HP XP7 Owner Guide (H6F56-96006)

Non disruptive service and upgrades
XP7 Storage is designed so that service and upgrades can be performed without interrupting
normal operations. These features include:
• Main components can be “hot swapped” — added, removed, and replaced without any
disruption — while the disk array is in operation. The front and rear fan assemblies can be
moved out of the way to enable access to disk drives and other components, but not both at
the same time. There is no time limit on changing disk drives because either the front or rear
fans cool the unit while the other fan assembly is turned off and moved out of the way.
• A Service Processor mounted on the controller chassis monitors the running condition of the
disk array. Connecting the SVP with a service center enables remote maintenance.
• The firmware (microcode) can be upgraded without disrupting the operation of the disk array.
The firmware is stored in shared memory (part of the cache memory module) and transferred
in a batch, reducing the number of transfers from the SVP to the controller chassis via the LAN.
This increases the speed of replacing the firmware online because it works with two or more
processors at the same time.
• The XP7 is designed so that it cannot lose data or configuration information if the power fails
(see “Battery backup operations” (page 72)).
Economical and quiet
The three speed fans in the control and drive chassis are thermostatically controlled. Sensors in
the units measure the temperature of the exhaust air and set the speed of the fans only as high as
necessary to maintain the unit temperature within a preset range. When the system is not busy and
generates less heat, the fan speed is reduced, saving energy and reducing the noise level of the
system.
When the disk array is in standby mode, the disk drives spin down and the controller and drive
chassis use significantly less power. For example, a system that consumes 100 amps during normal
operation, uses only 70 amps while in standby mode.
Specifications
The following tables provide general specifications of the XP7. Additional specifications are located
in “System specifications and requirements” (page 78).
Table 1 XP7 specifications
Dual ModuleSingle ModuleSizeItem
2458 TB1229 TBInternalMaximum raw drive
capacity (based on 1.2 TB
HDDs)
247 PB247 PBExternal
64k64k-Maximum number of
volumes
See Table 2 (page 19).Supported drives
Min 128 GBMin 64 GB.Cache memory capacity
Max 1024 GBMax 512 GB
Min 32 GB.Cache flash memory
capacity
Max 2048 GB
RAID1, RAID5, RAID6.RAID Level
2D+2D, 4D+4DRAID1RAID GroupConfiguration
3D+1P, 7D+1PRAID5
18 Introduction