HPE Alletra dHCI vs VMware vSAN comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and VMware are both solutions in the HCI category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.1, while VMware is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 5.0% mindshare in HCI, compared to VMware’s 14.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of VMware users who would recommend it.

HPE Alletra dHCI

Read 29 HPE Alletra dHCI reviews

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3,039 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

VMware vSAN

Read 231 VMware vSAN reviews

19,027 Views
12,177 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

HPE Alletra dHCI

VMware vSAN

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

VMware vSAN and HPE Alletra dHCI compete in the hyperconverged infrastructure category. Based on feature integration and intelligent management, VMware vSAN appears to have the edge with comprehensive integration capabilities within VMware environments.

Features: VMware vSAN is renowned for its scalability and seamless integration within the hypervisor core, which simplifies management and provides flexibility in hardware compatibility. Its noteworthy features include stretched cluster solutions, high availability, and integrated tools for efficient setup and management. Conversely, HPE Alletra dHCI stands out with its AI-driven Infosight, offering intelligent storage solutions, high availability, and adaptable integration with on-premises and cloud platforms.

Room for Improvement: VMware vSAN can enhance by improving integration, reducing licensing costs, and offering better scalability options. Users have noted slower regeneration post-failures and the need for more effective cloud integration. HPE Alletra dHCI could expand hypervisor support beyond VMware, enable improved file-level restoration, and provide more granular upgrade options. Both aim to improve cost efficiencies and broaden compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware vSAN is noted for its ease of deployment within VMware environments, leveraging existing infrastructure. Its customer support is usually dependable, though occasionally slow. On the other hand, HPE Alletra dHCI is praised for straightforward deployment with excellent initial configuration tools and notable customer support. Both solutions provide a responsive support framework, with opportunities to enhance speed and depth of technical assistance.

Pricing and ROI: VMware vSAN commands a higher upfront cost, justified by its comprehensive capabilities and enterprise-grade features. Although expensive, users report satisfactory ROI through stability and scalability. HPE Alletra dHCI is regarded as competitively priced, delivering significant ROI through cost-effectiveness and quick recovery of investments. Both solutions align economically with their market expectations, yet potential customers should consider exploring customized pricing offers.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE Alletra dHCI vs. VMware vSAN Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI vs. VMware vSAN

July 2025

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Helped 861,524 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

HPE Alletra dHCI

Ranking in HCI

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware vSAN

Ranking in HCI

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

231

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE Alletra dHCI is 5.0%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSAN is 14.6%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Featured Reviews

Antonin Pavlik

IT Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Effortless upgrades with one-click feature while new server deployment needs a smoother process

I have a data center, and all the servers are connected to HPE Alletra dHCI. I use it for data management with VMware running on the servers The most valuable feature of HPE Alletra dHCI is the one-click upgrade function, which allows all drivers and services to be downloaded to all servers…

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Pramod-Talekar

Sr Service Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Enables efficient multi-environment cluster deployment and resource management with versatile features

While VMware vSAN is quite comprehensive, if we are running multiple infrastructures, applications, databases, and other elements, having a diagnostic tool to identify the actual problem area, whether application-side or infrastructure-side, would be beneficial. A proper monitoring tool that encompasses both applications and infrastructure would help in quickly resolving issues.

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

"HPE Alletra dHCI was good because we could have the vVols, which we are using for our production server, with the snapshots."

"Nimble Storage is a capable platform with high availability."

"The most valuable feature of HPE Alletra dHCI is the one-click upgrade function, which allows all drivers and services to be downloaded to all servers easily."

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI has the most valuable features for performance, resilience, and scalability."

"We have the ability to increase the storage without any additional costs."

"Nimble is easy to use, but hard to install. Once it's installed, it's user-friendly. Reporting is another advantage because we get a lot of statistical forecasting. It helps us see into the future with that."

"The integration of AI tools for predictive analysis sets it apart from competitors."

"So far, the solution's performance is very good."

More HPE Alletra dHCI pros

"vSAN is easy for deploying and maintenance, so some customers can do service themselves."

"Instead of going for SAN storage, customers can use the scale-up and scale-out features of VMware vSAN."

"It is easier to deploy than the traditional SAN."

"The most valuable thing about vSAN is that all of its features have been working well for us for the past two years. We haven't had an issue with them."

"While we haven't made major changes to our disaster recovery and business continuity processes yet, moving towards stretch vSAN across sites will simplify and expedite our DR processes in the future."

"VMware vSAN has greatly reduced refresh spending."

"The migration of servers feature makes server rack maintenance easy."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it is stable."

More VMware vSAN pros

Cons

"Sometimes the technical support would get back to us in two hours, but other times it would take them two or even three days to respond."

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI only works with a hypervisor like VMware. There are plenty of other hypervisors that HP doesn't support. This is an area for improvement."

"They should improve just the support."

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI's website does not open properly or work consistently."

"Lacking integration to the cloud."

"Their documentation needs to be simpler to read yet more detailed so it's easy to compare models and easier for clients to pick."

"The initial setup is a little bit complicated."

"Cost-wise, this solution is slightly more expensive than other hyperconverged solutions."

More HPE Alletra dHCI cons

"In a future release, they can bring in the object storage capabilities to this solution. Currently, there is not any compatibility."

"I would like to see better integration between the cloud and our VMware virtual environment. We only have one virtual environment, which is VMware vSAN. Right now, there is little interoperability with the cloud solution at the moment."

"One area that could be improved is the management feature."

"The product's complex setup phase is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"Lacks an integrated backup solution."

"It can be very expensive."

"The vSan product uses a software system called Vsphere to monitor the system. It is sometimes difficult to manage the PCs within the systems."

"It is a memory intensive app."

More VMware vSAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is much cheaper than the competition and has value proposition. Customers can see an ROI in three months. There are no additional costs, and VMware licenses can be reutilized."

"With the features that HPE Nimble Storage dHCI provides, I cannot say its pricing is more."

"I would rate the licensing model a three out of ten, where one is extremely expensive, and ten is cheap."

"The cost of the licensing is reasonable."

"The product is costly."

"The product licensing costs vary depending on whether VMware or other solutions are used."

"The customers have found the solution to be expensive. However, when compared to the competition the price is reasonable."

"The prices are very high."

More HPE Alletra dHCI pricing and cost advice

"If they could reduce the cost, it would be better. Licensing costs are something that they could take care of. If you are a smaller and strong IT team, then VMware vSAN is a very good product. If you want to expand in the service provider space, then you will have to go for an open-source solution like OpenStack. We are now looking at OpenStack because we sell licensing costs. We are a service provider, so the IT component data is a substantial component in our overall costing. We feel that OpenStack might help us to cut down the licensing cost. Therefore, we are looking at SAS storage instead of vSAN. SAS is open source, but it is not wise to have open source without having the backend support. We are using RedHat SAS, and it is an open-source solution. You can also have a free version, but we are using it with support from RedHat so that we have somebody to back us up in case we have a problem. If you do normal business, then IT expense is 1% or 2% of the total turnover. The higher licensing costs sometimes don't make difference to the big companies who are not service providers and are using it only for their internal use. For them, the IT cost is 1% or 2%, but for an IT service provider, the IT costs will go up to 15% to 16% of the total cost of the operations. This is where the licensing costs become irrelevant. For example, the licensing cost of using VMware, VC, and vSAN is 8% of my monthly revenue. Every month, I pay about $35,000, and, with the revised plan, it will be something like $50,000 or revenue of 600k per month, which means almost 8% of the revenue is going into VMware licensing. In a very competitive world, 8% as a cost element is huge. So, if I can bring it down to 2%, I save 6% in revenue expenditure. In terms of profit, 6% of 30% is something like another 25% increase in my profit. My profit can be almost 25%. It would be 20% to 25% in case I am able to handle the licensing costs and bring them to a very low level. Because these IT costs are substantial for us, that is why we are going with OpenStack. OpenStack has a limitation that it requires more hardware. There will be some increase in the hardware cost, but overall we will save 5% to 6% of our licensing cost by using OpenStack."

"Basically, vSAN is a license in addition to that of the classic VMware Vsphere, which is also mandatory."

"Cost-wise, the Nutanix licenses were cheaper, but in terms of the hardware, there was some contention around it. So, in terms of implementation, the way Nutanix was projecting the implementation on their end was that there were a lot of open-source admin platforms. vSAN is a licensed product in VMware, and Nutanix was proposing a KVM solution, which is open source. That's why their pricing was a bit cheaper, but when we were trying to compare it with an enterprise version of their management platform, it boiled down to the VMware vSAN being most effective in the long run."

"Its reasonable, compare with other storage vendors"

"From a cost perspective, it is expensive. From a usability perspective, it reduces the overhead costs attached to its users' servers."

"The cost of the solution is high and if it could be reduced the customers would be very happy."

"I would rate the licensing model a three out of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."

"The licensing cost is high and should be taken into account."

More VMware vSAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

The solution is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

Pricing is rated at six, which is normal. The price is appropriate for the capabilities and features that the customers receive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

I would like the HPE Alletra dHCI to provide options to install products separately. When extending or when servers are already present, normal Alletra systems are more suitable. dHCI projects ofte...

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What Is The Biggest Difference Between vSAN And VxRail?

While both run on the vSAN technology from VMware, vSAN needs to be deployed on vSAN ready nodes while VxRail is an engineered system. The choice to choose which technology depends on two major fac...

See all answers

Which would you choose - Nutanix Acropolis AOS or VMware vSAN?

We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...

See all answers

How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?

HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We researched VMware vSAN but found HPE was a better option for us. HPE SimpliVity has ...

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Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs HPE Alletra dHCI

Compared 14% of the time

VxRail vs HPE Alletra dHCI

Compared 7% of the time

Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series vs HPE Alletra dHCI

Compared 4% of the time

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VxRail vs VMware vSAN

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs VMware vSAN

Compared 15% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs VMware vSAN

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs VMware vSAN

Compared 7% of the time

NetApp AFF vs VMware vSAN

Compared 4% of the time

More VMware vSAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI

July 2025

Download HPE Alletra dHCI product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware vSAN

June 2025

Download VMware vSAN product report

Also Known As

HPE Nimble Storage dHCI

vSAN

Overview

HPE Alletra dHCI, a data storage solution from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), offers Disaggregated Hyperconverged Infrastructure (dHCI), separating storage from compute resources for independent scaling and management. Utilizing HPE Nimble Storage technology, known for AI-driven optimization, it ensures high performance and management efficiency. With scalability and agility, users can effortlessly expand storage or processing power as data requirements evolve. Additionally, boasting rapid deployment in under 15 minutes and a claimed 99.9999% data availability, HPE Alletra dHCI promises robust and reliable storage solutions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

VMware vSAN is a software-defined storage product that is used in collaboration with VMware ESXi hypervisor and that provisions and manages storage based on policies, regardless of the underlying hardware. The solution enables you to prime your business for growth through its seamless evolution (it is integrated with vSphere and requires no new tools), its flexibility, and its multi-cloud capabilities. As an industry-leading software, VMware vSAN provides high levels of performance with minimal impact on CPU and memory.

VMware vSAN Features

VMware vSAN has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Storage policy-based management (SPBM): VMware vSAN supports storage policy-based management for automated management of storage profiles.

Software-defined data-at-rest encryption: With this VMware vSAN feature, you can prevent unauthorized access of data at rest.

Multiple nodes: VMware vSAN provides clusters that can include as few as 2 nodes or as many as 64 nodes.

High security and availability: VMware vSAN offers stretched clusters, allowing more than one virtualization host server to be used in the same setup, promoting higher security as well as availability.

Deduplication: VMware vSAN’s deduplication compresses data to ensure efficient storage management and security.

HCI mesh updates: VMware vSAN clusters can share storage capacity with non-HCI Sphere clusters and can adopt HCI without having to scale computing resources and storage or replace existing servers.

Simplified file services: With VMware vSAN’s file services, backup of file shares is simplified. You can use APIs that allow backup and recovery software vendors to integrate with your VMware vSAN file services, which enables backup software to track new data and add scalability enhancements to files.

VMware vSAN Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing VMware vSAN. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO): VMware vSAN helps you reduce upfront costs for businesses because it can be easily deployed on inexpensive x86 servers. In addition, its highly scalable infrastructure and quick deployment also save organizations time and money, making it an efficient storage solution.

Good manageability: VMWare vSAN is easy to set up, manage, and provision, without sacrificing performance.

Scalability: VMware vSAN is agile and allows administrators to scale storage on demand, quickly, and efficiently via policies and rules.

Simplicity: VMWare vSAN is simple to configure since it is embedded in the vSphere hypervisor. Installing it using the vSphere Web Client can be done quickly.

Reduced risk: VMWare vSAN reduces the risk associated with digital transformations by utilizing existing tools, skill sets, and solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the VMware vSAN solution.

PeerSpot user Yves S., CEO, Cloud Evangelist at Comdivision Consulting GmbH, says, “vSAN gives us a lot of advantages when we need to expand resources. We have an overall larger host infrastructure, and we split that up for specific customer test and use cases. In that specific scenario, we can easily add more hosts or reduce the number of hosts in the environment.”

A reviewer who works in Infrastructure Security explains, “The ease of use is great. The initial setup and upgrade process was pretty straightforward. And, technical support is great.”

Laurent N., Director at Softlogic, comments, "The feature that I have found most valuable is that it is easy to deploy. It is easy to create and delete virtual servers. It is easy to create the load balancing and the clustering."

VMware

Sample Customers

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Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI vs. VMware vSAN

July 2025

Free Report: HPE Alletra dHCI vs. VMware vSAN

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