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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 25 HPE MSA reviews
  • 1,400 Views
  • 156 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, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and others in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network).

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    Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
    May 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
    8.2
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.2
    Number of Reviews
    25
    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
    AZ
    The Nimble CS-Series has proven to be reliable with 100% uptime
    When we started the process of looking for a SAN vendor I had four primary criteria: reliability, performance, cost, and simplicity. We were really looking for a unicorn and were fully expected to have to make compromises in one of those areas. The Nimble CS-Series was recommended by our solutions provider, and we were blown away. Not only was it the most affordable option, but it was the easiest to deploy, had the best performance, and has proven to be reliable with 100% uptime.
    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

    "The most valuable features were the dual controllers and being able to expand it."
    "The most valuable features are data deduplication and snapshot replication."
    "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 speed and performance of HPE MSA are admirable."
    "The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility."
    "MSA performs exceptionally well, particularly in regions with frequent power outages."
    "The simple configuration feature is great. It is very simple, allowing you to set up MSA very easily."
    "The cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."
    More HPE MSA pros
    "The replication feature provides another functionality to protect your data."
    "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."
    "It is very stable even during multiple power failures."
    "High availability including non-disruptive updates: We cannot afford downtime windows."
    "The implementation of both block and file system storage in a single GUI provides is better situated than most other storages."
    "FAST (auto-tiering): Doesn't require configuration and is managed by the array itself."
    "It is very stable, even during multiple power failures."
    "Good performance for VM environments"
    More VNX [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "Some clients have suggested room for improvement in expanding storage capacity beyond the base traces."
    "HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication."
    "P2000 has become legacy and we can't find spare parts for it anymore. The life cycle is very low."
    "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."
    "Synchronized replication is very important for MSA; however, HPE StorageWorks MSA doesn't provide synchronized replication."
    "It would be ideal if there was a better management interface."
    "The solution's license should be integrated and not separate."
    "This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included."
    More HPE MSA cons
    "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."
    "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."
    "Intel Xeon processors with under 2 GHz processing speeds could be replaced with more recent ones."
    "If the VNX had embedded encryption, that would be great."
    "The CLI could be better documented, like with VMAX."
    "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 no easy way to defrag a RAID group. It would be nice to be able to reduce the size of a storage pool if the storage is not needed anymore."
    "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

    "HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."
    "When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."
    "This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."
    "This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."
    "The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
    "I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is 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."
    "The solution can be a bit expensive."
    "The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable, the yearly EMC is more expensive"
    "​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."
    "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."
    "Over time, VNX has become pricier than its competitors, and we have turned enthusiastically to Unity."
    "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."
    "The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable. Yearly EMC is more expensive."
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Manufacturing Company
    15%
    Computer Software Company
    14%
    Construction Company
    7%
    Government
    6%
    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?
    The pricing of HPE MSA is not deemed reasonable, though their licensing costs compare similarly to other brands. The initial cost is where differences are more apparent.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?
    Data security features are more important to me than anything else, and I think HPE MSA lacks in this area. The hard disk failures are a major concern as they are risky, causing potential loss of r...
    See all answers
    Ask a question
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    Comparisons

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    Compared 7% of the time
    Dell EqualLogic PS series vs HPE MSA Logo
    Dell EqualLogic PS series vs HPE MSA
    Compared 3% of the time
    More HPE MSA Competitors
    No data available
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    HPE MSA
    June 2025
    HPE MSA reportDownload HPE MSA product report
    Buyer's Guide
    VNX [EOL]
    May 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)
    May 2025
    Download Free Report
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