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HPE MSA vs VNX [EOL] comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. Additionally, 91% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.
HPE MSA
Read 24 HPE MSA reviews
  • 1,417 Views
  • 1,141 Comparison Views
91% willing to recommend
VNX [EOL]
Read 36 VNX [EOL] reviews
    87% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between HPE MSA and VNX [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp, Hitachi Vantara, IBM and others in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network).

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    Buyer's Guide
    Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
    April 2025
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    Review summaries and opinions

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

    Categories and Ranking

    HPE MSA
    Average Rating
    8.4
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.1
    Number of Reviews
    24
    Ranking in other categories
    Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (5th)
    VNX [EOL]
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Number of Reviews
    36
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
     

    Featured Reviews

    Pragnesh Sachania - PeerSpot reviewer
    Scalable, easy to manage, and used for virtualization environments
    We didn't face any issues with the technical functionality. However, we faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration. The HPE support person who did the installation was very technical. He answered all the queries, and we resolved the entire setup. We set up the storage as per our requirements. We previously used a physical server instead of virtualization. With the help of an HPE engineer and partners, we prepared a strategy for migrating the entire physical servers to our virtualization infrastructure. It took two days to deploy the solution. Six people were involved in the solution's deployment, including two from HPE and four from our IT team.
    Read full review
    RS
    ​The VNX 5700 provides a large number of features including the ability to work for both file and block as a unified array.
    Once you establish a replication job, when the file system is synchronizing its data to the target file system, it tends to create a balloon effect where it creates a file system that grows as the new data is synchronizing. It would be very helpful if the replication job could incorporate a self-cleaning job after the synchronization job completes to reduce the size of the file system in the target automatically. Very often, we have to run a script called “SavVolReclaim” to clean up space consumed while the replication is in progress. If the replication job hits its maximum capacity of 16TB while synchronizing, it stops the replication job. By adding this reclaim process natively, it would eliminate additional unnecessary work for the storage administrators. It would be very helpful to get an automated report that shows you the size of the checkpoints and get warnings when a checkpoint is reaching either maximum capacity per a file system or hitting the ceiling on the SavVol pool consumption.
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "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."
    "The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."
    "HPE StorageWorks MSA is an entry-level, cost-effective solution for SMB customers."
    "The product is very easy to deploy."
    "The solution is pretty transparent and works well."
    "The solution is scalable and easy to manage."
    "The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility."
    "The most valuable feature for customers is the autonomic tiering, which enhances their storage scalability as easily as possible."
    More HPE MSA pros
    "It is very stable, even during multiple power failures."
    "High availability including non-disruptive updates: We cannot afford downtime windows."
    "I really value deduplication and compression to save space."
    "FAST (auto-tiering): Doesn't require configuration and is managed by the array itself."
    "The implementation of both block and file system storage in a single GUI provides is better situated than most other storages."
    "The most valuable feature is the tight VMware integration, due to the migration from bare metal to virtualized environments and then on to the cloud."
    "From my point of view, the configuration that I can sell is restricted to the EMC best practices. It is hard to make a mistake in a solution. It means the configuration has good performance and scalability options."
    "Integration with VMware"
    More VNX [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "It should show more options for cloud backup support."
    "Some clients have suggested room for improvement in expanding storage capacity beyond the base traces."
    "We faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration during installation."
    "The platform’s monitoring capabilities could be enhanced."
    "The solution requires hardware."
    "The support contract is expensive, although they are very responsive."
    "The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."
    "HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication."
    More HPE MSA cons
    "The management software used for the VNX is Unicenter. While it is an improvement over Navicenter, used in older EMC SANs, it still feels outdated in comparison to other SAN management software."
    "Based on our workloads, we see repeatedly in performance reports that the built-in controller (SP) cache of our VNX model is not sufficiently large, resulting in forced cache flushing."
    "Intel Xeon processors with under 2 GHz processing speeds could be replaced with more recent ones."
    "VNX can improve by offering flexible upgrade options. It's not possible to add a single HDD to a current array and there are fixed rules to make upgrades."
    "EMC VNX needs to support bigger SSDs. Next generation EMC Unity will do this."
    "If the VNX had embedded encryption, that would be great."
    "It would be very helpful to get an automated report that shows you the size of the checkpoints and get warnings when a checkpoint is reaching either maximum capacity per a file system or hitting the ceiling on the SavVol pool consumption."
    "There is an easy replication process between distinct data centers via VPLEX and/or RPA. But I hope in the future that EMC/Dell could replicate this with other types of storage."
    More VNX [EOL] cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."
    "The solution can be a bit expensive."
    "The price of the solution is a little high and they should provide more competitive pricing. If you want to increases the storage size there are additional fees."
    "This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."
    "When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."
    "I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
    "The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
    "HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."
    "Over time, VNX has become pricier than its competitors, and we have turned enthusiastically to Unity."
    "The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable, the yearly EMC is more expensive"
    "The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable. Yearly EMC is more expensive."
    "While EMC tends to be on the expensive side, the stability and support of their products are top-notch and I feel are worth the cost."
    "Make sure you understand how the licensing works and that you are getting the right set of licenses if you need array-to-array replication."
    "​Reducing dependency on JavaServer Pages​ (JSP) could improve the administrative overhead.​"
    "Pricing is somewhat higher, especially in Zambia, perhaps due to the low sales volume."
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Manufacturing Company
    15%
    Computer Software Company
    15%
    Government
    7%
    Construction Company
    7%
    No data available
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
     

    Questions from the Community

    What do you like most about HPE StorageWorks MSA?
    The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility.
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE StorageWorks MSA?
    I am not satisfied with the licensing model and pricing.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?
    It needs more details on how to integrate with the cloud for backup scenarios. It should show more options for cloud backup support.
    See all answers
    Ask a question
    Earn 20 points
     

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    Dell EqualLogic PS series vs HPE MSA Logo
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    Compared 3% of the time
    More HPE MSA Competitors
    No data available
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    HPE MSA
    April 2025
    HPE MSA reportDownload HPE MSA product report
    Buyer's Guide
    VNX [EOL]
    April 2025
    VNX [EOL] reportDownload VNX [EOL] product report
     

    Also Known As

    HP StorageWorks MSA
    VNX
     

    Overview

    Whether you need best-in-class performance or are looking to get the most capacity for your investment, MSA has a fast, affordable solution for you. And every MSA comes with an intuitive setup and management interface anyone can master.

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise

    With EMC VNX you'll have the right blend of flash, capacity, and application-aware software. Scale up storage for midrange workloads, optimized for virtual applications and cloud environments.

    Dell Technologies
     

    Sample Customers

    Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank
    Samsonite, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Kindred Healthcare
    Buyer's Guide
    Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
    April 2025
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    We monitor all Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.