R0Q74B HPE Modular Smart Array MSA 2060 Storage

HPE MSA 2060 SFF Storage Enclosure

Core Specifications

• Manufacturer: HPE
• Part Number: R0Q74B
• Rack Height: 2U form factor
• Network Interface: Gigabit Ethernet
• Power Module: Integrated, hot-swappable supply

Drive Array and Data Protection

• Supported RAID Levels: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
• Drive Bays: 2.5″ Small Form Factor (SFF)

Expansion and Connectivity

• Fibre Channel Ports: 16 Gb/s links for high-speed SAN
• Scalability: Attach up to four additional enclosures

Processing and Management

• Controller Slots: Ready for optional controllers (sold separately)
• Management Suite: Fully compatible with HPE StoreServ/StoreEasy software

Power Architecture

• Redundant PSUs: Hot-plug power supplies for nonstop operation
• Voltage Range: 100–240 VAC auto-sensing

Ideal Use Cases

• Virtualized environments and server farms
• Database and transaction-heavy applications
• Backup, archiving, and disaster-recovery targets
• Entry-level SAN deployments for SMBs

Opt for the MSA 2060

• Cost-effective modular architecture
• Flexible RAID options to balance performance and protection
• Low-latency Fibre Channel connectivity
• Comprehensive HPE global support and warranties

Key Features

Form factor and controllers

Built as a 2U chassis with SFF drive bays, the R0Q74B ships with dual active controllers (designed for redundancy and non-disruptive operations) and supports configurations that include 4-port 16Gb Fibre Channel controllers. The architecture enables high availability, persistent cache mirroring between controllers, and live firmware updates that minimize planned downtime for maintenance and upgrades.

Host connectivity and performance

The “16GB Fibre Channel” designation indicates support for 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel host ports (typically delivered as two 4-port controllers, yielding multiple FC host ports per array). This fabric connectivity is optimized for high-throughput, low-latency application traffic and is commonly used for VMware, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and other I/O-intensive workloads. When configured with flash drives, the MSA 2060 can deliver substantial IOPS and consistent response times suitable for consolidation of mixed workloads.

Hybrid and flash-ready design

The MSA 2060 platform is explicitly designed to be flash-ready: it supports any mix of SSDs and SAS HDDs, enabling organizations to start with lower-capacity or lower-cost HDDs and add SSDs later for caching or tiering. This hybrid approach delivers a balance of cost and performance and helps extend the usable life of deployed storage by letting you introduce flash acceleration when workload demands increase.

Detailed feature breakdown

Snapshots and cloning

Onboard snapshot capabilities provide fast point-in-time copies that are ideal for backups, dev/test clones, and rapid recovery scenarios. The MSA’s snapshot implementation is designed to be space efficient and to reduce restore times for critical application data. These features help businesses implement short-term protection without the overhead of external backup systems for many common recovery workflows.

Remote replication and disaster recovery

The MSA 2060 supports remote replication via Fibre Channel and IP (when paired with appropriate host adapters or gateways), enabling asynchronous replication to a second array for offsite disaster recovery and business continuity. This capability is especially valuable for organizations that require fast, reliable failover of production data to a secondary site without complex orchestration.

Automatic tiering and caching

To maximize performance-per-dollar, the array supports both automated caching and tiering mechanisms (depending on configuration and licensed options). Hot data is placed on SSDs while less frequently accessed data remains on high-capacity HDDs, which optimizes IOPS and latency for mixed workloads and reduces total cost of ownership.

Hardware extensibility

Drive bays and expansion enclosures

The SFF chassis supports a number of drive bay configurations and can be expanded via HPE expansion enclosures when capacity needs grow. This allows incremental growth from modest starting capacities to substantial usable storage pools without complete forklift upgrades. The modular design makes it straightforward to add drive enclosures, mix drive types, and reconfigure pools for performance or capacity as business needs change.

Controller-level upgrades

Controller upgrades and replacement components are supported, offering a migration path to newer MSA generations or higher-capacity configurations. This future-proofs the investment and lets organizations adopt new features and improved performance through component refresh rather than full array replacement.

Networking and Host Integration

Fibre Channel topology and cabling

The 16Gb FC controllers require compatible Fibre Channel switches, host HBAs and transceivers. Multi-pathing drivers (MPIO) on guest OSes or hypervisors are essential for redundancy and path failover. When deploying in VMware environments, VMware HBA best practices and proper zoning reduce the risk of LUN visibility issues and performance bottlenecks. Ensure transceiver compatibility and SFP+ or QSFP mapping are confirmed with HPE support resources to avoid interoperability issues.

Hypervisor and OS

The MSA line provides tested interoperability with major hypervisors like VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V, as well as enterprise OSes (Linux, Windows Server). HPE publishes compatibility matrices and QuickSpecs to validate supported host drivers, firmware levels and multipathing drivers—consult these resources for the exact HBA driver versions and OS patches recommended for production deployments.

Use Cases and Deployment Patterns

Virtualization consolidation

Small and medium-sized virtualization clusters often use the MSA 2060 to consolidate VM datastores, leveraging SSD caching and high-speed Fibre Channel links to support high VM densities and variable I/O demands. The array’s simplicity and predictable performance make it a common choice for SMB virtualization projects.

Database acceleration (OLTP/OLAP)

Transactional databases (OLTP) and reporting/analytics workloads (OLAP) benefit from the low-latency properties of Fibre Channel-supported SSD tiers and the array’s ability to deliver high random I/O performance. Proper RAID and pool design, combined with Fibre Channel zoning and host tuning, allow database administrators to squeeze maximum performance from the platform.

Backup target and remote office storage

For remote/branch offices that require local fast storage and the ability to replicate to a central datacenter, the MSA 2060 offers a compact footprint, local performance and the option to enable replication for centralized backups or DR orchestration. The small 2U chassis fits constrained rack space while providing enterprise features needed at distributed sites.

Compatibility

Third-party components and SFPs

Interoperability with third-party transceivers, HBAs and switches is common but should be validated against HPE compatibility lists. Using non-validated components can lead to support limitations and unexpected behavior; where possible, use HPE-qualified parts or check QuickSpecs for validated third-party combinations.

Drive firmware and mixed media considerations

Mixing drive firmware revisions or drive types within the same RAID group can create reliability and performance inconsistencies. When expanding the pool, standardize on drive models and firmware where possible and follow HPE guidelines for replacement and expansion to maintain performance and resiliency.

Comparison

MSA 2060 stacks up

Compared with entry-level JBODs or consumer NAS solutions, the MSA 2060 offers stronger data services, validated host interoperability, and redundancy suited for production workloads. Compared with higher-end enterprise arrays, the MSA delivers a lower entry price while offering many of the essential features required by SMBs—trading off some advanced scale and feature-rich software suites found in flagship products for a simpler, more cost-effective experience. For organizations that need an upgrade path, the MSA’s modular design allows reasonable future growth without a complete platform migration.