HP gives StoreServ a speed boost with flashy cachey spit'n'polish

Hybrid flash/disk StoreServs get dedupe

HP is beautifying hybrid flash/disk StoreServ (3Par) arrays by adding deduplication, flash cacheing and faster writes.

Deduplication, branded Thin Deduplication, was added to its all-flash 7450 StoreServ array in June.

Now it's been extended to all hybrid flash/disk StoreServ 7000 and 10000 arrays, helping get rid of duplicated bytes of information inside chunks of HP's block storage. That makes better use of their relatively costly flash, with HP saying it is "lowering the cost of usable flash storage."

It's helping this flash accelerate StoreServ data access by OLTP and database workloads thanks to two new features, according to the HP blurb:

• Adaptive Flash Cache accelerates random reads and "uses flash capacity to extend storage system cache selectively, or across the entire array." It can be used concurrently with Adaptive Optimisation's sub-LUN tiering so data from a cold and slow storage tier can be read from cache
• Express Write boosts write speed by lowering latency by up to 10 per cent and increasing overall write throughput

HP says these two things make it simple and easy to add SSDs to a StoreServ array and so get a doubling of the data read rate and up to 70 per cent reduction in latency within the StoreServ data management services environment. It's hoping customers will value the advantages of this more than any benefits offered by a none-HP all-flash array.

StoreServ customers can use a free Flash Advisor toolset to analyse their systems and get recommendations about where and how best to deploy flash and the technologies described above.

Gratifyingly for HP, the DCIG consultancy lists the StoreServ 10800 as the best in class in its 2014-15 High-End Storage Array Buyer's Guide. It beat EMC's VMAX, HDS' VSP, HP' XP7 (OEM"d VSP), IBM's DS8000 and NetApp's FAS8000.

This rating isn't based on comprehensive testing, instead using function/feature lists and suppliers' clarifications. Yet it's still a welcome boost for HP.

HP has also announced SAP has certified its 7450 all-flash StoreServ for HANA.

All-in-all, this gives the StoreServ line added flashiness and enterprise data centre appeal; a strong welcome indeed to the storage squadron in Queen Meg's product army. ®