The HPE XP7 is an OEM of the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) G1500. The XP7 builds on the high-end, highly reliable systems before it; the P9500 and the earlier XP models. Advances in the technology have increased performance, expanded usability with active-active stretched clusters, extended storage virtualization with Virtual Arrays, and added non-disruptive scale out capabilities to extend the life of the system.
The seamless continuation of the HPE XP7 will allow customers familiar with the earlier systems to expand on their value derived from the system with the new capabilities and performance. Environments where the HPE XP7 are used can be expanded with the new capabilities and simplified operations.
Highlights of the XP7 include:
The HPE XP7 systems are targeted for usage in the high-end enterprise space for the most demanding applications and as a platform to be used for consolidation with the ability to virtualize other storage systems behind it. A full complement of advanced features is available with the HPE system including system management software and storage resource management software.
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The HPE XP7, based on the VSP high-end system is a high-function block storage system. The XP7 system supports storage virtualization to allow attachment of external storage systems for use as another tier of storage or for migrating data. With external storage attached, the system can scale very large in capacity and performance.
The XP7 high-end system has an architecture that allows up to eight engines (controllers) to be installed into a backplane with a shared memory space. This architecture is different than traditional scale-out storage systems but still does allow scaling up to a point. The system represents the type used in high-end enterprises where reliability is of the utmost importance. A full set of feature capabilities including storage virtualization makes this one of the premier storage systems for enterprises.
Currently, both SSDs and FMDs are supported, which can be confusing during an evaluation. Also, the FMDs connect through an adapter card to convert PCIe to SAS. A change to directly attach with PCIe would provide greater performance through less latency. Evaluator Group believes this improvement will be introduced to the system in the future.