I’m quite impressed by the latest 3PAR model: 4PB of raw flash and up to 3M IOPS for the 20850. (WOW!). I know that it will be beaten by the next model of another vendor (not that soon maybe) but it is impressive nonetheless.
It’s more than just the 20800
In fact, HP keeps adding features and new functionalities to their entire product line-up on an on-going basis through software updates to the OS.
An improved remote replication feature that looks like a semi-synchronous (or “best effort” sync) replication. Particularly useful for Flash environments where the bandwidth/latency isn’t enough to keep up with writing peaks. Or the new federation feature, based on the, already familiar, peer motion, which is bringing a new level of simplicity to moving data around a set of arrays to meet SLAs. It is not still fully automated… but that is a development I expect in a future release.
These are only two examples, but it’s quite clear that the development on this platform is proceeding at a face pace.
The 20800 series
We are talking about a monster capable of 3M IOPS (at less than 1 millisecond of latency) and 4PB of raw Flash capacity (for the 20850) or you can get much more capacity from the 28000 model, which is a hybrid.
Powered by 5th gen custom ASIC, these systems reach a new level of performance and capacity with all the specs improved. Consolidation is the first word that comes to my mind but now you can also start with a “very small” model (2 nodes instead of four of the 10000 series) and scale up to 8. And it maintains the same level of features of all other models (Actually a few more than 7XX0 and 10X00 at the beginning, just because the new OS version will probably be released on the 20800 first).
What I missed
HP storage is not only 3PAR but this time it’s the only relevant news in this space.
I was expecting at least two things:
– a new StoreVirtual VSA (and I’m sure there is something coming… especially the integration with 3PAR about replication and data volume mobility, I’ve heard too much talk about this possibility in the past to not expect it!),
– as well as a new Object Storage platform (again, there are persistent rumors about a new product on its way).
It’s likely they weren’t quite ready at this time so we’ll just have to wait. Even though, during the meeting with the bloggers, Manish Goel (GM for HP Storage), was very skeptical about Object storage use cases… we will see.
Closing the circle
I really like 3PAR, I always have, and HP is doing pretty well on this front. But, on the contrary of what I’ve seen with other vendors lately, HP storage is still very focused on the infrastructure while many talks are rapidly focusing on how to manage/analyze stored data and how to build data lakes.
If I look at direct competitors, like HDS and EMC, the borders between storage infrastructures and data-driven infrastructures are much blurrier now and they can easily shift from talking about one to the other.
I’m not saying that HP doesn’t have the right technology, products or people to do the same thing, but it’s harder to find a person who has a broader vision with, at the same time, a deep knowledge of technology. It’s probably just a problem of waiting a little bit… In fact, I have to say that the reorganization of the company, due to the split between HP consumer and HP enterprise, will change the way HPE will interecat with its customers (and Meg Whitman was very clear about this during her Keynote). We will see.
Disclaimer: I was invited to this meeting by HP and they paid for travel and accommodation, I have not been compensated for my time and am not obliged to blog. Furthermore, the content is not reviewed, approved or edited by any other person than the Juku team. HP Italy is also a client of Juku consulting SRL
