No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.
it_user229374 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user229374
Network Systems & Security Admin at a legal firm with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Apr 26, 2015
Download
I like the performance, scalability, and cost effectiveness.
Pros and Cons
  • "We have not had a moment's down time."
  • "Two years ago it was 9/10. Now, perhaps it's 7/10."

What is most valuable?

  • Reliability
  • Support
  • Flash storage - I wish we were using it

How has it helped my organization?

We have not had a moment's down time.

What needs improvement?

I would like it to be greener, with a lower power draw and generating less heat. That is not a comment on a problem with this SAN, it's something I look for in any hardware additions.

For how long have I used the solution?

It entered into production in July 2012.

Buyer's Guide
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
June 2026
Free Report: HPE 3PAR StoreServ Reviews and More
Learn what your peers think about HPE 3PAR StoreServ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
DOWNLOAD NOW
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Nothing unexpected.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

It's fine, no issues.

Technical Support:

Two years ago it was 9/10. Now, perhaps it's 7/10. The quality is still excellent but, like many other vendors, the primary support is on the other side of the world, and there is a time zone issue. We will schedule a patch and I'll see an email or a phone message that came in between midnight and three AM, with a question. You lose a day replying, because the engineers don't call with questions during normal business hours in the Central Time zone. This is not an issue if you run a night staff.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also previously used NetApp and Xiotech, and switched to 3PAR as HP presented a solution that addressed performance, scalability, and, I'm told, it was cost effective.

How was the initial setup?

The HP setup spreadsheet is a beast. It's much more extensive than any previous SAN, but going through the process addresses almost every issue that's likely to come up.

What about the implementation team?

We were guided through this process by Sayers Consulting. They were outstanding, especially Bill Tohtz and Dean Flatland.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, we looked at several presentations.

What other advice do I have?

Set time aside to go through the setup spreadsheet.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Thanks for the review - so much has changed since you implemented your T-400. You've probably heard about the HP 3PAR StoreServ All-Flash Array. HP 3PAR All-Flash won the All-Flash Product of the Year Award from TechTarget. I have a blog that talks about it. hpstorage.me/19Cw9a8. We also introduced the 7000 family that brought the fabulous 3PAR architecture down to the midrange and in fact in less than a year rocketed to the #2 mid-range array.

For anyone that wants to read more about HP 3PAR, here's a link to the hp.com product page: hpstorage.me/1IW1V0t. And if you want a more technical view, here's a link to 3PAR articles on my blog: bit.ly/XJjczN

Like(0)Reply
PeerSpot user
it_user225660
Systems Integrator - VMWare, Cisco, EMC & HP. with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Apr 19, 2015
Download
We switched from our previous solution because the performance and cost of 3PAR was better.
Pros and Cons
  • "We switched because of the performance and cost of 3PAR was better than our previous solution."
  • "There were some minor issues."

What is most valuable?

  • ASIC assisted RAID Calculations
  • Performance
  • Flash

How has it helped my organization?

  • Incredible performance
  • Automation
  • Ease of use

What needs improvement?

  • Host Integration
  • Support for new platforms

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for four years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

There were some minor issues.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues if you plan properly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No scalability issues at all.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's the best.

Technical Support:

It's the best.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched because of the performance and cost of 3PAR was better than our previous solution.

How was the initial setup?

It depends on what aspects you need to configure.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house.

What was our ROI?

It was two to three years.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

  • EMC
  • NetApp

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to do the following:

  • Plan it properly
  • Implement it
  • Check it's working as it should be
  • Monitor it regularly
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. The company I work for is partners with HP and numerous other tech vendors.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Thanks for the review. For anyone that wants to read more about HP 3PAR, here's a link to the hp.com product page: hpstorage.me/1IW1V0t. And if you want a more technical view, here's a link to 3PAR articles on my blog: bit.ly/XJjczN

Like(0)Reply
Buyer's Guide
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
June 2026
Free Report: HPE 3PAR StoreServ Reviews and More
Learn what your peers think about HPE 3PAR StoreServ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
DOWNLOAD NOW
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user225402 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user225402
Server and Storage Practice Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Apr 19, 2015
Download
The new Adaptive Flash Cache feature combined with Adaptive Optimisation really helps performance.
Pros and Cons
  • "For the 7200 there has been no downtime in over two years and this is priceless, whereas with the old P2000, which wasn’t designed or setup properly, we had multiple downtime periods."
  • "Majority of the day to day management can be done via the GUI, but certain functions have to be setup via the command line interface such as AFC."

What is most valuable?

The 7200 and 7400 are both easy to manage. The reporting suite is a must and gives you all the information you need to manage storage. Thin suite helps you manage how the storage is used and reclaimed, and one of the best features is the new AFC (Adaptive Flash Cache) which combined with AO (Adaptive Optimisation) really helps performance.

How has it helped my organization?

We have implemented two 7400 arrays replacing older EVAs with replication, we used to use CLX (Cluster Extensions for EVA) for the Windows machines, but we never had anything but manual failover for the VMware environment.

With the 7400, we implemented Peer Persistence and this removed the requirement of CLX and also gave us a similar site protection in the VMware environment meaning that we no longer have to do a manual failover.

What needs improvement?

Majority of the day to day management can be done via the GUI, but certain functions have to be setup via the command line interface such as AFC.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used the 7200 for over two years and the 7400 for around six months.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Deployment and migration was quite straight forward.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Both versions are very stable. The 7200 has not had any downtime since it was put into production back in November 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The products that we bought both scale very easily, and were bought knowing what the maximum was (which increased on the 7200 from the time of purchase).

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's very good for the amount of times we have been in contact (not much as there's no need to make contact).

Technical Support:

Tech support is fantastic. It seems that you have your own personal support, as we are notified whenever a new firmware/patch/update is released, and we have had the remote support team upgrade the firmware numerous times. We have had only two failed drives on the 7200, and each time the process was simple.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to the 7200, we had a HP P2000 storage array, and this proved not able to cope with the workload (it was designed/implemented and used to be managed by another company) since the 7200 has been installed, there haven't been any issues.

The 7400, replaced four EVAs (two 6500s and two 8400s) and we switched these because they becoming instable causing various issues. They also lacked the failover ability for our virtual environment (without having to buy SRM).

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward as it was planned for. Also, the installation document that was filled out had all the info required to make it that way.

What about the implementation team?

Both installations were carried out by myself.

What was our ROI?

For the 7200 there has been no downtime in over two years and this is priceless, whereas with the old P2000, which wasn’t designed or setup properly, we had multiple downtime periods.

For the 7400. each of the 7400s replaced an EVA 6500 and an EVA 8400 taking up three racks of space, which was condensed down to a single rack. For the first two months, we ran purely on the FC tier (tier one) and the performance was better than both the EVAs. We have three tiers of storage SSD, FC and NL and now the AFC and AO in place, performance is fantastic and we have plenty of capacity.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

  • EMC
  • IBM

What other advice do I have?

After spending months of looking at products and choosing the HP 3PAR’s the best advice is to:

  • Plan the installation and migration – this saved us time in getting the new storage in production
  • Think about all the features you require as they aren’t expensive and probably will save you money (Peer-Persistence was a good one for the 7400)
  • Don’t buy for years – as they are easily upgraded the capacity should be sized correctly.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. HP Reseller
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user225402 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user225402Server and Storage Practice Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Report as inappropriate

Chris yes thats about what we were seeing, we dedicated 512MB per controller pair.

Like(0)Reply
See all 3 comments
PeerSpot user
Jerome Wendt
President/Lead Analyst at DCIG
Analyst
Mar 29, 2015
Recognizes infrequently accessed data and can either move it off to disk or even another HP 3PAR array.

Since 2012, there have been three constants in DCIG’s world: death, taxes and an HP 3PAR StoreServ storage array model coming out on top in its Midrange Array Buyer’s Guides. In each of the three (3) Buyer’s Guides focused on the topic of Midrange Arrays produced in that time, HP 3PAR StoreServ arrays have consistently ranked well with the HP 3PAR F400 coming out on top in 2012, the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7400 in 2013 and the latest 7440c nailing the top spot in the 2015-16 Buyer’s Guide.

To accomplish these feats, HP had to do more than simply put more powerful hardware into its arrays. HP had to merge disk and flash media, offer software that today’s highly virtualized infrastructures require and deliver these in a way that satisfied today’s enterprise demands. The HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c does so by offering features that represent what enterprises most want midrange arrays to deliver now.

HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c Proves that ASICs Matter by Unlocking Flash’s Potential

The HP 3PAR StoreServ platform introduced its architecture in the early 2000’s when hard disk drives (HDDs) were the primary storage media used in midrange arrays. Fast forward to today and both HDDs and solid state drives (SSDs) are deployed.

To effectively manage the idiosyncrasies of both media, the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c array takes the following steps. For every drive, it recognizes all available capacity on the HDDs in its system and breaks it into chunklets. Using these chunklet, it then creates virtual volumes that span all HDDs (and SSDs). This especially helps to improve HDD performance while expediting the recovery of failed HDDs.

To deliver on the increased performance that SSDs offer, HP 3PAR StoreServ introduced more powerful processors and higher throughput storage networking interfaces as well as updated its software to manage SSDs’ idiosyncrasies. In doing so, the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c differentiated itself from competitors in the following ways.

Many competitive storage arrays solely use Intel-based processors to handle their storage processing needs. While this takes advantage of Moore’s Law by doubling processor performance about once every 18 months, Intel-based processors currently have limited to no awareness of data packets nor have they implemented deduplication that would help to make the broader deployments of SSDs within organizations more economical.

The HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c does use Intel-based processors for some tasks it performs. However, it also use a unique application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) that is specifically configured and optimized for storage processing. The 3PAR ASIC is programmatically updated in the 7440c to manage the idiosyncrasies of SSDs and take better advantage of their performance features.

The ASIC complements the native wear-leveling algorithms found inside SSDs to help extend their lives. Using the HP 3PAR’s chunklet technology, the ASIC spreads write-intensive blocks of data across SSDs in the system so a single SSD is never overwhelmed with too many writes that would cause it to quickly wear out. The ASIC also optimizes SSD storage capacity through its use of thin deduplication by inspecting each data packet as it passes through the system and making the necessary calculations to deduplicate the data. Due to the techniques it employs to perform deduplication, it accomplishes this with minimal to no impact to application performance.

To further deliver on the performance that SSDs have to offer, the 7440c has a mesh active controller architecture that uses four (4) controllers. These provide high bandwidth, low latency interconnects between each other and to the back end HDDs and/or SSDs. The 7440c takes full advantage of this high bandwidth by spreading writes out across all drives using its wide striping technology. This serves to help SSDs wear more evenly, achieve a longer life and collectively provide the performance boost that organizations expect from SSDs.

By taking all of these steps the 7440c gives organizations the flexibility to effectively use the characteristics of both HDDs and flash. Unlike all-flash arrays that must keep all data on flash, the 7440c recognizes aging and infrequently accessed data residing on flash and can either move it off to disk or even another HP 3PAR array (assuming there is another HP 3PAR array in the environment.)

Forging Ahead with Proven and New Technologies

The flexibility to implement both HDDs and SSDs in a single array is functionality that the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c distinguishes itself from competitors in how it manages them. However media management alone did not push the 7440c to the top of the DCIG 2015 Midrange Array Buyer’s Guides. Rather, it was its robust software features.

Like the other models in the 7000 series including the all-flash 7450c, the latest 7440c simplifies storage management, optimizes available storage capacity and accelerates storage performance. Options such as automated storage tiering, deduplication, and priority optimization, to name just a few, have put the 7440c at the forefront of midrange arrays. Collectively these features have contributed to DCIG ranking its array management and virtualization features as “Best-in-Class” in prior DCIG Midrange Array Buyer’s Guides.

Further, HP is not resting on its laurels as it continues to bring forward features to add to the 7440c’s versatility. Features that HP recently introduced to continue to make it practical for organizations to implement the 7440c more easily include:

  • Data migration software. Using its 3PAR Online Import feature, the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c can first virtualize other arrays such as the HP EVA, the EMC VNX, the EMC CLARiiON CX4 or the EMC VMAX prior to migrating data off of them.
  • Unified storage. The 7440c concurrently supports both block-based, storage area network (SAN) protocols and file-based, network attached storage (NAS) protocols. The 7440c supports this functionality through its File Personal software that enables the convergence of these protocols on a single HP 3PAR node.
  • VMware VVol support. The HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c as well as the 3PAR StoreServ 7000 and 10000 systems support the newly announced Virtual Volume (VVol) function on the VMware ESX platform. Providing storage management granularity at the virtual machine (VM) level, it helps to facilitate the introduction of automated, policy-based storage management by eliminating manual LUN management.

HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440’s Top Ranking Stems from Its Alignment with What Organizations Most Need Today

DCIG gave the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c high marks in its 2015-16 Enterprise Midrange Array Buyer’s Guide due, in large part, to how well its features align with what organizations need today. Its scalability and mesh active controller architecture position the 7440c particularly well to meet the ever increasing performance demands that enterprises place upon midrange arrays while also offering the flexibility of adding HDDs as needed, Yet what is even more impressive about the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c are its array management software and high levels of integration with VMware.

As organizations continue to strive to become ever more “lean and mean” by asking their IT staff to manage an ever more virtualized environment, it is software that easily, effectively and efficiently utilizes and manages the underlying midrange array hardware that differentiates the best from the rest. In this area, HP 3PAR StoreServ 7440c has outpaced its competitors which is reflected by its #1 ranking in the recent DCIG 2015-16 Enterprise Midrange Array Buyer’s Guide.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Thanks for summarizing the Buyers Guide Jerome. It's an exciting time for me with HP 3PAR getting such great industry recognition. If you want to explore more about HP 3PAR, here's a link that has lots of other great information: hpstorage.me/1IW1V0t

Like(0)Reply
it_user178500 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user178500
Business Systems Manager with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Mar 12, 2015
Flash storage is worth it for performance advantage and simplicity.

We were running HP servers and an HP storage area network (SAN), but with the business’s growth we were coming to a point where we either needed to upgrade the CPU and buy additional disks for the SAN, or replace everything – we considered both possibilities.

The application provider did have a version running on Windows, but we wanted the proven stability of UNIX, and in particular of HP’s HP-UX. MomentumPro is business-critical, and runs all our inventory and financial systems. We considered systems based on other UNIX platforms, but that would have involved bringing in a completely new operating system, which would add additional risk. If we had a year for the project we might have looked at other UNIX versions, but our business’s rapid expansion meant we had tight timescales– so we stayed on HP-UX to simplify the migration.

Once we had decided on HP-UX, we looked at the blades, storage and chassis available from HP. The blade system had the benefit that, as well as handling the expansion of the ERP, we could consolidate Windows environments and other servers onto the new infrastructure.

We chose an infrastructure housed in an HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure, and it selected an HP Integrity BL870c i4 Server Blade featuring HP-UX 11i v3. For storage, we selected HP 3PAR StoreServ 7450 Storage system with thirty-two 480GB solid state disks (SSDs). The system includes HP FlexFabric interconnects.

Had we upgraded, we would have had perhaps just a year before we had to upgrade again. Also, with an upgrade, maintenance costs are increasing each year – but the replacement system included support, so we are ahead on operating expenditure.When we did a comparison, the replacement was lower in cost than the upgrade, with a fifteen month payback period on the hardware. By replacing the system, we could build everything and get it up and running without interfering with the current operation. If we had done an upgrade, there would have been significant downtime, even if there were no problems – but with a replacement we could build it all in parallel, do comprehensive testing and make sure everything was working. 

The implementation went extremely well, and the engineering support people at HP were excellent – everything was here on time or early, and it all went smoothly. We built the new system and got the operating system loaded, the disks up and database restored, and were able to run tests till satisfied to give us a comfort factor. Then we took the users off the system and started the migration of data at 6pm, and had everything up and running by 11pm that night.

With the new infrastructure, the biggest single benefit is improved performance, not least due to the system’s solid state storage.The 3PAR storage was worth it for the performance advantage. We knew we had to speed up the processing, if we expand into Western Australia we would lose three hours from the overnight window, due to the time difference. We had to do the same tasks in a smaller timeframe.

The old system would already have been unable to cope – we would have been on about 99 per cent CPU, but at the moment we’re sitting at 15 per cent CPU. It’s a massive change – we would have been happy with a 50 per cent improvement, but we’ve got almost an 80 per cent increase. While the store rollout is the priority, we’re also going to look at adding extra functionality in the ERP application. In the past we were constrained by hardware performance, but the new system is giving us the opportunity to add more modules.

By moving from a rack-based server system to blades, we will be able to shrink infrastructure from eight cabinets to only two. HP’s de-duplication features will also save us money, as we will need to buy fewer disks to migrate our existing external servers onto Hyper-V virtual machines on the blades. We were at full storage capacity on the old system, but now with the 3PAR we will be at around 70 per cent after we have migrated Exchange onto the infrastructure – and that’s even before we add in the benefits of de-duplication.

This was a deliberate choice – we wanted a system with the flexibility to grow, without having to buy hardware now that we wouldn’t use for six or twelve months. The project has gone very well and exceeded my expectations, and I was surprised at the ease of deployment– all the different components integrated well together.

Overall, the biggest benefits for us were performance, simplicity of implementation and cost. Due to this positive experience with HP, we’re now looking at working with them in other areas of our business, and we’re already rolling out HP thin clients at some of our stores.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Love hearing these kinds of stories. I think you made a great choice but so do others. HP 3PAR All-Flash won the All-Flash Array Product of the Year Award from TechTarget. I have a blog that talks about it. hpstorage.me/19Cw9a8. There's been lots of other "best of" for the HP 3PAR family - if you're interested in those, drop me an email at hpstorageguy at hp dot com.

Like(0)Reply
it_user203880 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user203880
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Mar 6, 2015
Download
It's a scalabe solution. We're planning on implementing the AFA in the future.
Pros and Cons
  • "Do it, you will never look back."
  • "Ease of updating."

What is most valuable?

  • Wide striping
  • Ease of use
  • Dedicated ASIC
  • Thin Provisioning
  • AO and DO
  • Adaptive Flash Cache
  • Persistent Ports
  • Tiered storage
  • AFA
  • Funcitonality

How has it helped my organization?

It enables growth from the existing array due to the thin provisioning suite.

What needs improvement?

Ease of updating.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for three years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Excellent.

Technical Support:

Good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used EVA, but as we are an HP house, we migrated to the latest HP offering due to the benefits.

How was the initial setup?

Out of the box deployment is easy.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it ourselves.

What was our ROI?

It's an excellent, scalable solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at EMC and PURE.

What other advice do I have?

Do it, you will never look back. We're not currently using 3PAR flash storage, but definitely plan to in the future. 3PAR AFA is the class leader.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. We are an HP Gold Partner
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. HP 3PAR is racking up industry recognition as well! It was named best-in-class midrange array by DCIG. Here's a blog about that: hpstorage.me/17hnng2. Also, HP 3PAR All-Flash won the All-Flash Product of the Year Award from TechTarget. I have a blog that talks about that as well. hpstorage.me/19Cw9a8

Like(0)Reply
PeerSpot user
it_user188622
Technical Manager / Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Feb 18, 2015
Download
When comparing the cost with the features and performance, this solution is a good choice.
Pros and Cons
  • "When comparing the cost with the features and performance, this solution is a good choice."
  • "Many points were needed for the initial system on first time setup. We had some non-predictable random issues during initialization like non-probable Inserv serial numbers etc."

What is most valuable?

  • Separated multilayer and specific SAN Storage operating system (Informos)
  • ASIC based operation
  • High end feature in mid-range scale
  • Wizard based configuration console
  • Scale in scale out forward
  • Storage virtualization technology like chunklet

How has it helped my organization?

Increase provisioning time and reduce configuration complexity based on chunklet technology. It supports advanced virtualization services on storage operations and virtual computing infrastructure.

What needs improvement?

Common data center standards for temperature, humidity, firefighting etc.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the Inserv 7000 series for two years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Many points were needed for the initial system on first time setup. We had some non-predictable random issues during initialization like non-probable Inserv serial numbers etc. Time was needed for the chunklets restructure to take effect.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Very dependable system structure to each node on healthy clusters.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Based on our experience and the documentation it looks easy.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

9 out of 10

Technical Support:

9 out of 10

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to use the EVA 8000 series but they have just two nodes in that series and it is unsupported for active clustering, HA for controllers and nodes. 3PAR is also more cost effective on hardware, and has less performance issues and more scalability.

How was the initial setup?

Complex in initial pre-requirement and finding the serial numbers and the necessary information for setting up the system.

What about the implementation team?

I did the implementation myself.

What was our ROI?

When comparing the cost with the features and performance, this solution is a good choice.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, we compared this series to the EMC VNX series based on feature/performance/technology and cost.

What other advice do I have?

It has a large basket of advanced features to integrate storage system into the service layer, good performance on provisioning and SAN service.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

A quick follow-up to the DCIG "best-in-class" I mentioned: HP 3PAR All-Flash won the All-Flash Product of the Year Award from TechTarget. I have a blog that talks about it. hpstorage.me/19Cw9a8

Like(0)Reply
See all 2 comments
it_user194907 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user194907
Infrastructure Team Lead at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Feb 18, 2015
Download
With our previous solution we had issues with replication and tiering. Our nightly backup jobs now run much quicker.
Pros and Cons
  • "A real example is that before 3PAR, the nightly batch job would start at 7:30 PM and run until the next day in the afternoon, until around 2:00 PM, and now with the 3PAR storage platform, the night batch job starts at the same time and finishes at 4:00 AM."
  • "Firmware stability could be improved."

What is most valuable?

  1. Replication between sites
  2. Migration
  3. Dynamic Provisioning
  4. Tearing
  5. Manageability
  6. Easy user interface

How has it helped my organization?

A real example is that before 3PAR, the nightly batch job would start at 7:30 PM and run until the next day in the afternoon, until around 2:00 PM.

Now with the 3PAR storage platform, the night batch job starts at the same time (7.30 PM) and finishes at 4.00 AM (instead of 2:00 PM the next day).

What needs improvement?

Firmware stability could be improved. Apart from that I can't think of anything else.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for more than a year.

3PAR 10400 (Production) and 7400 (DR - location)

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues with the deployment and we had very good support from the vendor. It's very easy to get it going.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

A part of the firmware for the controller had a bug that caused some issues while doing the Dynamic tiering, however once we upgraded it was fixed.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No, there is plenty of room to grow.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

On a scale from 1-10 I will give them a 9.

Technical Support:

We had a quick turnaround time with one issue, and even a dedicated engineer working with us even though the issue was on the network side for the replication. Overall, we have very good support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We had a XP24K and a EVA 6000 and we were experiencing challenges in replication and doing tiering. That was one of the main reasons we chose to switch.

How was the initial setup?

It is very straight forward. Any person with basic storage knowledge can do the installation, with no specific training required.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented through a vendor for the production site, PKA Technologies, and using what we learned, we have implemented the DR site in-house.

They are very helpful, and even after the implementation they have provided support for troubleshooting on the network issue.

What was our ROI?

According to the performance and scalability of the product, a rough calculation is that in three years we will be able to get an ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Original cost was about $2 million. Day to day, it's just the cost of the power to run the hardware.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Hitachi HUS VM, and EMC alongside 3PAR.

What other advice do I have?

We are using the SSD but not flash. Even without that part, we are very satisfied with the performance.

It is reasonable and good product.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user194907 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user194907Infrastructure Team Lead at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Report as inappropriate

The batch job is for Oracle application CC&b to do the billing calculation, the backup solution we used it commvault

Like(1)Reply
See all 3 comments
it_user189951 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user189951
Technical Consultant – Storage at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Feb 16, 2015
Recently introduced features allow customers to use solid state disks to cache I/O to magnetic disks.

As a storage technical consultant, I have implemented HP StoreServ (3PAR) systems for customers for the past 3½ years. The StoreServ family of arrays accommodate up to three storage tiers within a single chassis and scales nicely from small shops to large data centers using either fibre channel or iSCSI attachment. 

Recently introduced features allow customers to use solid state disks to cache I/O to magnetic disks (Adaptive Flash Cache) and deploy de-duplication on certain configurations. Also, HP will soon offer file services (CIFS and NFS) provided directly by the array controllers on specific controller models.

The StoreServ family is one of the easiest array platforms to manage that I have worked with. I have been particularly impressed by how quickly my customers are able to learn basic array management techniques; it normally takes less than a day before a customer with no prior 3PAR experience is able to create storage and provision LUNs to their host systems.

Deciding what features and options to include with a StoreServ array can be daunting if you do not have experience with the product. One of the most valuable optional features is Dynamic Optimization, which allows customers to seamlessly and non-disruptively change storage tiers and RAID levels. I recommend including Dynamic Optimization with all but the very smallest and most static configurations. 

System Reporter is another must-have license, as it unlocks access to the performance data the StoreServ collects. Customers should also consider including Virtual Copy, the snapshot feature. Many situations arise where snapshots are unexpectedly useful.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. The company I work for is an HP Partner
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Couldn't agree more. And if you didn't see, HP 3PAR StoreServ was named the All-Flash product of the year by TechTarget. I have a blog post that talks about it. hpstorage.me/19Cw9a8

And like I said in the post, I'm still doing a happy dance. Very proud of what HP Storage has accomplished with 3PAR.

Like(0)Reply
PeerSpot user
it_user187794
Director, Midwest Cloud Consulting at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
MSP
Top 20
Jan 29, 2015
Download
3PAR - Popeye's spinach for the I.T. Industry
Pros and Cons
  • "Whether you are new to storage or advanced, this is the most amazing piece of hardware I have ever had my hands on, built, and used."
  • "I have deployed several and found the SmartStart CD to be intermittent."

What is most valuable?

The CPG, Dynamic / Adaptive Optimization, the CLI, and more importantly the way it's licensed as you are not "tagged" and held hostage when you're at 1TB, and another, and another, and another. The licensing is a brilliant approach to the fiscal tourniquet of scalability! Oh.. I also like the service processor and how it's out of band and monitors the SAN, how it does the updates - neat little component.

How has it helped my organization?

Scaling and performance. Easy to add shelves, easy to move data around while everything is hot, move data from tier to tier, expanding a LUN, there are so many ways it's just amazing how much it's helped! The snapshot and sending them to different tiers by using the CPG makes life a bit easier!

What needs improvement?

Removing a LUN mapping from a single host is a bit odd, worse a single host in a host set, it needs 10G ports for IP based replication (needs to be 1 or 10G). Keep working on the SSMC and allow for GUI management to be cross platform.

For how long have I used the solution?

Around 2 years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I have deployed several and found the SmartStart CD to be intermittent. Also, during the install when the SP locates the array, the network based multicast can't find the storage array and you have to go to console / serial cable. Not too big of a deal, but you then have to configure settings manually.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Never as of yet. It has been rock solid!

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We can't hit it hard enough yet. As I said adding shelves and drives all is pretty nice and straight forward.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Early on, I had some strong opinions about the transition to more of HP support. I raised concerns, The HP team in Alpharetta, Ga lead by Brad Bates took significant steps, listened, and made adjustments. Buying a product is one thing, post-sale is what keeps customers coming back and maintains longevity.

Technical Support:

Thus far, pretty impressive. I met the actual teams of people and after the initial "hiccup", I had a chance to see the HP Lab, meet some of the people that enjoy what they do. It's important for everyone to understand that IT people work inverse hours and when we make changes it's evenings, weekends, and holidays. Senior level - tenured members of most companies are "off" while HP found a way to keep solid individuals available to be available.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Funny you ask - let's just say a "no named" array that had redundant controllers completely torched nearly every ESX datastore where it "gutted" the data inside of it, but left the shell. Yet, the support person on the phone called the update "successful on my end". Sure, the nodes made have updated, but the data was gone - you be the judge! I have used solutions from many, many storage vendors.

How was the initial setup?

Pretty straightforward - even though HP says "self installable" I highly recommend a qualified person with a great deal of understanding of virtualization, zoning, etc. Could a person with no experience using storage do this? Eh...maybe getting the array on-line, but I would not recommend it (nor would I for any vendor).

What about the implementation team?

Well, I am "that vendor team", but I am also a user as well. So, if I am allowed to rate my experience - 25 years of IT, nearly 15 years of storage - we can do pretty well!!

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The usual EMC stuff.

What other advice do I have?

Whether you are new to storage or advanced, this is the most amazing piece of hardware I have ever had my hands on, built, and used. The thought behind much of the detail of how it works just seems incredible. Think about this, you have drives that sit in multiple RAID arrays because of the CPGs and how the SAN is always moving chunklets around to keep hot spots from occurring. If I could meet the founders and shake their hand, I would love to and let them know thank you. Thank you for giving me the chance to have fun with my job and have access to such hardware. I would also thank HP for taking a datacenter class piece of hardware and re-aligning it to be competitive in any space - just brilliant!

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. I personally bought my own 3PAR for myself (no HP discounts were given to me - other than I bought the arrays using the HP renew program), my company owns 3PAR arrays for our hosting practice, but I am also the Director of a consulting practice that is responsible for architecting solutions for clients. We can sell any vendor, and we have, but we landed and only sell HP because 3PAR is the "SAN doctor in the house"!
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
it_user107568 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user107568Works at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Report as inappropriate

Steve - also just noticed you work for EMC XtremIO - if you're leaving those kind of comments here to create FUD, shame on you. If it's the line you're being fed by your competitive attack people, you should have them create true competitive information instead of spreading untruths. I find it interesting that EMC takes the tact of trying to attack the performance of deduplication. I'm guessing they realized that doesn't work because the latest I've heard is attacking the fact that there's an ASIC. Here's a recent blog that addresses that EMC FUD: hpstorage.me/1L7esiT

Like(1)Reply
See all 5 comments
Buyer's Guide
Download our free HPE 3PAR StoreServ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2026
DOWNLOAD NOW
Buyer's Guide
Download our free HPE 3PAR StoreServ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Buyer's Guide
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
June 2026
DOWNLOAD NOW
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions: