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HPE MSA vs Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

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
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appl...
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of HPE MSA is 10.3%, down from 19.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance is 6.1%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE MSA10.3%
Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance6.1%
Other83.6%
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

Featured Reviews

JP
Administrative Assistant at EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office
Ease of management and seamless storage optimization empower effective data handling
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 had no data loss. We just had to replace the disk, and it goes automatically well. The main difficulty is the firmware upgrade of disks, as it means stopping all the servers to make the upgrade. It would be beneficial to have it done in the background, stopping a disk and upgrading it while keeping the system running. Regarding responsiveness of the web interface, the same issue exists with iLO on the servers, where the interface is also a bit slow. However, with the new servers, it is always faster. The small CPU dedicated to that task does not have a lot of power since it is not the main task of the machine, making it less of a real problem and just a question of responsiveness.
RM
IT Consultant at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A stable unified storage system that enables quick access to data
The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors. Whether it's the database, application server, or storage appliance, they should make it easy to integrate them. They need to open up more to ensure that it can work in any environment and IT ecosystem.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The simple configuration feature is great; it is very simple, allowing you to set up MSA very easily."
"The product is very easy to deploy."
"The solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals."
"The most valuable features are the storage levels and snapshot features."
"The solution's most valuable aspect, for our organization, is its stability."
"It's a great product for the price."
"Was purchased as a DR solution but became our production SAN, very fast and easy to use, a great SAN for SMB's with enterprise features."
"The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."
"Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance is a very stable and durable product that's very strong and mature."
"I like its storage capacity, quick access to the data, speed, and overall storage management."
"Very good analytics Very easy to configure."
 

Cons

"GUI can be improved Firmware updates need improvement Hardware could use a little refinement. (The fiber ports on one controller pushed through the case causing us to replace that controller under warranty."
"It should show more options for cloud backup support."
"Synchronized replication is very important for MSA; however, HPE StorageWorks MSA doesn't provide synchronized replication."
"The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."
"The support contract is expensive, although they are very responsive."
"However, we did have some issues at first but we worked through them and currently we have no issues."
"The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."
"The platform’s monitoring capabilities could be enhanced."
"The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors."
"Uptime. We had some crashes here and there."
"The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors. Whether it's the database, application server, or storage appliance, they should make it easy to integrate them. They need to open up more to ensure that it can work in any environment and IT ecosystem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."
"I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."
"This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."
"The solution can be a bit expensive."
"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."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"The price could be better. We have many competing products now like Huawei and Dell EMC, and these are slightly cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
What is your primary use case for HPE StorageWorks MSA?
We use HPE MSA as storage for the VMware servers, and we will try to use Proxmox server later on, but currently, we use VMware.
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Also Known As

HP StorageWorks MSA
Sun ZFS Storage Appliance
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank
Translational Genomics Research Institute, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, CyberSolutions Inc., Y-Telecom, First Alliance Bank Zambia Limited, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Mutlinet Pakistan, TDC A/S, Digi-Key Corporation, Thurgau Cantonal Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE MSA vs. Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.