HP StorageWorks X1600 G2 12TB review

HP’s latest StorageWorks appliances aim to take the strain out of network storage provisioning and management for SMBs. In this exclusive review Dave Mitchell puts the X1600 G2 on his lab bench and sees if it’s as easy to use as HP claims.

IT Pro Verdict

The X1600 G2 is a good choice for SMBs that want a central repository for their application data that can easily be expanded on demand. We found migrating our SQL Server database to it a simple process and were able to provision extra storage in minutes with no disruption to services. The ASM snap-in makes light work of management whilst general IP SAN and network share performance is impressive. Compared to other standard Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 powered appliances it’s very good value as well.

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The main focus of the X1000 products is application serving where they provide iSCSI targets for storage and automated data migration for Exchange and SQL Server systems.

Our WebMonitor database was in the list so we selected its primary data and log transaction files. ASM asks for the workload type which will determine the type of RAID array it will use. We selected transaction processing and were offered RAID10 striped mirrored arrays for the data and log files. If required we could change the array type instead of accepting the default with RAID5 or 6 as available options.

Volume snapshots come next and are preconfigured for a daily schedule. If you have a backup device attached you can also have your data backed up to it at regular intervals. After reviewing the process we left ASM to get on with the migration.

The process was seamless and on completion our WebMonitor database and log file had been shifted across to HP's IP SAN. A quick check in the SQL Server Management Studio showed that the file locations for this database had been changed to the virtual volumes and WebMonitor continued to send its log data to the new location without any complaints.

Provisioning extra storage space for the database was a swift process. From the ASM interface, we selected the virtual volume for the primary data store, chose the Allocate Space option and entered the new size for the volume.

Migrating data for other applications isn't so easy. The wizard helps create virtual volumes and log the host system onto them but you'll need to manually configure the new file locations into your application and copy any existing data across to them.

Dave Mitchell
Dave Mitchell

Dave is an IT consultant and freelance journalist specialising in hands-on reviews of computer networking products covering all market sectors from small businesses to enterprises. Founder of Binary Testing Ltd – the UK’s premier independent network testing laboratory - Dave has over 45 years of experience in the IT industry.

Dave has produced many thousands of in-depth business networking product reviews from his lab which have been reproduced globally. Writing for ITPro and its sister title, PC Pro, he covers all areas of business IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, network security, data protection, cloud, infrastructure and services.

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