Frequently asked questions
Leverage innovation
HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
Table of contents
HP Gen9 Smart Array Controllers .............................................................................................................................................. 2
HP Smart Storage solutions for ProLiant Gen9 servers ................................................................................................... 3
HP Smart Host Bus Adapter ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
HP Dynamic Smart Array Controllers ........................................................................................................................................ 5
HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
HP Smart Storage Battery ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
HP SmartCache .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
HP Secure Encryption ................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Leverage HP ProLiant Gen9 server storage innovations today .......................................................................................... 8
Resources ................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
Align everything to compete
more effectively
As the demands placed on your infrastructure continue to grow, HP ProLiant
Gen9 servers feature the Smart Storage innovations you need to remain lean,
flexible, and competitive. HP ProLiant Gen9 servers are designed to work with
these innovations, improving your storage utilization and performance while
delivering the scalability, reliability, and accessibility you require.
HP Gen9 Smart Array Controllers
What is different with the HP Gen9 Smart Array Controller?
For this new generation, we are providing key differences in the areas of flexibility, performance, and simplicity along with
several enhanced features. In select HP ProLiant Gen9 servers, users can select the controller for their workload. Using the
HP Flexible Smart Array and Smart SAS Host Bus Adapter, users can choose between the Smart Array Controller P440ar,
the Smart SAS Host Bus Adapter H240ar, or the Dynamic Smart Array B140i in a rack and tower server without having to use
a PCIe slot. For the BL460c Gen9, users can choose between the Smart Array P244br, the Smart SAS HBA H244br, or the
Dynamic Smart Array B140i without having to use a mezzanine slot.
All Gen9 Smart Array and Smart Host Bus Adapters perform at 12 Gbps SAS bandwidth and have improved performance
over the Gen8 Smart Array Controllers. Based on internal IOMeter testing with the Smart Array P840 Controller,
performance is close to one million IOPS. The 3-core processor design has also contributed to the performance of
these controllers.
HP Smart Storage Administrator (HP SSA) provides a single pane of manageability, making it easier to configure, manage,
and deploy storage devices within a server. The HP Smart Storage Battery—new for Gen9 controllers—provides a
centralized battery solution for all Smart Array Controllers. Not only does it provide backup power for multiple controllers,
it makes it easier to add additional Smart Array Controllers without the need for cable routing.
HP has also added new features around power and enhanced rapid rebuild. Managed through HP SSA, HP ProLiant Gen9
users can control the power level of the Smart Array Controller and the Smart SAS HBA to meet the workload. The different
power levels are:
• Performance—Highest performance without any power savings
• Balanced between power and performance—The controller will dynamically balance between performance and power
• Power savings—Save power when performance is not critical, e.g., for boot devices or cold storage
With hard drives increasing in size, rebuild times can take many hours depending on the size of the drive. For Gen9
controllers, HP has enhanced the rapid rebuild feature so that rebuilds of a failed drive can happen faster, helping to prevent
the data loss that can happen when rebuilds are slower.
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
Do the letters and numbers in the Smart Array Controllers mean anything?
The letters and numbers signify the Family, Series, Generation, Ports, and Media.
• First character = Family (whether it is a B-series, H-series, or P-series controller)
• Second character = Series (where 2xx is base/entry, 4xx is scale/mainstream, 7xx is premium/performance for
HP BladeSystem, and 8xx is premium/performance for HP ProLiant ML/DL/SL family servers)
• Third character = Generation (0 is 3 Gb SAS, 1 is 6 Gb SAS, 2 is 6 Gbps 2nd generation, 3 is 12 Gb SAS with
HP Secure Encryption, 4 is 12 Gb SAS for Gen9)
• Fourth character = Ports (0 is internal, 1 is external, 2 is internal and external, 4 is specific to the BL460c, and 6 is specific
to the BL660)
• Fifth character = Media (“i” is integrated, “m” is mezzanine, “br” is flexible controller for blade servers, “ar” is flexible
controller for rack and tower servers)
Will a Gen8 Smart Array Controller work on a ProLiant Gen9 server?
No. HP Gen9 Smart Array Controllers are built and laid out to take advantage of the new centralized HP Smart Storage
Battery solution. More importantly, Gen9 controllers perform at 12 Gb, and ProLiant Gen9 servers are built for 12 Gb
infrastructure.
Why is the cache integrated on to some of the Smart Array Controllers?
The HP Flexible Smart Array Controller e.g., P440ar is a single board design where the cache is integrated into the board to
enable more compact designs and enable more efficient platform cooling. The PCIe versions of the Smart Array Controllers
are designed with the cache as a separate part. This allows for future cache upgrades when bigger cache options
become available.
New
The rapid rebuild feature helps prevent data loss.
HP Smart Storage solutions for ProLiant Gen9 servers
HP Smart Array Controllers
Increase performance, data availability, and storage capacity
HP Smart Host Bus Adapter
Enhance performance, flexibility, and scalability
HP Dynamic Smart Array Controllers
Lower total solution costs with device driver software
HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card
Support more internal disk drives on select HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
HP Smart Storage Battery
Rely on enhanced backup battery support for up to 24 devices
HP SmartCache
Dynamically accelerate application workloads
HP Secure Encryption
Guard sensitive information with simple, secure, key-based encryption
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
HP Smart Host Bus Adapter
What is a Smart Host Bus Adapter?
At a basic level, Smart Host Bus Adapters function the same way as any Host Bus Adapters. They connect the server and
storage devices including HDD, SSD, Tape, external SAS arrays, and external storage like JBODs.
What makes it “smart”?
Smart Host Bus Adapters support SSD Wear Gauge reporting and provide advanced features like HP Secure Encryption and
HP SSD Smart Path when they operate in RAID mode.
What is simple RAID, and which of the controllers support simple RAID?
The term “simple” refers to the fact that they do not offer acceleration features, support certain RAID levels, or support
cache modules. It allows you to configure the controller to support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, or RAID 5. Simple RAID is
supported on HP H244br, H240ar, H240, and H241 Smart Host Bus Adapters.
What type of workload is appropriate for simple RAID mode?
Simple RAID is best utilized to support a pair of mirrored OS drives at a low price point. This use case is synonymous with
previous generations of HP servers, e.g., certain ProLiant G7 and Gen8 servers configured with the embedded P410i or
P420i Smart Array Controllers that had no cache module.
How can you tell if the controller is running in Host Bus Adapter (HBA) or simple RAID mode?
There are two ways to identify the controller mode. The first is to observe the controller during POST; if “RAID mode”
appears after the controller, the RAID is enabled, if not, then the controller is running in HBA mode. The second is to view
the controller setting via HP Smart Storage Administrator (SSA).
Can I switch between HBA mode and simple RAID mode and vice versa? Are there any implications to doing that?
Yes, you can switch between the modes but you have to back up and restore your data. For example, if you run RAID 1 and
then decide to switch to HBA mode, you will have to do an OS volume backup and then redeploy the OS to the non-mirrored
drives. Migration between modes is not a data safe operation.
Can I do RAID migration while in RAID mode between RAID 0 and RAID 1?
No, RAID migration is not supported on these controllers because they do not support cache modules.
Can I do mixed mode, for example, run RAID 1 for OS on one pair of drives and run HBA mode on the other drives?
No, however the remaining drive may be configured to expose each drive individually even while in RAID mode, up to
64 LUNS.
What other HP Smart Array features will they not support?
Smart Host Bus Adapters do not support advanced fault tolerance nor enhanced capabilities like HP SmartCache
(since a 2 GB cache or greater is required). They support HP Secure Encryption only when they are operating in RAID mode.
How is the performance compared to Smart Array?
HP is preparing a performance white paper that will compare the various cards offered by HP in the modes the cards
support.
Will the Smart HBA be shipped out in HBA mode or in simple RAID mode?
The Smart HBA option kit will ship in HBA mode. At configuration to order (CTO), when the Smart HBA is configured with a
ProLiant Gen9 server, the default mode will be simple RAID. However, the HBA mode can be selected by simply choosing the
HP Mfg FIO Enable HBA Mode Setting, part number 792962-B21.
New
Support for 10 SATA drives instead of six with the HP Dynamic Smart Array B140i Controller.
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
HP Dynamic Smart Array Controllers
What is new with the HP Dynamic Smart Array B140i Controller?
The HP Dynamic Smart Array B140i Controller will support up to 10 SATA drives instead of the six that were supported in the
previous generation. RAID 5 without cache module is now supported.
What are the servers that support the HP Dynamic Smart Array B140i Controller?
The HP Dynamic Smart Array B140i is available on all HP ProLiant Gen9 servers via the included server SATA based chipset.
Can I use the SATA port in a regular advanced host controller interface (AHCI) mode?
Yes, the mode setting is available in the ROM Based Setup Utility (RBSU). AHCI mode can be used if RAID functionality is not
required. When in AHCI mode, all OS device drivers for the controller are provided with OS media.
What features are supported on the B140i?
These features are supported on the B140i:
• RAID 0, 1, 10, and 5
• SATA protocol
• UEFI
• Support for migration of drives to P-series controllers
• Microsoft® Windows®, Linux®, and VMware® support
• Online drive flash support (reboot is required to enable new firmware)
• Maximum of 10 drives supported
• Hot plug and non-hot plug configurations
• Online spares
Does the B140i support UEFI and Legacy boot mode?
B140i only supports UEFI boot mode.
HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card
What is the HP 12 GB SAS Expander Card, and what is it used for?
The HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card provides servers with internal storage scalability while protecting the data. The full height,
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) expander card supports up to 26 internal drives on select HP ProLiant servers when connected to
an HP Smart Array P440, P440ar, P840, HP Smart HBA H240 or H240ar. The HP SAS Expander Card is ideal for ProLiant
server customers who want to RAID up to 26 internal SFF hard disk drives.
What servers are supported?
HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card supports the following servers:
• HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9
• HP ProLiant ML350 Gen9
• HP ProLiant DL180 Gen9
What is the difference between this HP 12 Gb SAS Expander Card and the HP SAS Expander Card that was supported
on the HP ProLiant G7 servers?
The 12 Gb card now supports the faster bandwidth requirements of 12 Gb controller cards and has advanced server power
management found in HP ProLiant Gen9 servers. Additionally, this 12 Gb SAS Expander Card is enabled to dynamically
optimize the bandwidth of existing 6 Gb drives to run at 12 Gb speed if the environment has a mix of 6 Gb and 12 Gb drives.
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
HP Smart Storage Battery
Why did HP choose to support Lithium ION (Li-ION) batteries in ProLiant Gen9 as the main source for backup power
for HP Smart Array controllers?
• Li-ION batteries are used across the industry as the main power source for notebooks, tablets, and phones.
• Cache module capacity is increasing and the Super-Cap size is not meeting the needs. It takes approximately two minutes
for 4 Gb of data to be transferred from DRAMs to the flash component on the cache module. With the HP Smart Storage
Battery, up to 24 devices can be supported. For the BL460c Gen9, up to 3 devices can be supported.
• The lithium battery while warranted for three years is designed to have a seven years life under normal operational
constraints which include thermal, number of complete battery depletions and usage cycles.
What are the advantages for this battery vs. Super-Cap?
• The Smart Storage Battery supports multiple devices without the need to route multiple cables.
• The battery can also support larger sizes of cache modules.
Is there NEBS certification?
• The batteries are industry-standard products that are UL certified by the supplier of the battery pack.
• HP will be getting safety certificates UL, TUV, and CB.
• HP believes that there is not any additional special end product certification required in addition to the battery
certifications.
How does the Smart Storage Battery connect to Gen9 systems?
Each Smart Storage Battery uses a single cable to connect to the system board of the HP ProLiant Gen9 system.
Which servers have the Smart Storage Battery connections wired?
Almost all of the HP ProLiant Gen9 servers.
HP SmartCache
What is HP SmartCache Write-Back?
The Write-Back feature enables new host data to be written first on the supported SSD and then written to disk at a later
time, enabling enhanced write performance and enhanced read performance.
A Write-Through option is also available. In Write-Through, host data may be written to the accelerator but will always be
written immediately to bulk storage. There may be improvements in write performance in workloads where reads are
serviced from the accelerator and bulk storage has more bandwidth available for writes. But the goal of Write-Through is to
accelerate read performance.
Is Write-Back supported on all HP Smart Array Controllers supporting SmartCache?
The Write-Back feature of HP SmartCache is only supported on the HP Smart Array Controllers for the ProLiant Gen9
servers. These Gen9 controllers support both Write-Through and Write-Back while the ProLiant Gen8 supported controllers
support only Write-Through.
What is the difference between Flash Backed Write Cache (FBWC) and HP SmartCache?
The FBWC allows acceleration of traffic like HP SmartCache; however the FBWC is limited in capacity in ProLiant Gen9
servers to 4 GB. HP SmartCache allows significantly larger capacities of accelerator up to 1.5 TB of cacheable space.
Additionally, FBWC uses DDR technology and SmartCache uses SSD technology.
What performance gain can I expect to see if I deploy HP SmartCache?
Performance gains will vary by application due to their unique IO patterns. As a rule of thumb, most applications will see
performance gains with cache ratios of 10 to 20 percent of HDD capacity.
What is the recommended configuration to get the performance capability of SSD?
HP recommends using whole SSDs, e.g., if you are using 200 GB SSD, use that maximum capacity to get the
performance capability. Unused space on the accelerator is not available for use as a normal data volume.
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
During Write-Back operation, what is the recommended RAID level?
HP recommends that you protect the data via RAID 1 or RAID 5; however we do support RAID 0 for those who
want performance.
During Write-Through operation, what is the recommended RAID level?
HP recommends RAID 0. Since all writes go to bulk storage, there will be no data loss if the accelerator fails, as long as the
bulk storage is available.
What type of SSD should I use when running a heavy workload application?
HP recommends Mainstream Endurance or High Endurance SSDs for Write-Back. Value Endurance SSDs may wear out in a
short time in a heavy write workload, and in addition will generally provide much less write performance than Mainstream
Endurance or High Endurance SSDs. Value Endurance SSDs may be an appropriate choice for Write-Through, as long as the
application is known to be read intensive.
What operations are not allowed while running HP SmartCache?
• Expand Array
• Advanced Capacity Expansion
• Move Logical Drive
• Replace Array
• Mirror Splitting and Recombining (Offline only)
• Split Mirror Backup and Rollback (Online + Offline)
• Heal Array
• Extend Logical Drive
• Migrate RAID/Strip Size
• Change Cache Ratio
• Align Logical Drives
Is HP SmartCache licensed by server or controller?
HP SmartCache is licensed by server, meaning the HP SmartCache capability is available to any supported HP Smart Array
controller residing within the server.
Why does HP SmartCache require a 1 GB or larger FBWC?
HP SmartCache uses a portion of the FBWC memory space to store metadata, which maps information on where data is
stored on SSDs and HDDs. The minimum amount of FBWC and HP SmartCache space required exceeds 512 MB, so a
1 GB or larger FBWC is needed.
How much SSD Accelerator can I support with a 1 GB FBWC module? Or a 2 GB FBWC module?
As a general rule of thumb, there is a 1 GB of metadata space requirement per 1 TB of SSD. However, the FBWC module is
used for functions besides HP SmartCache, so a 1 Gb FBWC module can support up to 750 Gb of SSD and a 2 Gb FBWC
module can support up to 1.5 TB of SSD.
How much SSD is required for HP SmartCache?
HP recommends 10 to 20 percent of SSD to HDD ratio. This ratio should be calculated on the logical unit volume size.
For example, a RAID 1+0 volume with a capacity of 4 TB should use between 400 Gb and 800 Gb of SSD.
How many cache volumes can be supported on HP Smart Array?
Up to 32 logical cache volumes can be supported on HP Smart Array. Cache volumes can be created by carving a single SSD
into multiple cache volumes or by concatenating many SSDs together to form a larger logical cache volume.
Does HP SmartCache cache all logical volumes?
HP has provided the capability for choosing which logical volumes utilize HP SmartCache.
Is my data protected with HP SmartCache?
In Write-Through, HP SmartCache may keep a copy of the data on the accelerator, but data is always written to bulk
storage. Your data is protected on the HDDs in whatever chosen RAID configuration has been selected.
In Write-Back, failure of the accelerator may result in data loss. Therefore HP recommends RAID 1 or RAID 5 for the
accelerator.
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Frequently asked questions | HP Smart Storage solutions for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers
How do I enable HP SmartCache?
HP SmartCache can be configured dynamically through HP SSA.
How can I tell if HP SmartCache is working?
Caching statistics are available in the HP SSA.
Where can I get more information on HP SmartCache?
For more information on HP SmartCache, please go to hp.com/go/smartcache.
HP Secure Encryption
Is Secure Encryption supported on the Gen9 Smart Array Controllers?
Yes, it is supported on the Gen9 Smart Array, as well as the Smart Host Bus Adapters (running in RAID mode).
How is Secure Encryption licensed?
Secure Encryption is licensed per drive.
Do I need to get from HP an activation key in order to enable Secure Encryption?
No activation key is required; just as long as you are using the supported HP Smart Array Controller, the HP Secure
Encryption license per drive, the latest HP Smart Storage Administrator, and the latest Smart Array Controller firmware.
Where can I get more information on HP Secure Encryption?
For more information on HP Secure Encryption, please go to hp.com/go/hpsecureencryption
Leverage HP ProLiant Gen9 server storage innovations today
Your market and your competition move fast. Move faster. Leverage the latest advancements to the HP ProLiant Gen9
server portfolio, including the server storage solutions that were built to complement and enhance the world’s most
intelligent servers.
Resources
To learn more about the HP Smart Array Controllers visit: hp.com/go/smartarray
For information about HP SmartCache visit: hp.com/go/SmartCache
For information about HP ProLiant visit: hp.com/go/ProLiant
For information about HP Storage visit: hp.com/go/storage
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hp.com/go/smartarray
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© Copyright 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for
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4AA5-4217ENW, September 2014