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I have a : HP storageworks msa 1500, with 12 disks and a total capacity of 6TB.

I want to connect it to a computer running a linux distribution, more precisely Ubuntu 10.10

Do you think that such thing is possible and if so could you please point me some tips or documentation that could help me configuring such a system.

I want to be able to connect the PC to my home network.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

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A quick search shows that this is a Fibre Channel connected array that can support SAS or SATA disks. You'll need something like a Qlogic or Emulex HBA to connect to it. The connector should look like a fiber optic cable. In re-reading your question, this is not an array for home use, it's quite sophisticated. It doesn't support iSCSI so it must be directly attached to a host and shared to your network through other means.

The array itself is well documented, there's no shortage of docs on the HP site surrounding the MSA 1500, like this one MSA 1000/1500 CLI Guide.

Even without multipath, you should be able to see the LUNs attached to your system to begin with. A tool like lsscsi is a nice way to aggregate the listing of all SCSI based storage on your system. You should see several LUNs with a make of HP. If you don't, that means the array hasn't even provisioned a single LUN yet. It's up to you to setup the SAN, provide network connectivity, log into, and provision the storage. After that, a LIP event lip event example must be issued on your side to force a rescan on the fabric, or you could just reboot.

If you don't have multiple routes to the SAN than you can use it as is. If so, it get's a little more complicated. Considering your level of expertise, I would leave multipath alone, which means only one port should be attached from the host to the SAN.

Overall, it sounds to me like you need to commit to understanding this array and how to administer it. This is no plug and play affair. There's copious documentation on this equipment to assist you in this exercise. Good luck!

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  • thank you for the response. Yes it is an external SAN. I think it is SAS, but how can I be sure? What do you need me to tell you about the controller exactly?
    – albert green
    Dec 19, 2011 at 23:39
  • thanks. Indeed the unit like it is is not for home use. What I was thinking is to get the hard disks and connect them using some enclosures and connect them to a PC on the network. The other option is to mount the unit in a hosting center and access it remotely. I don't like this since I want to avoid additional fees. What I care the most is the 6TB, I will try to figure out a solution. Thanks a lot for your answer.
    – albert green
    Jan 10, 2012 at 21:49
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I have an MSA1500 CS at home for VMware testing. I use a Windows 2008 Server to manage the MSA using HP's raid management software (downloaded from the MSA support page).

Its likely you can manage it all from the command line using a serial connection but I have never tried.

The Windows storage manager actually uses the Fiber HBA to manage the MSA. The MSA requires a special management cable which will cost you about 50 bucks to order. I can get you the part number if you need it.

The Sata enlosure is called an MSA20 and can be directly attached to a server using an HP raid card. Since the MSA20 is older technology the raid cards are only available in the PCI-X format not the new PCI-E.

In a RAID5 configuration the MSA's performance is pretty painful so hopefully you are not looking for fast access.

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