HP Utility Ready Storage Solution White Paper
ISS Technology Update Volume 7, Number 9
ISS Technology Update
Volume 7, Number 9
Keeping you informed of the latest ISS technology
Quick tips for differences in energy efficiency between online “double-conversion” technology and online
“on-demand” technology ........................................................................................................................1
Use iLO Advanced to capture server event video......................................................................................2
HP Industry Standard Servers - a leader in industry standards for storage .............................................. 4
Meet the Expert—Mark Fletcher (confessions of an ISS “hitman”)............................................................. 6
Common SM CLP scripting commands for ProLiant server management, Part 2 ........................................7
Recently published industry standard server technology papers ............................................................ 13
Contact us .............................................................................................................................................13
Quick tips for differences in energy efficiency between online “doubleconversion” technology and online “on-demand” technology
This quick tip first defines online “on-demand” technology and online “double-conversion” technology. It then contrasts the
energy efficiency performance delivered by these two technologies, each of which uses a different method to ensure a reliable
power source for continuous data center operations.
Online “double-conversion” technology
Online double-conversion is currently the technology that most data centers use for their uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
systems. In this type of UPS, the inverter is always on; it continuously converts AC to DC and then DC to AC. This generates a
pristine, or very low-distortion, sinusoidal waveform; however, efficiency is significantly lower than with online on-demand.
Online “on-demand” technology…plus double conversion
Online on-demand is an energy efficient technology that allows incoming power to connect directly to the load through
protected circuits when the incoming power is within specifications. When the power is not within specifications, the doubleconversion technology takes over to regulate the incoming voltage to an acceptable level for the load. Both online on-demand
and double-conversion modes protect the critical load from voltage fluctuations and from damaging transients that can originate
at the utility. And in the event the power goes out completely, the energy from the battery is converted to provide power to the
load until the utility returns service or until a graceful equipment shutdown becomes necessary.
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ISS Technology Update Volume 7, Number 9
Differences in energy efficiency
From an energy efficiency standpoint, the differences between the two technologies are as follows:
State-of-the-art, double-conversion UPS models provide 92% to 93% efficiency, while older models range from 88% to 90%.
•
• Online “on-demand” technology, such as the HP R12000/3, provides a higher efficiency at 97%.
Conclusion
Installing a UPS with an Eco Mode (provided with HP R12000/3) is a good way to save energy in data center applications.
Use iLO Advanced to capture server event video
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO 2) is a remote management processor that is integrated into HP ProLiant and BladeSystem servers.
Basically, iLO enables full control of data center servers 24 hours a day from anywhere there is access to the network. Although
this capability is not new, the fact that HP iLO Advanced Pack automatically captures video footage of the server’s boot-up and
failure occurrences, and offers “on-demand” video capture capabilities, is indeed something above and beyond basic remote
management.
iLO video
iLO video is a significant advance in remote monitoring technology that allows video capture of data center events such as
server boot or fault sequences. A replay menu and control buttons built into iLO 2 firmware provide easy selection of the type of
video footage to be recorded, where to save video for later viewing, and quick playback (see Figure 1-1).
Figure 1-1. Screen capture showing iLO Advanced Replay Menu and playback buttons
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ISS Technology Update Volume 7, Number 9
Automatic or on-demand recording
The video feature of iLO Advanced allows powerful remote troubleshooting capabilities with automatic video recording and
playback:
• Record and play back the last boot sequence
Record and play back the last fault sequence
•
It is also possible to record an event on-demand:
• Bugs can be recorded
• Trainings can be recorded
Flexible storage options
The iLO Advanced videos recorded automatically are stored on the iLO hardware (built into ProLiant servers) or to a Web
server, if needed. On-demand videos can be stored anywhere the user chooses, which could be a dedicated storage area or
on a local hard drive.
An HP exclusive
iLO Advanced video technology is available exclusively from HP. A new viewer (iLO Video Player) is currently in development
and scheduled for release in December 2008; customers will be able to download it from
http://www.hp.com/go/iLO.
Summary
In summary, HP iLO Advanced offers innovative technology that enables convenient remote viewing of video from data center
events. It also allows users to record scenarios on demand for troubleshooting, training, and quality assurance purposes.
Additional resources
For additional information on the topics discussed in this article, visit the following links:
Resource URL
Overview
Quick Specs
User Guide
www.hp.com/go/iLO
http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12362_div/12362_div.html
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00553302/c0
0553302.pdf
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ISS Technology Update Volume 7, Number 9
HP Industry Standard Servers - a leader in industry standards for storage
HP is involved in numerous industry standards bodies relating to server storage. Industry standards increase interoperability
between past, current, and future products.
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)
HP (Compaq) initiated the development of SAS in 2001, inviting LSI Logic, Seagate, and Maxtor to join together to define a
replacement for parallel SCSI that supports both enterprise-class SAS drives and desktop-class SATA drives. HP has been
heavily involved in the INCITS T10 (SCSI) standards committee, and has served as the editor for the SAS-1, SAS-1.1, and SAS2 standards. HP is also a Sponsor member of the SCSI Trade Association, which has marketed SAS since its inception. T10 is
currently finishing the definition of 6 gigabit per second (Gbps) SAS and zoning, and is starting work on active/optical cable
support, power management features, and 12 Gbps. Visit
Serial ATA (SATA)
HP sits on the Serial ATA International Organization Board of Directors, defining the industry’s leading disk drive interface. HP
founded and chaired the Interoperability Committee, which defines test cases and runs plugfests to ensure that Serial ATA
products work correctly together. SATA-IO is finishing the definition of 6 Gbps. HP also participates in the INCITS T13 (ATA)
standards committee, which defines the command set for SATA disk drives. T13 has been adding security features and
improving solid-state disk (SSD) support. Visit
www.serialata.org for more information.
http://www.t10.org/index.html for more information.
Fibre Channel (FC)
HP is a Principal member of the Fibre Channel Industry Association, defining the roadmap for Fibre Channel and guiding the
introduction of Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). HP participates in the INCITS T11 (Fibre Channel) standards committee,
which is starting work on 16GFC and defining FCoE. Visit
http://www.fibrechannel.org for more information.
iSCSI
HP participated in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) IP Storage Working Group, co-editing the iSCSI standard and
authoring several supplementary specifications. The IP Storage Working Group is currently dormant, having completed all its
work. HP is also involved in the definition and promotion of IPv6, leading the IPv6 Forum’s CTO Executive Committee.
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
HP is on the USB Implementers Forum Board of Directors and is a USB 3.0 Promoter. USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) will provide a
10x performance increase over USB 2.0 (5 gigabits/sec versus 480 megabytes/sec). USB-IF and INCITS T10 are collaborating
on a new storage protocol to improve the performance of USB-attached storage devices. Visit
information.
http://www.usb.org for more
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
HP is heavily involved in the INCITS T10 (SCSI) committee for development of SCSI command set standards, defining the
features implemented by disk drives, disk drive enclosures, tape drives, tape libraries, and optical drives. These command set
definitions apply across all the SCSI protocols (SAS, FC, iSCSI, and USB). Recently, T10 has been adding security features to
many of its standards, such as encrypting LTO4 tape drives. Visit
http://www.t10.org/index.html for more information.
SFF Committee
HP participates in the SFF Committee, which defines connectors, form factors, and physical layer test procedures used by SAS,
SATA, Ethernet, and other storage interfaces. Visit
http://www.sffcommittee.org/ie/index.html for more information.
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