U4226S - Implementing HPE MSA Storage Solutions

Overview

HPE MSA Storage solutions provide the entry-point for SAN storage supported by HPE ProLiant Compute servers. HPE MSA Storage offers a portfolio of arrays, drives, and options that deliver a common set of features enabling flash-ready hybrid storage systems designed to deliver hands-free, affordable application acceleration for demanding SMB workloads. This course provides in-depth knowledge about HPE MSA Storage virtualization capabilities and is perfectly set to equip storage administrators with the tools they need to optimize management, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance functions on the HPE MSA Storage solution.

Audience

This course is ideal for HPE MSA customers, administrators, and channel partner sales or technical sales.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course, but we recommend you have the following before attending:
Basic knowledge of storage area networks (SAN) is recommended
Familiarity with Microsoft Windows server 2012 or higher

Objectives

After completing this course, you should be able to:
Explain positioning, benefits and features of the HPE MSA family of products
Navigate the HPE MSA Storage Management Utility (SMU)
Execute commands via the HPE MSA command-line interface (CLI)
Provision HPE MSA Virtual Storage
Use HPE MSA Virtual Storage features
Perform maintenance and support tasks on HPE MSA systems

Course outline

Module 1: HPE MSA Family Product Overview

HPE MSA Storage introduction
HPE MSA naming convention
HPE MSA product timeline
Storage for the typical SMB
HPE MSA array models
HPE MSA array basics
HPE MSA Controller logical architecture
SAS path (backend)
Controller cache
Supercapacitor pack and non-volatile memory
HPE MSA licensing
Full disk encryption (FDE)
Management interfaces
RESTful API (Redfish/Swordfish)
HPE MSA Gen7
HPE MSA Gen6
HPE MSA Gen5

Module 2: HPE MSA Virtual Storage

Storage Management Utility (SMU)
Storage Management Utility (SMU) v4
Firmware management
SMU v4 – out of box experience (OOBE)
SMU v4 – dashboard
HPE MSA Storage Management Utility v3
HPE MSA Virtual Storage architecture
HPE MSA Virtual Storage terminology
Pools
Page
Disk group
RAID
Read cache disk group
Tiers
Wide-striping
HPE MSA Virtual Storage implementation
HPE MSA Virtual Storage expanding a pool
HPE MSA Virtual Storage expanding MSA-DP+ disk groups
HPE MSA Virtual Storage terminology
Volumes and volume groups
Initiators, hosts, and host groups
Attach/map volumes to hosts
Unified LUN presentation

Module 3: Data Protection on HPE MSA Storage

HPE MSA hardware fault tolerance
Spares
Quick rebuilds
Reconstruction
SSD failure
Controller failure
HPE MSA Virtual Storage snapshots
Snapshots basics
Volume vs. snapshot page(s) reference
Working with multiple snapshots
Snapshot deletion
Snapshot trees
Data recovery and rollback
Snapshot space management
Volume copy
Volume copy benefits
Remote snap replication
Basics
Support matrix
Replication process
Failover
Failback
Reverse
Peer connections
Replication sets

Module 4: HPE MSA Maintenance & Support

HPE MSA maintenance
Disk-group scrub
Using write-back or write-through caching
Cache optimization mode
Optimizing read-ahead caching
Cache and disk properties
Scrub, managed logs, and firmware properties
HPE MSA monitoring and logs
Viewing recent system activity
Viewing capacity information
Collecting performance data
Event history
Alerts panel
Audit logs
Array management using LDAP
Save log data to a file
Download system logs using CLI
HPE MSA health check and HPE MSA Smart Assist
HPE MSA Health Check
HPE MSA Health Check Reports
HPE MSA Health Check Best practice checks
HPE MSA Smart Assist
Overview
HPE MSA Smart Assist architecture
Using HPE MSA Smart Assist to onboard HPE MSA Health Check
Set up notifications
Configure email notifications of system events
SNMP notifications
Managed logs
Syslog
HPE MSA firmware updates
Partner firmware update (PFU) algorithm
Performing firmware update
Updating expansion module and disk firmware
Firmware update server

Lab outline

Lab 1: Configure MSA Virtual Storage with SMU v4

Objectives
Task 1: Initialize the MSA Gen7 using the OOBE
Task 2: Initialize the MSA Gen6 using the OOBE
Task 3: Explore the MSA Storage Management Utility (SMU)
Task 4: Configure HPE MSA Virtual Storage
Task 5: Configure iSCSI and MPIO on Microsoft Windows Server
Task 6: Provision Hosts and Volumes using the iSCSI protocol
Task 7: Provision Hosts and Volumes using the FC protocol
Task 8: Expand a volume
Task 9: Use the MSA command-line interface (CLI)

Lab 2: Implement Data Protection on HPE MSA

Objectives
Task 1: Create data protection using snapshots
Task 2: Use snapshots for data recovery
Task 3: Use volume copy for data protection

Lab 3: Perform HPE MSA Maintenance and Support Tasks

Objectives
Task 1: Monitor general system health, alerts, and event logs
Task 2: Download system logs and use HPE MSA Health Check tool for troubleshooting
Task 3: Use the HPE MSA Smart Assist application