HPE MSA vs VNX [EOL] comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. Additionally, 92% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

HPE MSA

Read 26 HPE MSA reviews

1,433 Views
1,419 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

VNX [EOL]

Read 36 VNX [EOL] reviews

87% willing to recommend

HPE MSA

VNX [EOL]

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HPE MSA and VNX [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp, IBM, Hitachi Vantara and others in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network).

To learn more, read our detailed Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

September 2025

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Helped 868,787 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

HPE MSA

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (5th)

VNX [EOL]

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Pragnesh Sachania

Deputy Manager IT at La Gajjar

Scalable, easy to manage, and used for virtualization environments

We didn't face any issues with the technical functionality. However, we faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration. The HPE support person who did the installation was very technical. He answered all the queries, and we resolved the entire setup. We set up the storage as per our requirements. We previously used a physical server instead of virtualization. With the help of an HPE engineer and partners, we prepared a strategy for migrating the entire physical servers to our virtualization infrastructure. It took two days to deploy the solution. Six people were involved in the solution's deployment, including two from HPE and four from our IT team.

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Alireza Zabihi

Works at AIT

The Nimble CS-Series has proven to be reliable with 100% uptime

When we started the process of looking for a SAN vendor I had four primary criteria: reliability, performance, cost, and simplicity. We were really looking for a unicorn and were fully expected to have to make compromises in one of those areas. The Nimble CS-Series was recommended by our solutions provider, and we were blown away. Not only was it the most affordable option, but it was the easiest to deploy, had the best performance, and has proven to be reliable with 100% uptime.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I like StorageWorks' snapshots for our backup system. We had a pool of SSD and traditional drives. StorageWorks has a feature that transfers the hot data to high-performing drives."

"The solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals."

"The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."

"The solution is scalable and easy to manage."

"The most valuable features were the dual controllers and being able to expand it."

"HPE StorageWorks MSA is an entry-level, cost-effective solution for SMB customers."

"The solution is pretty transparent and works well."

"The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility."

More HPE MSA pros

"High availability including non-disruptive updates: We cannot afford downtime windows."

"Multi-tiering, positively affects the efficiency of the storage space."

"FAST (auto-tiering): Doesn't require configuration and is managed by the array itself."

"From my point of view, the configuration that I can sell is restricted to the EMC best practices. It is hard to make a mistake in a solution. It means the configuration has good performance and scalability options."

"It is very stable even during multiple power failures."

"The replication feature provides another functionality to protect your data."

"It is very stable, even during multiple power failures."

"One of the best features of the VNX is the ability to combine drives of different types into a virtual Storage Pool. By combining small but fast flash drives, SAS drives, and high-capacity but slower NL-SAS drives, the VNX can intelligently move data to the different tiers of storage based on usage."

More VNX [EOL] pros

Cons

"I rate HPE support four out of 10. I'm not happy with them. We purchased mission-critical support, and we're supposed to get a response in four hours. Instead, I'm waiting days for them to replace the drive. They asked me to send back the failed one, and I don't know the address. After I sent it back, they told me they haven't received it. It's a nightmare."

"The solution requires hardware."

"Synchronized replication is very important for MSA; however, HPE StorageWorks MSA doesn't provide synchronized replication."

"The platform’s monitoring capabilities could be enhanced."

"This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included."

"P2000 has become legacy and we can't find spare parts for it anymore. The life cycle is very low."

"It would be ideal if there was a better management interface."

"The solution's license should be integrated and not separate."

More HPE MSA cons

"If the VNX had embedded encryption, that would be great."

"The scalability is average because the storage has some hardware limitations and, obviously, operating system limitations."

"The management software used for the VNX is Unicenter. While it is an improvement over Navicenter, used in older EMC SANs, it still feels outdated in comparison to other SAN management software."

"Based on our workloads, we see repeatedly in performance reports that the built-in controller (SP) cache of our VNX model is not sufficiently large, resulting in forced cache flushing."

"VNX can improve by offering flexible upgrade options. It's not possible to add a single HDD to a current array and there are fixed rules to make upgrades."

"The administrative console (Navisphere/Unisphere) needs some improvement, especially on their Java-based GUI. The updated version of Java is not compatible."

"Intel Xeon processors with under 2 GHz processing speeds could be replaced with more recent ones."

"There is an easy replication process between distinct data centers via VPLEX and/or RPA. But I hope in the future that EMC/Dell could replicate this with other types of storage."

More VNX [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."

"HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."

"This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."

"The price of the solution is a little high and they should provide more competitive pricing. If you want to increases the storage size there are additional fees."

"The solution can be a bit expensive."

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."

"I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."

"Over time, VNX has become pricier than its competitors, and we have turned enthusiastically to Unity."

"Make sure you understand how the licensing works and that you are getting the right set of licenses if you need array-to-array replication."

"Reducing dependency on JavaServer Pages (JSP) could improve the administrative overhead."

"The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable. Yearly EMC is more expensive."

"Pricing is somewhat higher, especially in Zambia, perhaps due to the low sales volume."

"While EMC tends to be on the expensive side, the stability and support of their products are top-notch and I feel are worth the cost."

"The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable, the yearly EMC is more expensive"

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Government

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE StorageWorks MSA?

The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE StorageWorks MSA?

I did not compare the cost of HPE MSA with others because we buy with a framework contract, and HP is the only brand available on that contract, so we have no comparison.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?

The user web interface is a bit slow, but it is really easy to use, although you still have to wait a bit when you send an operation. We have had some drive failures, but with the redundancy, we ha...

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Comparisons

NetApp FAS Series vs HPE MSA

Compared 36% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE MSA

Compared 23% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs HPE MSA

Compared 20% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs HPE MSA

Compared 13% of the time

Infortrend ESVA Storage Array vs HPE MSA

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE MSA Competitors

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs VNX [EOL]

Compared 100% of the time

More VNX [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE MSA

September 2025

Download HPE MSA product report

Buyer's Guide

VNX [EOL]

September 2025

Download VNX [EOL] product report

Also Known As

HP StorageWorks MSA

VNX

Overview

Whether you need best-in-class performance or are looking to get the most capacity for your investment, MSA has a fast, affordable solution for you. And every MSA comes with an intuitive setup and management interface anyone can master.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

With EMC VNX you'll have the right blend of flash, capacity, and application-aware software. Scale up storage for midrange workloads, optimized for virtual applications and cloud environments.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank

Samsonite, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Kindred Healthcare

Buyer's Guide

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

September 2025

Download Free Report

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