Hardware manual

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1 Storage solutions for all enterprises
PS Series storage arrays provide consolidated storage in a self-managing, iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System
Interface) storage area network (SAN). Featuring automated management and fast, flexible scalability, PS Series
arrays can greatly decrease the total cost of storage acquisition and management.
Today, large and small businesses alike are under pressure to manage rapidly-growing storage environments. Some
still use st
orage directly attached to servers, which can be a a difficult configuration to scale that offers low service
levels. The EqualLogic storage solution provides the benefits of storage consolidation to enterprises of all sizes and
types.
To use storage resources efficiently and ec
onomically
, you can configure disparate storage configurations so
administration is easier and service levels increase. The EqualLogic storage solution also provides centralized data
provisioning, backups, and disaster recovery features to simplify SAN management.
About PS Series groups
The foundation of the EqualLogic storage solution is the PS Series group, which includes one or more PS Series
arrays (group members) you can connect to an IP network and manage
as a single system. Each array has fully
redundant hardware and multiple network connections for high availability and I/O bandwidth.
You can connect multiple PS Series arrays as a group to an IP netw
ork and manage them as a single storage system,
while leveraging your current network infrastructure. With PS Series arrays, you can deploy a full-featured iSCSI
SAN. Access to storage requires only an iSCSI initiator, which is available with most operating systems.
Virtualization technology masks the underlying complexity
of the storage configuration, saving you time and
effort. Arrays share configuration data and “collaborate” to achieve automatic data provisioning and load
balancing.
Self-managing features of PS Series arrays enable straightforward configurations that do not disrupt running
applica
tions. For example, you can add more arrays to a group to seamlessly increase capacity and performance.
You can automatically replicate data over long distances for a simple, yet robust, disaster recovery strategy.
Integrated virtualization software provides:
• Group Manager configuration, man
a
gement, and replication software
• Automatic RAID and spare disk drive configuration
• Automatic network, performance, and capacity load balancing
How groups work
You might start with a single-member group and later add arrays to expand capacity and increase performance.
Whether the group is small or large, there is no disruption to users, and management overhead is static. The group
automatically distributes data across member disk drives and network interfaces. Load-balancing, based on
capacity and performance metrics, occurs as needed.
Administration accounts provide security for group management operations. You can set up a dedicated
management network for
add
itional security, if required.