HPE MSA Reviews

I use HPE StorageWorks MSA for my data center needs. I combine the storage with server services and software to create a centralized environment. By connecting everything in the network and setting up a virtual environment for servers, I manage data storage and server resources for improved performance and centralization.

The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility. I appreciate the range of options for power supplies, CPUs, and fast 10-gigabit network connections, including both optical and Ethernet. This flexibility allows me to configure the system according to specific needs, with various options for internet ports.

While HPE StorageWorks MSA meets my needs well, some clients have suggested room for improvement in expanding storage capacity beyond the base traces. There has been occasional feedback about minor glitches and the desire for even greater scalability, possibly accommodating more than the current limit of 138 hard drives for advanced storage configurations.

I have been working with HPE StorageWorks MSA for over ten years.

I would rate the stability of the product as a ten out of ten. 

I find HPE StorageWorks MSA's scalability somewhat limited. While it is expensive, the main drawback is that the configuration, especially for connections, is fixed. Once set, you can't change or expand certain aspects like network ports, CPU, and memory. While you can expand storage capacity, it lacks flexibility in modifying the initial setup, making it less adaptable to changing needs. I would recommend HPE StorageWorks MSA for small to medium-sized enterprises. It might be less suitable for larger companies with more extensive storage needs, where more advanced solutions could be necessary.

The technical support is excellent. A ten out of ten.

Positive

I prefer HPE StorageWorks MSA over EMC (now Dell) for my data center setup. It is easier and more compatible when using products from the same vendor, ensuring a unified and well-integrated system.

Setting up HPE StorageWorks MSA, including the NTA, is straightforward, thanks to HP's user-friendly configuration process. The step-by-step wizard simplifies the process, and even without it, configuration is manageable. Good support from HP adds to the ease of setup, making it accessible for those familiar with the process.

HPE StorageWorks MSA is a bit expensive, starting at over 10,000 euros. This might be a hurdle for small businesses. Lowering the price could make it more accessible, especially when considering alternative, more budget-friendly storage options.

Overall, I would rate HPE StorageWorks MSA as a ten out of ten.

We suggest this solution for multiple infrastructures, such as hotels, hospitals, and government projects, are using the solution. For small businesses and other organizations that require a small infrastructure or less scalability, we use any storage solution that meets their needs. However, for organizations that require high scalability and storage capacity, the MSA is the most suitable solution. 

Monitoring is a very big thing. Other great features include block storage; volume creation and the data reliability scalability, which makes the solution really good.

There is room for improvement in terms of scalability. There are times when we need to upgrade the device and the firmware. Sometimes, that can be a struggle.

I have been working with this solution for four to five months. 

It is a stable solution. I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

It is a scalable solution. I would rate the solution a ten out of ten. We approximately have more than 35 clients.

If you have proper support paid, you are obviously going to get good support.

Positive

There are two main competitors in the market in this space. One is Dell, and the other one is HPE. We faced some problems with Dell's configuration service, which was a bit difficult to use.

In the meantime,  HPE's configuration and build process is easy to use, and its solution is reliable, secure, and has regular firmware and security updates.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy to set up the solution. 

The deployment notdidn't take that much time. YouFor me, it takes about two days, including recording the initial setup and everything. I can provide management IDs and have them up on the website app. We will just be waiting for the user to provide the use cases, which will specify how the volumes need to be and how many volumes are required. According to that, we will create the tools and volumes for them and provide the level of access that they require.

I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. The license costs are based on the number of storage units and then the three-year HPE care. 

I will definitely recommend the solution. Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

We use HPE StorageWorks MSA for fiber-based storage. It is used for production servers like file servers and SQL databases as email exchange, email before on-premise. The solution is also used as an active directory for virtual machines.

HPE StorageWorks MSA is an entry-level, cost-effective solution for SMB customers. Compared to other solutions like Nimble, EVA, and 3PAR, there are not many features in HPE StorageWorks MSA. HPE StorageWorks MSA is a straightforward storage.

HPE StorageWorks MSA should add features like adaptive features and storage replication. The solution's license should be integrated and not separate.

I have been working with HPE StorageWorks MSA for 15 years.

HPE StorageWorks MSA is the most stable solution.

There are models that are scalable. So you just have to choose which model you are going to recommend to customers based on the sizing. More than 20 of our customers are using HPE StorageWorks MSA.

HPE StorageWorks MSA's technical support is quite responsive in Saudi. So we don't have any issues with our customers regarding technical support.

The solution's initial setup is straightforward. Once you get the IP address, you can easily create these groups and add a host.

It takes around 30 to 50 minutes to deploy the solution. As long as you assign the management IP, the deployment process will be straightforward.

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

One engineer is enough for the deployment and maintenance of HPE StorageWorks MSA.

HPE StorageWorks MSA is the best and most cost-effective solution for SMB customers. However, it is not recommended for enterprise customers.

Overall, I rate HPE StorageWorks MSA ten out of ten.

We are using virtualization and we use this storage for hosting workloads. We have our own workloads, as well as some for our customers.

It has provided much larger capacities to the existing virtualized environments. we have added 4 additional enclosures as well. 

The most valuable features are the storage levels and snapshot features.

We also use some of the other common features like zoning control, IO metering, and input/output control. 

This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included. We would like to see the environment updated.

We have been using HPE StorageWorks MSA for more than five years.

This is a very stable product.

We have had hard drives fail, although stability was not an issue because RAID manages situations like this. We simply notify the vendor, they come in and replace it in the background, and the matter is solved.

The scalability is very good. This environment is part of our infrastructure. We are an internet service provider (ISP), so we have our own infrastructure hosted. This includes our link monitoring systems and the authentication service center. We also host a large number of customer workloads on virtual machines, which are all running on this system.

The local HPE support has always been good.

We currently have storage arrays by both HPE and Dell. The product from Dell is the PowerVault system.

We will be purchasing an all-flash array, as well. The requirement is due to the high demand for our customers' environments that are using heavy IO.

The initial setup is straightforward and the deployment is very quick.

We deployed it ourselves, and we had a little bit of support from the vendor. It was not complex because our environment was simple, so we configured it. When we had a doubt about something, we contacted the vendor, but otherwise completed it on our own.

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

HPE was the initial product that we evaluated. We were content with it, so we went straight to implementing it.

So far, our experience with this product has been great. We've had a small number of issues such as a hard disk failure, but that is manageable with RAID so it has not been a problem. This is a product that I recommend for others.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We use StorageWorks for storage.

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. 

I have used StorageWorks for nearly 10 years.

StorageWorks is stable. 

The scalability is decent. It's possible to add additional bays for the drives, but I don't know how many you can add. 

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. 

Neutral

I rate HPE StorageWorks MSA five out of 10. 

Our company uses the solution for NAS and SAN storage. We have 30 users who access storage daily. 

We do not plan to increase usage in the short term but plan to do a technology refresh in a few years. 

The solution is pretty transparent and works well. 

The solution requires hardware. 

I have been using the solution for a few years. 

The stability is okay, not too bad. The solution has a very specific use to provide storage so as long as it does not fail, everything is good.

The solution is scalable and you can add additional bays. At some stage, you will need additional TCs.

I have not needed technical support. 

Our company did not previously use another solution. 

The setup is pretty straightforward. 

The solution is hardware so you just have to build the functions of the system including the RAID. It takes a little while, but is straightforward. 

We utilize vendors or system integrators for implementations. 

The solution can be a bit expensive. I rate pricing an eight out of ten. 

I inherited the last generation solution when I joined the team, but am currently looking to move toward hyper-converged solutions. In essence, I want to reduce the footprint and maximize the server.

I am exploring whether HCI can work with the current hardware and reduce the need for additional hardware by using local storage on the server. I want to understand the technology to do a proper comparison. 

I am looking at StorMagic and other options to determine how they reduce the SAN or distribute storage in the ESXI environment. 

The solution is a capable product that does what it is supposed to do. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

We use HPE StorageWorks MSA as our central storage for our VMware clusters.

The solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals. We have found it simple to guide our customers when needed. The interface is user-friendly and it is not difficult to configure.

The solution could improve by adding configuration tools.

I have been using HPE StorageWorks MSA for approximately 10 years.

The solution is stable.

I have found the solution to be scalable.

We have approximately 20 customers using this solution.

The support engineers are knowledgeable and resposive.

The installation is straightforward. The time of the installation depends on the environment. However, it typically takes less than one hour.

We use three HPE engineers that do the implementation of the solution.

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.

This is an entry-level storage system and I would recommend it to others.

I rate HPE StorageWorks MSA an eight out of ten.

We primarily use this solution for our CCTV cameras and systems.

The solution's most valuable aspect, for our organization, is its stability.

The product is very easy to deploy.

We've found that the solution overall offers very simple management capabilities.

The monitoring capabilities of the product are very good.

The integration capacity is excellent. We were able to easily integrate the solution with both Microsoft and Linux operating systems. 

We are only really using the solution for CCTV purposes. It's very basic. We don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Therefore, for our purposes, we aren't really finding anything that is lacking.

It would be ideal if there was a better management interface. The solution should allow for integration with Java.

We've been using the solution for about five years at this point. It's been a while.

The stability of the product is excellent. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. It's reliable. It's been very good, performance-wise.

We've never tested that scalability. We've never tried to upgrade the service or expand it. Therefore, it wouldn't be possible to comment on its capabilities or our experiences.

We have different IP cameras. There are around 450. In terms of operators, we have just three.

We do plan to continue to use the solution, at least for the next two years or so.

We haven't really contacted technical support too much. We had to reach out once for patching. They were very helpful and the process was very fast. We were satisfied with the level of service provided.

We did not previously use a different solution. This was our first implementation.

The initial setup is quite straightforward. It's very easy to deploy in general. It's not complex at all. A company shouldn't run into any problems during the process.

We were able to integrate it with different operating systems without a problem.

The entire implementation took about one day. It wasn't too long of a process.

I was able to manage the implementation myself. I did not need the assistance of integrators or consultants.

We don't pay monthly or yearly license fees.

I would rate the solution ten out of ten. It's a very good, simple entry-level storage system that allows for the separation of operations. We've been only using basic aspects of the solution, and only for CCTV, however, it has provided us with everything we've need and we are quite satisfied with its performance.