HPE 3PAR StoreServ Reviews

In Pakistan, there are no AI applications or the use of highly specific workloads. We typically use it in financial sectors as well as corporate sectors, for many business-critical apps. We use the 3PAR solution resource. Primarily, we use the 3PAR 8000 series here.

I must say the uninterrupted upgrades of 3PAR, the OS, and its RAID-type system are must-have features. In 3PAR, all drives work on rebuilding if any drive fails. We can replace any failed drive, and storage is maintained. Rebuilding and performance are very fast in case of failure, plus uninterrupted upgrades are the most important features. There is no downtime when we upgrade our 3PAR systems.

It should be mentioned that in Pakistan, some parts are not readily available, and we need to import them from Singapore or other countries.

My IT background experience is three years, almost three and a half years. I have been working with 3PAR Solutions for more than two years.

HPE 3PAR is a very stable solution from HPE, and people have been using this for more than five years. It is very stable now.

Very good technical support. There is a call-home function in HP 3PAR. If we activate the 3PAR call home function, then the remote technician always has access to our StoreServ and provides strong suggestions to improve our 3PAR performance.

Positive

The deployment procedure takes around five or six hours.

The return on investment is very good. Customers feel that their money is well spent. If they're investing in 3PAR, they are getting a good return.

It is expensive, however, when we compare it to the features provided by HPE, the price-to-performance ratio is very good.

I don't know if HP 3PAR is still available. HP has retired the solution and is promoting more HPE Alletra, 6000 and 9000 storage. HPE Alletra 9000 is hardware, 3PAR-based, StoreServ-based. I suggest that people choose HPE Alletra 9000 since it is more futuristic than HPE 3PAR.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten. 

It should be noted that in Pakistan, some parts are not readily available, and we need to import them from Singapore or other countries. We encountered an issue with a customer where the midplane failed and was not available. We had to wait for several days for a replacement, even in a 24/7 support case. 

Additionally, we faced motherboard failures in the customer's environment, encountering two motherboard failures simultaneously. We obtained one motherboard immediately, yet had to wait ten days for another. 

These issues should have been resolved promptly given the 24/7 support level.

At present, we are using hardware from HP, including servers and desktops. Currently, we are using Blade servers and HPE 3PAR StoreServ. This storage solution is used for our critical data.

The main reason behind procuring HP products is that the suppliers are located nearby. We don't have access to other OEMs, so we preferred HP. It is not about technical issues, but rather about support access. HPE 3PAR StoreServ and the services from our retailer or supplier are within reach of our location. We are expecting on-site support, which is the main benefit we are getting with HP. That's why we preferred HP solutions.

I have no specific ideas for improvement at present. We just need to verify whether our current virtual server setup is acceptable to the RBI, as they had raised questions about the VSO, ISO configurations we had implemented. We only need a convenience window of fifteen or twenty minutes for any maintenance activities.

I have been working with HPE 3PAR StoreServ for almost five years.

The stability is quite high, so I mark it as a nine.

Since I have been using it for more than five years, I have not come across any situation where I needed to scale it up. I cannot comment on the scalability at this time.

Tech support is eight.

Positive

At present, we are using the basic functionality and we are quite satisfied.

The return on investment is satisfactory.

As a customer, I always prefer to have a lower price. Any customer will always ask for the cheaper price.

We are dealing directly with HP. My overall review rating for HPE 3PAR StoreServ is nine.

My main use cases for HPE 3PAR StoreServ are centered around using it as a data center, primarily for our clean operations.

I find the HPE 3PAR StoreServ valuable for its ease of use and resilience, which is beneficial.

The main benefits I have seen from having HPE 3PAR StoreServ include its use at a small branch I managed for about three years with around 60 users. It operates effectively because it is an HPE product we use there. I have not experienced any significant issues besides occasional IT-related ones, such as local database problems. Since handing over the administration of the system to someone else and moving to another department, there have not been any issues. There are many features that exist but I haven't needed to try.

Before moving out of that role in my organization, I knew it was a product I enjoyed working with for infrastructure purposes. After completing my new role, I intend to return to infrastructure.

Regarding areas for improvement in HPE 3PAR StoreServ, I need to reflect since I cannot mention any issues currently. It has been several months since I left my service. I know I encountered issues that needed fixing in later revisions or upgrades, but I cannot recall them now.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ might be missing certain features available in newer products. I experienced issues with visual integration, being restricted to certain displays I could use. While it was not a significant problem, the limited visual integration with HDMI and similar connections required me to seek better compatibilities.

I have been working with HPE 3PAR StoreServ for about five years.

My experience with the stability and performance of HPE 3PAR StoreServ involved one crash, which was caused by failing hardware.

Regarding scalability aspects, HPE 3PAR StoreServ is scalable relative to the scope of our work, but I wish it could perform better.

My experience with the initial setup of HPE 3PAR StoreServ was straightforward initially, and over time, it became even easier and more straightforward.

In terms of ROI or cost-effectiveness of HPE 3PAR StoreServ in my environment, since we are a public sector nonprofit, there is not much to discuss about cost value. Overall, it is a great solution, but ROI specifically does not apply to my context because we are structured in a way where the tech team is removed from administrative tasks.

The integration capabilities of HPE 3PAR StoreServ are limited in my experience as it is not an HPE product that I regularly use, so I have not tried integrating it with other products and platforms.

I have not integrated any virtualization technologies or products with HPE 3PAR StoreServ because I use VMware for that purpose. The multi-tenant architecture of HPE 3PAR StoreServ has not significantly helped to support my enterprise's mixed workloads environments.

I have not worked with other modular SAN or all-flash solutions similar to HPE 3PAR StoreServ, but I do use Cisco products for different purposes such as routing and firewall. I do not recall the specific models of HPE 3PAR StoreServ I used, but I know my associated servers were all Gen8.

My advice to other users considering HPE 3PAR StoreServ is to get good training and advice before purchasing. There is room for improvement in terms of support. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution an 8.

We have 70 virtual machines, which include various services such as Active Directory, mail server, phone server, file server, security, firewall, and antivirus.

The only advantage is taking snapshots quickly.

It has a very robust product. While we may not need many features in our environment, the Snapshot capability and seamless integration with Veeam were important to us. However, Veeam now supports a wider range of products, including VMware. HPE offered us a good discount, which made the StoreServ a viable option.

We have experience with several systems, including the HPE x1200 and x1600 models and IBM’s PS3500. We were also considering products from Dell. Some companies that acquired 3PAR storage offered additional choices. Although we didn’t initially require Flash speed, it’s a valuable option. Flash reliability was a concern at the time, but now, the cost of larger hard drives is much lower than Flash. We were looking for hybrid solutions but might now consider going all Flash.

It is expensive. It is an older system, and since then, many new technologies have emerged. Initially, it had a steep learning curve, and understanding its workings was challenging. We had to open multiple support tickets and escalate issues through various levels of support—level one, level two, and level three. Even then, some problems remained unresolved. 

One specific area of difficulty was understanding the RAID configurations and the concept of chunks, which were unique to 3PAR. HP has moved away from this approach in its newer systems. In general, we might prefer simpler, more straightforward systems over the specialized complexity of 3PAR.

I have been using HPE 3PAR StoreServ since 2020. We are using V7200 of the solution.

It is scalable. We can buy a lot with money. We have ten terabytes of data. DeepL has about forty-six terabytes.

Technical support is great. It includes experts from various global locations, such as China, India, California, and the UK. Despite this extensive support network, there are instances where issues like data reinitialization might still occur. Local technical personnel are experienced and provide excellent service, ensuring effective assistance.

Positive

We evaluated solutions from IBM, HPE, and Dell. During our evaluation, we encountered the HPE 3PAR StoreServ, which initially appeared quite expensive. However, after negotiating with HPE, we received a significant discount—almost fifty percent. We decided to proceed with the 3PAR StoreServ and have been satisfied with its performance. However, the support renewal costs have been high, and as we approach the end of support, we need to consider a third-party support partner until we can upgrade to new storage.

The migration from IBM to HPE 3PAR StoreServ was a bit challenging. Although we had a partner from HPE, they were also new to 3PAR, which led to some difficulties during the migration. We encountered issues such as hardware compatibility, which required us to obtain a special card for the servers and a switch for 3PAR. Additionally, we had to work with Veeam to ensure compatibility, which involved using a beta version of their software.

The system was marketed to us as offering very fast snapshots, which was appealing at the time because we needed extensive backup solutions. It also promised smooth transitions between Nearline and Fast Class storage tiers. However, our work environment changed rapidly, and many planned features did not align with our new needs. Space was a significant issue; we frequently needed more storage than anticipated. While the solution was good, its effectiveness depends on the specific requirements and context of the deployment.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

It has dynamic allocation. I have 16 terabytes of storage allocated to various nodes as external storage. It has met our needs. We’re looking for something similar with enhanced scalability. We have about 96 servers and want to increase that to around 200. We need a centralized solution that can easily scale and integrate different types of storage.

Integration with our existing infrastructure has been smooth, though we use a mix of Ethernet and fiber optics.

3PAR has been reliable. We've had some issues with batteries and power supply, but those are manageable. Most of our problems stem from older equipment. I have to contact them for any inquiries about storage or compatibility with new systems. This slows down our ability to make quick decisions. The process would be sped up if there were a direct line to HP for inquiries. Our funding can change monthly, which affects our ability to upgrade or scale.

I have been using HPE 3PAR StoreServ as a partner since 2012. We currently have about 400 terabytes and plan to upgrade to 2 petabytes.

I have experience with Dell storage solutions but found them more challenging to integrate than 3PAR.

I was responsible for sending a bare metal machine to CERN during the main installation, which laid the foundation for the setup. I needed to install the software myself. My role as an administrator began one month after the installation of 3PAR. I installed the software, calibrated it, and configured the RAID 6 format, among other tasks.

The learning curve is steep, but we are prepared for it. My experience with the software has been positive, and it meets our institutional needs.

We have several AI projects underway. One involves automatically collecting grades using robots at our HPE computing center. These robots gather data and collaborate to streamline the process. We also created a 3D model of the archaeological castle, using AI to identify features and detect any defects. We took photos and generated reports for that project to find ruins and other issues.

We’re working on protein-protein interaction solutions in chemistry. This allows us to simulate lab experiments at the computing center, saving time and reducing the need for in vitro tests.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

StoreServ is one of several storage solutions we use, and we also have some SAP and high-availability application workloads. We use it for storage and also as a backup repository. 

I like the integration with VMware and the provisioning. We also use data compression but not for any of the critical applications. 

HPE could improve by raising awareness when a new product is launched. They must think of ways to better serve and engage with their enterprise customers. HPE is selling enterprise products and mission-critical support.

This is not a one-time sale, and then it's over. They need to maintain a relationship with their customer over the life of the product, which is typically four or five years. 

I have used HPE storage for eight to 10 years.

I rate HPE StoreServe seven out of 10 for stability.

I rate HPE StoreServ eight out of 10 for scalability. When we need to scale up, we can continue adding capacity within 3PAR after one year or two years. Some OEMs may recommend purchasing the newest storage model. They offer a better incentive because the new product is cheaper than the upgrade.  Storage technology is constantly improving, making it cheaper and cheaper.

I rate HPE customer service seven out of 10. They have some room for improvement in this area. 

We also use Hitachi storage as well as Dell VNX and Unity platforms.

We pay for a yearly license.

I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ nine out of 10. We use HPE because it's a hardware leader locally. We have a longstanding relationship with HPE, so we trust them more than other providers. But it's a stable product that runs with minimal support. 

I work with customers all over demark, which consists of small to large companies. I normally make dual data centers with one HPE 3PAR StoreServ on each side. Our customers are mainly running with failover/failback mission-critical systems.

There's a lot of good features. HPE 3PAR StoreServ is similar to Dell EMC. It is a high-speed system with automatic failover/failback, integrated with Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware.  These are the main reason for choosing HPE 3PAR StoreServ in Denmark. We have a very good consulting service together with the product. 

HPE 3PAR StoreServ could have better integration into the cloud and converged infrastructure.

I have been using HPE 3PAR StoreServ for approximately 13 years.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ is a highly stable solution.

The solution is easy to scale. It is normally used for enterprise companies.

The support from HPE is good but slow. The speed of the resolution could be faster.

We use HP Enterprise, Dell EMC, Hitachi, Fujitsu, IBM, and Lenovo.

A lot of the solutions today are very similar. This was not the case five years ago. If some new functionality comes out with, for example, Dell, other vendors will have the same features in a short time.

The initial installation is complicated. The storage administrator needs to be trained or they need to have a contract with someone who can take control over the system. Mainly in Denmark, the customers prefer someone to take control of the system. There are companies that will take care of their systems.

We can do the implementation of the solution.

There is some maintenance that is required for HPE 3PAR StoreServ, such as upgrading firmware software, upgrading the system to a larger system, increasing the capacity, or increasing the performance of the system.

The price of HPE 3PAR StoreServ is reasonable, but buying upgrade licenses are priced very high. There are additional fees.

HPE have have made a new system to substitute with 3PAR. It is the HPE Primera solution. It is a product similar to 3PAR, but it's more converged together with the hybrid system. You can implement it on-premise of the cloud. It has cloud connect functionalities and the market is going that way. 

If you want a solution better than HPE 3PAR StoreServ you will be using Primera.

I would advise those wanting to implement this solution to use a partner which has high-scale competencies. They need to be technical experts, both in hardware and software. Customers cannot implement this solution themself. 

In the beginning, it was allowed for customers to do the installation, but after one or two years, HPE decided that it was not allowed. It is not allowed today. You need a certified person to do the installation and configuration.

I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ a nine out of ten.

Whenever new cars are manufactured and tested in the field, that data is picked up via laptop and stored in the solution's storage arrays.

The most valuable feature of HPE 3PAR StoreServ is its online upgrades.

The solution’s customer support could be improved.

I have been using HPE 3PAR StoreServ since 2021.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ is a stable solution.

I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ an eight out of ten for stability.

The customer support team doesn't know the answers to the problems, and they cause delays. All the tickets, including a high ticket, always go to their L1 support before going to L2 and L3, which is not expected. I have to call a very senior SME eventually, and then they would really start working on the issue, which causes delays most of the time.

Neutral

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ is an expensive solution.

I would recommend HPE 3PAR StoreServ to other users because it has good stability and performance.

Overall, I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ an eight out of ten.

I primarily use the product for self-storage. 

The most valuable feature for me is the solution's availability.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ's pricing could be cheaper. 

I have been using HPE 3PAR StoreServ for about four years.

I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ's stability a ten out of ten. 

I rate the tool's scalability an eight out of ten. It has ten users. 

I rate the tool's deployment a five out of ten. It was completed in a few days. You need one resource to handle the deployment. 

A reseller helped us with the deployment. 

We have saved time with the tool's use. 

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten. It is expensive. 

I rate HPE 3PAR StoreServ an eight out of ten. 

We use HPE 3PAR StoreServ for storage. We need stable storage solutions for the virtual machines in our organization.

The solution is quite stable and scalable.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ should increase the storage capacity. Also, the setup is complicated.

I have been using the solution for many years.

The solution is quite stable. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

The solution is scalable. We plan to increase the number of users in the organization. I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten.

The support is quite good.

The solution is not easy to set up. It takes many weeks to set up. We need to enter some parameters before we set up the solution. Also, before we put the solution into production, it needs to be tested for almost two months.

We deployed the solution with our technical team. We need four people to maintain the solution.

The solution is worth its money.

Our organization pays a yearly license fee for the solution. The licensing fee is not cheap.

Generally, other storage solutions like EMC are used more than HPE 3PAR StoreServ. However, HPE 3PAR is better when we consider the cost of the product, scalability, and stability. I would recommend the solution to others. I would rate the solution a nine on ten.