HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs HPE MSA comparison

HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE MSA are both solutions in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category. HPE 3PAR StoreServ is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while HPE MSA is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. HPE 3PAR StoreServ holds a 9.4% mindshare in MS, compared to HPE MSA’s 19.9% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of HPE 3PAR StoreServ users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of HPE MSA users who would recommend it.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Read 302 HPE 3PAR StoreServ reviews

2,204 Views
724 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

HPE MSA

Read 24 HPE MSA reviews

1,417 Views
1,141 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

HPE 3PAR StoreServ

HPE MSA

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE MSA compete in the enterprise storage category. HPE 3PAR StoreServ appears to have the upper hand with its advanced features and performance capabilities tailored for mid-range enterprises, while HPE MSA is a cost-effective choice suitable for small businesses.

Features: HPE 3PAR StoreServ supports SSD, SAS, and SATA in one unified solution, features transparent failover for enhanced reliability, and delivers impressive performance through adaptive optimization and thin provisioning. HPE MSA is appreciated for its affordability, providing stable performance and essential storage functions for smaller setups.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest that HPE 3PAR StoreServ could improve its monitoring, reporting, and GUI management interfaces, as well as offer more flexible licensing options. HPE MSA could benefit from enhanced scalability, better cloud integration, and more streamlined licensing models.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE MSA are mainly used in on-premises environments. HPE MSA is designed with hybrid cloud adaptability. Both products receive high praise for customer service and technical support, although HPE 3PAR may involve more complex support interactions.

Pricing and ROI: HPE 3PAR StoreServ is considered a more expensive solution, suitable for enterprises requiring high performance and scalability, with value returned through significant operational efficiencies. HPE MSA stands out for its cost-effectiveness, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses, although costs can rise with additional features.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA

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 3PAR StoreServ

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

302

Ranking in other categories

NAS (6th), All-Flash Storage (9th)

HPE MSA

Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of HPE 3PAR StoreServ is 9.4%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE MSA is 19.9%, up from 17.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Saqib

System Engineer at Hybrid Tech

Uninterrupted upgrades accelerate performance with good support

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.

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Pragnesh Sachania

Deputy Manager IT at La Gajjar

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.

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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 most valuable features are their tight integration with VMware, their multi-node architecture, and their copy services, such as Peer Persistence."

"I do not have to worry about cross systems talking to each other or multiple systems trying to interact with each other. Our entire vCenter infrastructure is one large stack, which is nice."

"If there is a problem then the HPE facility will detect it and immediately contact me."

"We went to an Active-Active data center, set it up to where both data centers are separate, but they act as one. We can have workloads at either side at any given time, and it is all based on the Peer Persistence architecture."

"Proactive support. Before we notice that there's a problem in the storage, or any part, any hard disk, they already notify us, and within four hours, the product is delivered. Within the next hour after product delivery, the engineer is available to support me."

"Stability is awesome. Its performance has been steady and it stays up."

"We deployed 3PAR in the national and international markets. It's not bad, the solution."

"I am a system integrator, so we sell a lot of 3PAR storage to our customers. Our business has increased compared to previous days."

More HPE 3PAR StoreServ pros

"The product is very easy to deploy."

"I like StorageWorks' snapshots for our backup system. We had a pool of SSD and traditional drives. StorageWorks has a feature that transfers the hot data to high-performing drives."

"The most valuable feature for customers is the autonomic tiering, which enhances their storage scalability as easily as possible."

"The simple configuration feature is great. It is very simple, allowing you to set up MSA very easily."

"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 most valuable features were the dual controllers and being able to expand it."

"HPE StorageWorks MSA is an entry-level, cost-effective solution for SMB customers."

"The most valuable features are the storage levels and snapshot features."

More HPE MSA pros

Cons

"Although we experienced malfunctions where a virus was running and it failed."

"Generally, the management of the multiple systems that we have is really the only problem, always having to go to all these separate tools to manage everything."

"3PAR has StoreOnce and replication. I would like it if they worked together. Or, if I had Nimble and put that either in DR or a primary cohesive management, but still use the cool features of 3PAR, that would be awesome."

"The first array that they sent us was in some type of a factory mode. We didn't find that out until we loaded a bunch of data onto it, then we had to back it all off. We had to replace the array, which was sort of painful."

"It would also help if they integrate current technologies, newer technologies, and more efficient technologies, as time progresses. For example, integrate the fourth level of NAND devices."

"In the next release, I would like to see faster upgrades, where it's really transparent to our host and our end-users."

"We would like to see a bigger integration with the Nimble Storage solution, so we can take our smaller regional companies and be able to send them into our bigger data centers and have everything work seamlessly."

"I would like to see more cloud-based integrations and more file storage capabilities."

More HPE 3PAR StoreServ cons

"The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."

"There is room for improvement in terms of scalability. There are times when we need to upgrade the device and the firmware. Sometimes, that can be a struggle."

"The platform’s monitoring capabilities could be enhanced."

"Data security features are more important to me than anything else, and I think HPE MSA lacks in this area."

"It would be ideal if there was a better management interface."

"We faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration during installation."

"The solution's license should be integrated and not separate."

"HPE should reintroduce customizable ports as they were in Gen 5, allowing customers to use both iSCSI or SC on a single controller."

More HPE MSA cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have seen ROI. While the costs were quite high at the time of purchase for our environment, the ease of use and the fact that it hasn't failed all the time, working fine, that makes it worth buying."

"The main issue with 3PAR right now is its cost problem. Right now, there are some other storage cabinets that can do what 3PAR can do. Now, they can do it as well with a more revised budget."

"The total cost of ownership really is worth every penny."

"It is lower in price as compared to other vendors, such as Dell. As compared to Huawei, all storage solutions are expensive, including this one."

"Performance is at least two times, if not three times, what we had previously."

"We are going to buy eight nodes this year and eight nodes next year. Eventually, we are not going to want to buy large storage devices and probably utilize just storage, but in a different manner going forward."

"It is a little more money, but it is worth it because it does it better."

"It is fairly inexpensive to scale."

More HPE 3PAR StoreServ pricing and cost advice

"HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."

"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."

"When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."

"I would rate the pricing as nine out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"This solution involves a one-time CapEx payment, followed by warranty extensions."

"The solution can be a bit expensive."

"This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."

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Comparison Review

it_user182013

Federal Civ/Intel Engineering Lead at Rubrik

May 1, 2015

Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR

Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

86%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Government

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE Primera?

HPE Primera has many great features but one of the best is that it is very easy to deploy. From an overall perspective, it is reliable, easy to set up, stable, and offers quality block storage. All...

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE 3PAR StoreServ?

The compression features are good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE 3PAR StoreServ?

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

See all answers

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

Comparisons

HPE Alletra Storage vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Compared 21% of the time

HPE Primera vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Compared 21% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Compared 7% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Compared 5% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ

Compared 4% of the time

More HPE 3PAR StoreServ Competitors

NetApp FAS Series vs HPE MSA

Compared 48% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs HPE MSA

Compared 26% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs HPE MSA

Compared 8% of the time

Dell EqualLogic PS series vs HPE MSA

Compared 3% of the time

More HPE MSA Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE 3PAR StoreServ

April 2025

Download HPE 3PAR StoreServ product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE MSA

April 2025

Download HPE MSA product report

Also Known As

HPE 3PAR Flash Storage, InServ, Storeserv, 3PAR Flash Storage, HP Enterprise Storage, 3PAR Flash Array, HP 3PAR Flash Storage

HP StorageWorks MSA

Overview

HPE 3PAR StoreServ is an AI-driven storage solution that prevents issues before they occur by learning and adjusting in real time. The solution offers a tier-1 all-flash foundation for mission-critical workloads. HPE 3PAR StoreServ was designed with more than 3M IOPS and consistent sub-ms latency. It aims to transform midrange and enterprise deployments with solutions that scale from a few TBs to more than 20PBs. In addition, the solution is built to modernize data centers and is made to handle unpredictable workloads effortlessly. By implementing HPE 3PAR StoreServ, you gain automated and rapid provisioning, hardware-accelerated deduplication and compression, and a multi-tenant design.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ Features

HPE 3PAR StoreServ has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Flexibility: With HPE 3PAR StoreServ, you can easily deploy highly configurable, scale-out storage for multi-tenant workloads.

Always-on availability for your data: HPE 3PAR StoreServ includes an always-on resilient storage infrastructure for your hypervisors and applications. In addition, with Peer Persistence, your virtual machines (VMs), hosts, and data can move freely across data centers rather than being constrained by their physical boundaries.

Fast, scalable performance: HPE 3PAR StoreServ enables you to accelerate consistent mixed-workload performance and also provides necessary QoS levels that are optimized for your highest priority applications.

Performance insights: HPE 3PAR StoreServ helps you gain performance insights in real time, and anticipate as well as prevent issues across the infrastructure stack by utilizing cross-stack analytics.

Flash optimized data protection: With tier-1 data services, multi-tenant security, and copy data management, you can avoid downtime.

Seamless data mobility: HPE 3PAR StoreServ makes it possible for you to not only experience converged data protection, but also experience seamless data mobility services, at flash speed, from the edge to the cloud.

HPE 3PAR StoreServ Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing HPE 3PAR StoreServ. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Easy to manage. The web interface to manage the units is a great asset and one that makes managing storage easy.

User-friendly GUI

Exceptionally fast and well-managed replication
Low latency

Hybrid storage gives you the ability to assign different roles to different types of storage arrays inside one enclosure

Both file-level and block-level replication

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the HPE 3PAR StoreServ solution.

A SAN Consultant at a tech services company says, “One of the features that I like the most is the data replication element. The reason I like it is due to the fact that it's pretty clean on replicating data over to a second site. The product stands on its own in heavy enterprise environments. It's easy to make changes without affecting the environment. The solution is very easy to use. The product is very robust and offers very good performance.”

A Storage Manager at a financial services firm mentions, "There are a lot of screens for easy management where you can change some settings. But after a few years, the important settings were better after an upgrade, and all the vendors have other ways to upgrade their systems."

A Senior IT Infrastructure & Data Center Operation Engineer at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) comments, “The adaptive optimization is the biggest feature in 3PAR. 3PAR is very usable with thin volume because it detects zeros while writing. Every time I tell the hypervisor to make the full provisioning, it makes the volume as simple provisioning in 3PAR, not full provisioning.”

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Sample Customers

Just Energy, Latisys, team AG, DreamWorks, BlueShore Financial, Erasmus MC

Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank

Buyer's Guide

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA

April 2025

Free Report: HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs. HPE MSA and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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