA20  (shared SCSI) on rhcs? I want to setup a 2 node 
>> cluster with shared storage and cheapest HP shared storage seems to 
>> be
> MSA20..
>
> I've never used one; maybe someone else has.
>
> General rules of thumb when using SCSI shared storage:
>
> * If it requires a specific controller to make the RAID work, it 
> probably is not a good bet, regardless of what the marketing 
> literature would have you believe.
>
> * If it works with a plain-jane SCSI (ex- an Adaptec 2940U2W) card and 
> still has some way of accessing the array management tools (ex: a 
> serial
> port) for configuring/presenting the LUNs, it should generally "just 
> work".
>
> There are undoubtedly exceptions to these rules.  I'm not at all 
> familiar with the MSA20.
>
> I do, however, have a MSA500 which has been working fine.  The MSA500 
> needs CCISS controllers to talk to the on-board MSA controller and 
> configure the LUNs during bootup.  After that, the CCISS controllers 
> act as "dumb" SCSI cards when talking to the MSA500, or so it seems.  
> It's been working fine in a 2-node failover cluster for a couple of 
> years, but I have not tried it with GFS.
>
> Whether that means the MSA20 will work... I do not know.  It might ;)
>
> -- Lon
>
> --
> Linux-cluster mailing list
> Linux-cluster at redhat.com
> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster
>


--
Omer Faruk Sen
http://www.faruk.net