User's Manual

2 EVA4400 operation
Best practices
For useful information on managing and configuring your storage system, see the HP
4400/6400/8400 Enterprise Virtual Array configuration Best practices white paper available at:
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/arraywhitepapers.html
Operating tips and information
Reserving adequate free space
To ensure efficient storage system operation, reserve some unallocated capacity, or free space, in
each disk group. The recommended amount of free space is influenced by your system configuration.
For guidance on how much free space to reserve, see the HP 4400/6400/8400 Enterprise Virtual
Array configuration Best practices white paper. See “Best practices” (page 27).
Using FATA disk drives
FATA drives are designed for lower duty cycle applications such as near online data replication
for backup. Do not use these drives as a replacement for EVA's high performance, standard duty
cycle, Fibre Channel drives. This practice could shorten the life of the drive. For more information
on FATA drives, see the HP 4400/6400/8400 Enterprise Virtual Array configuration Best practices
white paper. See “Best practices” (page 27).
Using solid state disk drives
• Supported in the EVA4400 and EVA6400/8400 only, running a minimum controller software
version of 09500000 for the 72 GB drive and 09534000 for the 200 GB and 400 GB drives
• SSD drives must be in a separate disk group
• The SSD disk group supports a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 8 drives per array
• SSD drives can only be configured with Vraid5 or Vraid1 (Vraid1 requires controller software
version 09534000
• Supported with HP P6000 Business Copy
• Not supported with HP P6000 Continuous Access
• Dynamic Capacity Management extend and shrink features are not supported
Use of these devices in unsupported configurations can lead to unpredictable results, including
unstable array operation or data loss.
EVA4400 port does not log in to the embedded switch
It has been observed that an EVA4400 host port will occasionally not log in to the embedded
switch. If you encounter this issue, restart the controller to bring the port online.
Emulex HBAs require unique zoning
When multiple Emulex HBAs are connected to the same EVA4400, each HBA requires unique
zoning.
Creating 16 TB or greater virtual disks in Windows 2008
When creating a virtual disk that is 16 TB or greater in Windows 2008, ensure that the Allocation
unit size field is set to something other than Default in the Windows New Simple Volume wizard.
Best practices 27