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afi99

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HP MS2A2012I SAN Question - Controller failure, Data loss or not?

Hi,

I'm just looking for some clarification on what happens in the event of a controller failure on a SAN. Our outsourced IT  recently had an issue with a HP SAN where the controller failed and as there was no secondary controller,  they had to order a part and then restore the unit. The Outsource company is recommending we buy a second controller as we have the same model as one that they had issues with. All our VM's reside on this controller, there are weekly full VM backups to another physical machine.

Just wondering if the data is always safe in this event as they are saying the data is safe. Is this correct? How is the info stored on the disks? I'm not a storage specialist so would like advice from those who are.

Cheers
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Wolfhere
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Good call but a case of reactive planning rather then proactive, they sold the original SAN's without redundancy.

Sorry, I just need a little more clarification, if the backups fail  and we're relying on the SAN drives then no issue as long as we replace with the same controller?
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Thanks guys much appreciated
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In fact, MSA supports upgrading to newer controllers without loss of data.   HP publishes white papers on the steps to take (what info you need to record in order to perform a smooth controller upgrade) -- it turns out that the same information you'd capture to do an upgrade would be required for a replacement due to failed HW... so it may be worthwhile to go to www.hp.com/go/p2000 , download the upgrade white papers, and make sure you've got the necessary information recorded and saved securely.

(In a rebranding effort, the MSA is now the P2000 MSA, starting with the 3rd generation of the product)