Cisco MDS Series vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 comparison

Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Enterprise SAN category. Additionally, 80% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

Cisco MDS Series

Read 9 Cisco MDS Series reviews

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698 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Read 11 HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 reviews

91% willing to recommend

Cisco MDS Series

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco MDS Series and HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Cisco, NetApp and others in Enterprise SAN.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise SAN Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise SAN

August 2025

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Helped 867,497 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

Cisco MDS Series

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise SAN (3rd)

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Public Cloud Storage Services (6th)

Featured Reviews

OğuzKalaycı

system engineer at Yaşar Holding

Ensures consistent availability during updates and integrates seamlessly

I am using Cisco MDS in SAN environments for storage connections and server connections The product is very stable and performs well. During the update periods, the devices do not need to reload, ensuring constant availability. It is easy to set up and use. I do not have a central management…

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Warren Owens

Global Senior Manager, Information Technology Operations at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Efficient scaling and reliability have enhanced operational capacity and support

The feature of Alletra Storage MP B10000 that I appreciate the most is the product line, especially since the Alletra MP is bringing to bear quite a lot of features that are important in the different plans, including file services, block storage, file, and everything. The older storage products we have were limited to just block storage, and we're really excited about the Alletra MP and where that's going to go, which we plan to continue when we do our data center refresh next year with a much larger array. An example of how the features of Alletra Storage MP B10000 have been benefiting my organization is through the reliability and stability we experience, as the engineering team that takes care of it, plus my team that reports up to me, are very comfortable with the technology, which has been reliable, and HPE's support has been fantastic. Anytime we have issues, such as a failed drive or code updates, they are very helpful, and I think part of that is brought to us by the GreenLake program, having that dedicated team to keep us aware of updates, but generally, we have experienced reliability with no failures.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple."

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability."

"SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company."

"The product is very stable and performs well."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."

"The issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."

"The product is easy to use."

"Today I get a better deduplication level compared to the previous generations. That means the price per gigabyte or terabyte is lower for me."

"The uptime, the guarantee from HPE, and NVMe Storage are valuable."

"The features of HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 that I appreciate the most include the high RAM, which allows us to extract the data quickly, and the GUI, which is much more intuitive than the competitors."

"Moving to a consumption model is highly desirable from the client side. everyone seems to be moving in that direction."

"The features of HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 that I prefer the most are the snapshotting and ease of administration."

"The features of HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 that I appreciate the most are availability for the company."

"An example of how the features of HPE GreenLake for File Storage have been benefiting my organization is through the reliability and stability we experience, as the engineering team that takes care of it, plus my team that reports up to me, are very comfortable with the technology, which has been reliable, and HPE's support has been fantastic."

"The feature I like is that I can create a template and apply it to multiple switches. I don't have to do the same task on every switch, and the same goes for access points. It's central management, with the features that come with central management."

More HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 pros

Cons

"It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch."

"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."

"Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time."

"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."

"The product is very expensive."

"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming."

"I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling."

"The licensing model could be less complicated."

"They need to put back in the feature in which you can export volumes by set instead of individually."

"They need to put back in the feature in which you can export volumes by set instead of individually. I mentioned this in a meeting I recently had with them."

"The solution could improve the integration with sustainability-related services. A lot of clients ask us about that."

"They take a long time to return the action plan after I send the logs. It takes them one to two days to respond."

"The marketplace should improve. There should be a more robust variety of vendors."

"You need two different boxes for block and file storage."

"HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 could be improved by integrating it with GreenLake, as this would enable us to do end-to-end monitoring across both on-prem and cloud environments better."

"The classifying of the data could be better."

More HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's perpetual licensing and maintenance is a recurrent cost."

"Pricing cannot be considered an advantageous trait of the solution since it is expensive. I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."

"Its price seems okay for us. It is what we expect for this kind of storage."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

23%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

18%

Media Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco MDS Series?

The product is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?

The pricing could be improved as the solution is very expensive. I am on a yearly payment basis.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?

I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling.

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE GreenLake for Block Storage?

The feature I like is that I can create a template and apply it to multiple switches. I don't have to do the same task on every switch, and the same goes for access points. It's central managemen...

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE GreenLake for Block Storage?

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 could be improved by integrating it with GreenLake, as this would enable us to do end-to-end monitoring across both on-prem and cloud environments better. It has a lot...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HPE GreenLake for Block Storage?

Our main use cases for HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 involve a lot of VOD infrastructure within my company, where we store the content so that we can play it out to the clients. This is where we st...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell Connectrix vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 46% of the time

HPE B-series SN6000B Fibre Channel Switch vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 31% of the time

IBM SAN768B vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerVault vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 11% of the time

More Cisco MDS Series Competitors

Amazon S3 vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Compared 42% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Compared 16% of the time

Azure NetApp Files vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Compared 12% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Azure Block Storage vs HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

Compared 9% of the time

More HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise SAN

August 2025

Download Cisco MDS Series product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000

September 2025

Download HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 product report

Also Known As

Cisco MDS 9100, Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco MDS 9700

HPE GreenLake for Block Storage

Overview

Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches have met and often exceeded the demanding requirements for storage area networks for more than a decade. They offer a combination of performance, non-stop operations, and multiprotocol flexibility.

Cisco

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000, formerly known as HPE GreenLake for Block Storage, offers unmatched data availability with enhanced management and scalability, providing a cloud-like experience on-premises.

Designed for integrating applications and managing virtual environments, HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 supports VM snapshots and disaster recovery. It combines NVMe Storage with AI-driven analytics and Intent-based Provisioning. The subscription model ensures efficient cost management, decreasing operational expenses and boosting SLAs. Users benefit from simplified provisioning and monitoring, improving efficiency while minimizing downtime. Despite its advantages, users find configuration changes slow and device identification challenging due to default naming issues.

What are the key features of HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000?

Central Management: Streamlines control and oversight of storage resources.
Enhanced Scalability: Adapts to growing data requirements seamlessly.
High Performance: Delivers superior speed and efficiency.
100% Data Availability: Ensures uninterrupted access and reliability.
AI-driven Analytics: Leverages advanced insights for optimized performance.
NVMe Storage: Provides fast and efficient data handling.

What benefits should users consider?

Reduced Operational Expenses: Lowers costs through a subscription model.
Improved SLAs: Enhances service level agreements for better performance metrics.
Simplified Configuration: Eases setup and management processes.
Cloud-like On-Premises Experience: Offers flexibility similar to cloud solutions.

HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 is widely implemented in industries leveraging virtualization and VMware workloads. It supports VMware infrastructures, including switches and access points, and is the next generation for Primera storage. Users in radiology pack solutions and Kubernetes stacks benefit from its advanced provisioning and demo-running capabilities.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

National Rugby League

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Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Cisco, NetApp and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: August 2025.

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