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High-end storage array specifications

The key specifications for a cross section of popular high-end disk storage array products.

Published: 28 Feb 2007 0:00
High-end disk arrays are absolutely essential for organizations that depend on high performance and huge storage capacity. Such complex platforms often demand careful attention and management, but will also include a suite of powerful features, such as replication, virtualization and support for multiple storage tiers. These are normally large capital investments with relatively long service lives and limited redeployment options due to their significant facilities needs. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of popular high-end disk storage array products. The following products were selected based on input from industry analysts and SearchStorage.com editors, and specifications are current as of February 2007.

The following specifications have been provided by vendors and are periodically updated. Vendors are welcome to submit their updates and new product specifications to [email protected].

Go to the first product snapshot, or select the desired product below:

  • 3PARdata Inc.; InServ S400 Storage Server
  • 3PARdata Inc.; InServ S800 Storage Server
  • EMC Corp; Symmetrix DMX-3
  • Hewlett-Packard Co.; StorageWorks XP10000 Disk Array
  • Hewlett-Packard Co.; StorageWorks XP12000 Disk Array
  • Hitachi Data Systems; TagmaStore AMS1000
  • Hitachi Data Systems; TagmaStore USP1100
  • IBM; DS8000
  • Sun Microsystems Inc.; StorageTek 9985 System
  • Sun Microsystems Inc.; StorageTek 9990 System

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    Product Snapshot #1
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    Product: 3PARdata Inc.; InServ S400 Storage Server

    Usable Capacity: 2.0 to 170.6 TB depending on configuration
    Raw Capacity 2.3 to 192 TB
    # of Drives: 16 to 1,280 hard drives
    Drive Types: FC and NL (Nearline)
    Drive Capacity: 147 GB FC, 300 GB FC, 500 GB NL
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: http://www.3pardata.com/products/performance.html
    Connectivity: 0-64 2Gb FC ports and 0-8 iSCSI ports
    Release date: 2002
    Base price range: starting at $115,000.00 USD
    Software: InForm Operating System, Rapid Provisioning, Access Guard, Full Copy, Virtual Copy, Remote Copy, Dynamic Optimization, Thin Provisioning, System Tuner, System Reporter, Multipath I/O for Microsoft Windows, Multipath I/O for IBM AIX, Recovery Manager for Oracle, Recovery Manager for Microsoft Exchange
    Detailed Specs: http://www.3par.com/products/inservmodels.html
    Vendor URL: www.3par.com

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    Product Snapshot #2
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    Product: 3PARdata Inc.; InServ S800 Storage Server

    Usable Capacity: 2.0 to 341.3 TB depending on configuration
    Raw Capacity 2.3 to 384 TB
    # of Drives: 16 - 2,560 hard drives
    Drive Types: FC and NL (Nearline)
    Drive Capacity: 147 GB FC, 300 GB FC, 500 GB NL
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: http://www.3pardata.com/products/performance.html
    Connectivity: 0-128 2Gb FC ports and 0-16 iSCSI ports
    Release date: 2002
    Base price range: starting at $145,000.00 USD
    Software: InForm Operating System, Rapid Provisioning, Access Guard, Full Copy, Virtual Copy, Remote Copy, Dynamic Optimization, Thin Provisioning, System Tuner, System Reporter, Multipath I/O for Microsoft Windows, Multipath I/O for IBM AIX, Recovery Manager for Oracle, Recovery Manager for Microsoft Exchange
    Detailed Specs: http://www.3par.com/products/inservmodels.html
    Vendor URL: www.3par.com

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    Product Snapshot #3
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    Product: EMC Corp.; Symmetrix DMX-3

    Usable Capacity: 6 TB to 526 TB (RAID5) depending on configuration
    Raw Capacity 7 TB to 1,054 TB
    # of Drives: 96 to 2,400
    Drive Types: Dual-ported Fibre Channel
    Drive Capacity: 73 GB, 146 GB, 300 GB, 500 GB Fibre Channel
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: Not provided
    Connectivity: 2 Gb FC
    Release date: July 2005
    Base price range: Entry level configuration starts at $200,000 USD
    Software: http://www.emc.com/dsp/DisplayProducts
    Detailed Specs: http://www.emc.com/products/systems/symmetrix/DMX_series/pdf/C1304_Symmetrix_DMX3_SS_ldv.pdf
    Vendor URL: www.emc.com

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    Product Snapshot #4
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    Product: HP; StorageWorks XP10000 Disk Array

    Usable Capacity: 144 GB to 51 TB; depending on configuration
    Raw Capacity 288 GB to 69 TB
    # of Drives: Up to 240 hard drives
    Drive Types: Dual ported Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) interface
    Drive Capacity: 73 GB 15K rpm; 146 GB 10K rpm; 146 GB 15K rpm; 300 GB 10K rpm
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: Sequential Reads – 1.3 GB/sec; Cache random reads – 700,000 IO/sec
    Connectivity: 2 Gb FC; 4 Gb FC; ESCON; 2 Gbps FICON; iSCSI
    Release date: July 2005
    Base price range: Base price around $230,000
    Software: HP StorageWorks Command View XP Advanced Edition; HP StorageWorks XP Tiered Storage Manager; HP StorageWorks XP Provisioning Manager; HP StorageWorks XP Replication Monitor; HP StorageWorks LUN Configuration & Security Manager XP; HP StorageWorks Performance Advisor XP; HP StorageWorks Performance Control XP; HP StorageWorks Auto LUN XP; HP StorageWorks Data Exchange XP; HP StorageWorks Business Copy XP/Snapshot XP; HP StorageWorks Continuous Access XP/XP Extension/XP Journal; HP StorageWorks External Storage XP; HP StorageWorks RAID Manager XP; HP StorageWorks Flex Copy XP; HP StorageWorks Secure Path XP/Auto Path XP; HP StorageWorks Cluster Extension XP; HP StorageWorks XP Data Shredder; HP StorageWorks XP Disk/Cache Partition; HP StorageWorks Fast Recovery Solution XP; HP Storage Essentials
    Detailed Specs: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/xp10000/index.html
    Vendor URL: www.hp.com

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    Product Snapshot #5
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    Product: HP; StorageWorks XP12000 Disk Array

    Usable Capacity: 288 GB - 290 TB; depending on drives
    Raw Capacity 576 GB - 332 TB
    # of Drives: Up to 1,152 hard drives
    Drive Types: Dual ported Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) interface
    Drive Capacity: 73 GB 15K rpm; 146 GB 10K rpm; 146 GB 15K rpm; 300 GB 10K rpm
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: Sequential Reads – 9.9 GB/sec; Cache random reads – 2.5 million IO/sec
    Connectivity: 2 Gb FC; 4 Gb FC; ESCON; 2 Gb FICON; iSCSI
    Release date: September 2004
    Base price range: Base price around $350,000
    Software: HP StorageWorks Command View XP Advanced Edition; HP StorageWorks XP Tiered Storage Manager; HP StorageWorks XP Provisioning Manager; HP StorageWorks XP Replication Monitor; HP StorageWorks LUN Configuration & Security Manager XP; HP StorageWorks Performance Advisor XP; HP StorageWorks Performance Control XP; HP StorageWorks Auto LUN XP; HP StorageWorks Data Exchange XP; HP StorageWorks Business Copy XP/Snapshot XP; HP StorageWorks Continuous Access XP/XP Extension/XP Journal; HP StorageWorks External Storage XP; HP StorageWorks RAID Manager XP; HP StorageWorks Flex Copy XP; HP StorageWorks Secure Path XP/Auto Path XP; HP StorageWorks Cluster Extension XP; HP StorageWorks XP Data Shredder; HP StorageWorks XP Disk/Cache Partition; HP StorageWorks Fast Recovery Solution XP; HP Storage Essentials
    Detailed Specs: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/xp12000/index.html
    Vendor URL: www.hp.com

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    Product Snapshot #6
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    Product: HDS; TagmaStore AMS1000

    Usable Capacity: 173.8 TB SATA Intermix; 129.4 TB Fibre Channel
    Raw Capacity Over 200 TB
    # of Drives: 4–450 Fibre Channel; 0–420 SATA
    Drive Types: SATA; Fibre Channel;
    Drive Capacity: 73 GB (10K & 15K RPM); 146 GB (10K & 15K RPM); 300 GB (10K RPM); 250 GB SATA (7200 RPM); 500 GB SATA II (7200 RPM)
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: 13.7 Gbps Cached Bandwidth
    Connectivity: Fibre Channel: 8 @ 1, 2, or 4 Gbit/sec; OR 4 Fibre Channel ports AND iSCSI: 4 @ 1Gbit/sec; OR NAS: 8 @ 1Gbit/sec
    Release date: April 3, 2006
    Base price range: Under $80,000
    Software: IBM AIX; HP-UX; Sun Solaris; Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003; Windows Server 2003; Microsoft Simple SAN compliant; HP Tru64 UNIX; SGI IRIX; Novell NetWare; Linux; HP OpenVMS; VMWare; Apple MAC OS; IBM z/OS
    Detailed Specs: http://www.hds.com/products_services/midrange_specifications/
    Vendor URL: www.hds.com

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    Product Snapshot #7
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    Product: HDS; TagmaStore USP1100

    Usable Capacity: Up to 330 TB internal (up to 32 PB externally virtualized storage)
    Raw Capacity 280GB to 332TB internal
    # of Drives: 129-1152 drives
    Drive Types: Fibre Channel
    Drive Capacity: not available
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: 81 GB/sec (Maximum Aggregate Bandwidth)
    Connectivity: Up to 192 Fibre Channel, 96 ESCON, or 96 FICON ports
    Release date: September 7, 2004
    Base price range: $600,000 USD
    Software: IBM AIX; HP-UX; Sun Solaris; Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003; Windows Server 2003; Microsoft Simple SAN compliant; HP Tru64 UNIX; SGI IRIX; Novell NetWare; Linux; HP OpenVMS; VMWare; Apple MAC OS; IBM z/OS
    Detailed Specs: http://www.hds.com/products_services/universal_storage_platform/specifications/
    Vendor URL: www.hds.com

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    Product Snapshot #8
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    Product: IBM System Storage DS8000 Series

    Usable Capacity: 414 GB to 249 TB depending on configuration
    Raw Capacity 1.168 to 320 TB
    # of Drives: Up to 640 hard drives
    Drive Types: FATA; FC
    Drive Capacity: 500 GB FATA; 73, 146, 300 GB FC
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: up to 3 GB/sec
    Connectivity: 2 Gb and 4 Gb FC/FICON; ESCON
    Release date: December 2004; New DS8000 Turbo: September 2006
    Base price range: $200,000 and up
    Software: i5/OS, OS/400, AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Linux for System z, z/OS, z/VM, VSE/ESA, TPF, Linux for System i, Linux for System p, Linux for Intel systems, OpenVMS, TRU64, NetWare, VMWare, Apple Macintosh OS X, Fujitsu Primepower, SGI IRIX
    Detailed Specs: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_sp/n/TSD00374USEN/TSD00374USEN.PDF
    Vendor URL: www.ibm.com

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    Product Snapshot #9
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    Product: Sun StorageTek 9985 System

    Usable Capacity: 56.5 TB, open systems, RAID5
    Raw Capacity 69 TB
    # of Drives: 0-240 hard drives
    Drive Types: FC active-active
    Drive Capacity: 73GB 10K prm, 73GB 15K rpm, 146GB 10K rpm, 146GB 15K rpm, 300GB 10K rpm
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: 12.1 GB/sec aggregate bandwidth
    Connectivity: FC, NAS, ESCON, FICON, iSCSI
    Release date: July 11, 2005
    Base price range: Varies according to configuration and local business practices
    Software: Not provided
    Detailed Specs: http://www.sun.com/storagetek/disk_systems/data_center/9985/
    Vendor URL: www.sun.com

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    Product Snapshot #10
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    Product: Sun StorageTek 9990 System

    Usable Capacity: 287.8 TB (with 300 GB 10K rpm drives); open systems, RAID-5
    Raw Capacity 332 TB
    # of Drives: 5-1,152 drives
    Drive Types: FC active-active
    Drive Capacity: 73 GB 10K rpm, 73 GB 15K rpm, 146 GB 10K rpm, 146 GB 15K rpm, 300 GB 10K rpm
    Drive Hot Swap: Yes
    Transfer Rate: 81 GB/sec (aggregate bandwidth)
    Connectivity: FC, NAS, FICON, ESCON, iSCSI
    Release date: September 7, 2004
    Base price range: Varies according to configuration and local business practices
    Software: Not provided
    Detailed Specs: http://www.sun.com/storagetek/disk_systems/data_center/9990/index.xml
    Vendor URL: www.sun.com

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