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HPE MSA vs NetApp FAS Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

HPE MSA
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp FAS Series
Ranking in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (5th), NAS (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) category, the mindshare of HPE MSA is 18.9%, up from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp FAS Series is 17.9%, up from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

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.
Paweł Jabłoński - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for VMs with replication a feature, but need upgraded SSDs
We use this solution. I configured and updated it. Of course, I was also a user of applications that store data on that storage. We already have an SSD solution. So, rather than planning to go with an SSD solution, we are focusing on expanding it. If a company wants to deploy something new, it should choose a product with SSD, and NVMe disks. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is scalable and easy to manage."
"The most valuable features are data deduplication and snapshot replication."
"The solution is pretty transparent and works well."
"The solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals."
"MSA performs exceptionally well, particularly in regions with frequent power outages."
"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."
"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 cost to performance for HPE StorageWorks MSA is good."
"The initial setup was so straightforward. It was well-documented."
"Has rock solid reliability and is easy to use."
"The migration of the volume on the cluster is very useful and easy to use."
"Fast Snapshots"
"NetApp's cloud-based PaaS has been a massive help for unstructured data."
"You can use different protocols at the same time. Monitoring is also very easy in NetApp FAS Series. There is a free tool for monitoring."
"The most valuable feature is SnapMirror."
"The replication feature protects us from data loss."
 

Cons

"It would be beneficial to have an add-on feature to improve analytics or insight capabilities inside the app."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication."
"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."
"This product is getting a little bit older, so new features like deduplication are not included."
"We faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration during installation."
"It would be ideal if there was a better management interface."
"The solution requires hardware."
"Some clients have suggested room for improvement in expanding storage capacity beyond the base traces."
"I’ve found that I use command line more often than I thought needed. Some things should be done in the GUI, and command-line switches can be overwhelming and take up a lot of time."
"The adoption of flash by NetApp has also been lagging behind the trendsetters, like TMS, Nimble, and others."
"I think this kind of infrastructure is mostly obsolete. To keep up with developments in this space, you need to move all these features to an All-Flash solution."
"Installation of the additional switches and ETP could be improved."
"NetApp could improve costs while making the solution more straightforward to use and deploy."
"Needs to improve the adaptive storage quality of service."
"When we were going through all the MFA hardening and the anti-ransomware setup, I gave some feedback to our executive. The MFA process for getting that set up on the AFF systems was cumbersome compared to some of our other systems."
"The biggest issue we face is parts delivery. There's no local warehouse in Myanmar, so if a customer encounters a technical problem like an IMEI issue, they have to wait a long time for replacement parts."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA's licensing is perpetual and not integrated."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"This solution is quite expensive; they should lower the cost."
"When we bought this solution it was very reasonably priced and they were willing to deal."
"The solution can be a bit expensive."
"The NetApp FAS series price is very competitive compared to other solutions on the market it is a good choice."
"NetApp FAS Series could be less expensive."
"Most storage vendors also have software, or licensing bundles, which may offer the required licenses considerably cheaper, but do also maybe offer licenses, which are not needed."
"Cost effective storage for all performance levels (including all-flash)."
"I've sold arrays for as little $20,000 USD and as high as $300,000 USD."
"It is a moderately low-priced platform."
"it’s not an inexpensive solution and it may not be for the cost-sensitive customer."
"The price of the NetApp FAS Series is reasonable and it provides value for the money with the feature sets. NetApp FAS Series are competing with Huawei storage which has an office and does aggressive marketing with a discount. However, we found that if our customers do a technology refresh they are happy with the performance of the NetApp FAS Series."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
Educational Organization
62%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

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.
What needs improvement with HPE StorageWorks MSA?
We faced a lot of challenges with our custom configuration during installation. At the time of deployment, there was some communication gap between my partner and HPE.
Which SAN product would you choose: IBM FlashSystem (FS9500) vs PureFlash Array/X NVMe vs PureFlash Array/XL NVMe?
Have you considered a NetApp FAS Storage for your NAS needs? I am sure it fits very well.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp FAS Series?
Cost is a big factor in our decision-making process. When we're buying storage, the first thing we look at is how much we're paying per gigabyte. Cost has been the driving factor when choosing this...
 

Also Known As

HP StorageWorks MSA
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Femsa CSC, TTX, Rabobank
Children's Hospital Central California, Plex Systems, PDF PNI Digital Media, Denver Broncos, PDF KSM Legal, Clayton Companies, Virginia Community College
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE MSA vs. NetApp FAS Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
823,795 professionals have used our research since 2012.