Hewlett-Packard ENSA virtualizes storage, allowing vast amounts of storage to be pooled across an enterprise for use by heterogeneous application servers. Storage resources can be allocated online from a single, common pool, scaling from gigabytes to petabytes and beyond, as needed. Data can be replicated instantly for uses such as backup, report generation, and user-initiated backups and restores. Customers can manage distributed primary and backup storage resources centrally with new policy-based management practices, including dynamic allocation, automatic redeployment, intelligent data replication and protection, and performance tuning.

Hewlett-Packard ENSA is an environment in which storage resides on a dedicated, high-performance Fibre Channel Storage Area Network. This network provides high-performance storage capabilities without adding overhead to other computing networks, and without being slowed down by other network traffic. Hewlett-Packard ENSA will evolve to distribute the network well beyond the distances Fibre Channel can span. This allows Hewlett-Packard ENSA to provide disaster tolerant features within the context of the storage pool while ensuring Fibre Channel performance at any location included in the pool. Standard Fibre Channel components (such as switches and hubs) are used where appropriate, and complementary networking technologies are used for increased distribution. 

The pressure is on to leverage the exploding volume of corporate data for new business opportunities. As a result, data management is becoming increasingly complex and expensive, and this provides an opportunity for significant cost and productivity improvements. A key feature of Hewlett-Packard ENSA creates an environment that simplifies storage management and minimizes the use of valuable staff resources. 

Hewlett-Packard ENSA provides a centralized, unified, policy-driven solution to meet the challenges of managing data for the enterprise. It simplifies the process of managing data across the entire enterprise, independent of the variables in a complex heterogeneous environment. Hewlett-Packard ENSA carries the vision further by coexisting with direct-attached and other forms of storage. This means that Hewlett-Packard ENSA can be incorporated into your environment, as business needs dictate, without forcing you to discard any existing storage products. Our approach encourages you to evolve your data storage environment as your business needs require. 

Hewlett-Packard ENSA comprises storage products, servers, network infrastructure, linking devices (such as bridges, switches, and hubs), as well as components to administer and manage the entire environment. These elements communicate amongst themselves and act cooperatively to solve storage and data management problems. Applications see only reliable, available disks that are provided on demand. 

Hewlett-Packard is delivering ENSA in a phased approach that began last year with Fibre Channel-based storage products, which allow the distribution of storage resources over distance: in fact, the Fibre Channel Storage System (FCSS) was the first Fibre Channel-based solution certified for Microsoft clustering and for SAP on Microsoft clusters. 

The second phase, delivered this year, creates a storage network in which multiple hosts have access to common storage. As a first step, Hewlett-Packard introduced a network backup solution, the Enterprise Storage Backup Solution, that allows multiple hosts to share a common networked tape library. Now Hewlett-Packard has introduced the Fibre Channel-based Enterprise Storage Array (ESA) 12000 and RAID Array 8000 systems that are qualified to support switched Storage Area Networks (SANs) and switched direct connect. Further Hewlett-Packard ENSA developments will include solutions that enable customers to create virtual pools of storage that can physically reside and be accessed from anywhere in their enterprises. 

Hewlett-Packard ENSA provides investment protection with a comprehensive framework based on core technology, software, and services that allows all of a customer's existing storage assets to become part of the overall storage utility.

HP’s Enterprise Network Storage Architecture
~A Whitepaper outlining HP’s ENSA Vision and Storage Philosophy

The Power of HP ENSA: Enabling NonStop eBusiness
~A Whitepaper discussing Compaq’s ability to deliver solutions for NonStop eBusiness

HP StorageWorks SAN
~An HP QuickSpecs document providing the considerations in SAN Design, the two Compaq approaches, and a reference to the hardware requirements

hp StorageWorks ENSAextended