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it_user471384 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
We chose to go with it because it runs on OpenVMS.

What is most valuable?

We went with 3PAR because we primarily use other storage solutions for our main production products. We chose 3PAR for one product because it runs on OpenVMS and it's only certified to run on HPE. That's why we went with 3PAR. It was a smooth transition over. It went pretty stable. We got an outside HPE VAR to help with the rollover. It's been very stable since we moved to it so.

What needs improvement?

It's a mature product. It's been working fine.

For how long have I used the solution?

It's been about eight months.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Hard to say with that product line. That product line, it's much more mature. It doesn't grow that dramatically, so we planned ahead with a five year window, to be on that platform. It's running fine. We're not running into any hurdles right now.

Buyer's Guide
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about HPE 3PAR StoreServ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.

How are customer service and support?

We have an HPE VAR on the openVMS side that helps us too. We kind of reach out to them if we do.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched from a really old legacy platform storage solution that was just into life. We were running it on Data Vault which was an HPE product.

How was the initial setup?

We switched from a really old legacy platform storage solution. I'm pretty sure we were running it on NetApp at the time.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In most cases Pure Storage is better. It's better overall, and allows us to scale up faster, the cost of ownership's lower, and the replication across areas is good. 3PAR is not bad either, but Pure Storage is just more competitive.

What other advice do I have?

I would also evaluate others hard. We use Pure Storage in other areas a lot.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user178500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Systems Manager with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Flash storage is worth it for performance advantage and simplicity.

We were running HP servers and an HP storage area network (SAN), but with the business’s growth we were coming to a point where we either needed to upgrade the CPU and buy additional disks for the SAN, or replace everything – we considered both possibilities.

The application provider did have a version running on Windows, but we wanted the proven stability of UNIX, and in particular of HP’s HP-UX. MomentumPro is business-critical, and runs all our inventory and financial systems. We considered systems based on other UNIX platforms, but that would have involved bringing in a completely new operating system, which would add additional risk. If we had a year for the project we might have looked at other UNIX versions, but our business’s rapid expansion meant we had tight timescales– so we stayed on HP-UX to simplify the migration.

Once we had decided on HP-UX, we looked at the blades, storage and chassis available from HP. The blade system had the benefit that, as well as handling the expansion of the ERP, we could consolidate Windows environments and other servers onto the new infrastructure.

We chose an infrastructure housed in an HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure, and it selected an HP Integrity BL870c i4 Server Blade featuring HP-UX 11i v3. For storage, we selected HP 3PAR StoreServ 7450 Storage system with thirty-two 480GB solid state disks (SSDs). The system includes HP FlexFabric interconnects.

Had we upgraded, we would have had perhaps just a year before we had to upgrade again. Also, with an upgrade, maintenance costs are increasing each year – but the replacement system included support, so we are ahead on operating expenditure.When we did a comparison, the replacement was lower in cost than the upgrade, with a fifteen month payback period on the hardware. By replacing the system, we could build everything and get it up and running without interfering with the current operation. If we had done an upgrade, there would have been significant downtime, even if there were no problems – but with a replacement we could build it all in parallel, do comprehensive testing and make sure everything was working. 

The implementation went extremely well, and the engineering support people at HP were excellent – everything was here on time or early, and it all went smoothly. We built the new system and got the operating system loaded, the disks up and database restored, and were able to run tests till satisfied to give us a comfort factor. Then we took the users off the system and started the migration of data at 6pm, and had everything up and running by 11pm that night.

With the new infrastructure, the biggest single benefit is improved performance, not least due to the system’s solid state storage.The 3PAR storage was worth it for the performance advantage. We knew we had to speed up the processing, if we expand into Western Australia we would lose three hours from the overnight window, due to the time difference. We had to do the same tasks in a smaller timeframe.

The old system would already have been unable to cope – we would have been on about 99 per cent CPU, but at the moment we’re sitting at 15 per cent CPU. It’s a massive change – we would have been happy with a 50 per cent improvement, but we’ve got almost an 80 per cent increase. While the store rollout is the priority, we’re also going to look at adding extra functionality in the ERP application. In the past we were constrained by hardware performance, but the new system is giving us the opportunity to add more modules.

By moving from a rack-based server system to blades, we will be able to shrink infrastructure from eight cabinets to only two. HP’s de-duplication features will also save us money, as we will need to buy fewer disks to migrate our existing external servers onto Hyper-V virtual machines on the blades. We were at full storage capacity on the old system, but now with the 3PAR we will be at around 70 per cent after we have migrated Exchange onto the infrastructure – and that’s even before we add in the benefits of de-duplication.

This was a deliberate choice – we wanted a system with the flexibility to grow, without having to buy hardware now that we wouldn’t use for six or twelve months. The project has gone very well and exceeded my expectations, and I was surprised at the ease of deployment– all the different components integrated well together.

Overall, the biggest benefits for us were performance, simplicity of implementation and cost. Due to this positive experience with HP, we’re now looking at working with them in other areas of our business, and we’re already rolling out HP thin clients at some of our stores.

Disclosure: PeerSpot has made contact with the reviewer to validate that the person is a real user. The information in the posting is based upon a vendor-supplied case study, but the reviewer has confirmed the content's accuracy.
PeerSpot user

Love hearing these kinds of stories. I think you made a great choice but so do others. HP 3PAR All-Flash won the All-Flash Array Product of the Year Award from TechTarget. I have a blog that talks about it. hpstorage.me There's been lots of other "best of" for the HP 3PAR family - if you're interested in those, drop me an email at hpstorageguy at hp dot com.

Buyer's Guide
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about HPE 3PAR StoreServ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Ayman Jweinat - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Manager at IT as a Service Solutions
Real User
Top 20
A stable and performance-oriented product
Pros and Cons
  • "I am impressed with the product's online upgrades."
  • "The engagement of the tool's vendor is costly."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product for virtualization environment. 

What is most valuable?

I am impressed with the product's online upgrades. 

What needs improvement?

The engagement of the tool's vendor is costly. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the tool for five years. 

How are customer service and support?

The product's support is both good and bad. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The tool's deployment is straightforward due to experience. Initially, it was difficult. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the product an eight out of ten. A stable and performance-oriented product. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Vitali Karpovich - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Manager/Program Director at Qvantel
MSP
Helps to store data for high-loaded and high-performing systems like business communications systems and telecommunications
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution fetches quick responses in milliseconds which can be within 40-50 milliseconds."
  • "The tool has low storage and low performance. This can be solved by adding more disco to the solution. The product’s pricing is also suited for enterprise businesses rather than smaller ones.I would like to see better performance, UI, and compatibility with other products in future releases."

What is our primary use case?

This solution helps to store data for high-loaded and high-performing systems like business communications systems and telecommunications.

What is most valuable?

It fetches quick responses in milliseconds which can be within 40-50 milliseconds.

What needs improvement?

The tool has low storage and low performance. This can be solved by adding more disco to the solution. The product’s pricing is also suited for enterprise businesses rather than smaller ones.I would like to see better performance, UI, and compatibility with other products in future releases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the solution for ten years.

How are customer service and support?

The solution’s tech support is good. You will get a dedicated account manager.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to deploy.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. You need to properly assess your needs before buying the solution since there are chances of overpaying. The type of configuration that you choose can make the price go higher or lower.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer372459 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Manager - IT Systems at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Flexible and convenient with good integration capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to install."
  • "While the stability is pretty good, it could always be improved upon."

What is most valuable?

It's a very convenient product. I find it easy to use.

It's very flexible in terms of management.

It's an enterprise tool.

The integration is good. We've integrated it with other UNIX platforms and Windows platforms.

The solution is easy to install.

The pricing is okay.

What needs improvement?

I'm not sure how good the security is. 

While the stability is pretty good, it could always be improved upon. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for almost four years at this point. I've used it for a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has been very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and a company can expand it if they want to. 

We only have 100 people that actually use the solution. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The support on offer is very good. We don't have any issues with them. They are helpful and responsive and we are satisfied with the support we get when we need it. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did use Hitachi last year.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not overly difficult or complex. it's pretty simple and straightforward. 

The deployment is fast and within a day you can have everything up and running. 

We have engineers available that can assist with deployment and maintenance. 

What about the implementation team?

We had support from HPE directly. They assisted us in the implementation. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We're using it as a SaaS. The pricing is reasonable. It's not cheap, however, I don't consider it to be overpriced. 

We have an annual support contract. It will contain a certain percentage of the storage cost.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. I've been pretty happy with its capabilities. 

I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations. 

We don't have plans to leave this solution any time soon. We'll likely have it for the next two to three years. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Hakan Pehlivan - PeerSpot reviewer
General Manager at Bilgipark Görüntü ve İletişim San. Tic. A.S.
Real User
Top 5
A stable enterprise storage solution
Pros and Cons
  • "I like that it's stable. This is the reason why we're using these products. We work in the broadcast market, and stability is very important. HPE has global services, and that's also important. Dell and HPE are some big companies, and their solutions are robust and stable."
  • "From an overall perspective, all the latest technologies can improve support and performance. This is very important for us."

What is our primary use case?

We use it on a project basis and based on the customer's requirements. We use the HPE systems in data centers with servers and virtual environments. This is the most common use case.

What is most valuable?

I like that it's stable. This is the reason why we're using these products. We work in the broadcast market, and stability is very important. HPE has global services, and that's also important. Dell and HPE are some big companies, and their solutions are robust and stable.

What needs improvement?

From an overall perspective, all the latest technologies can improve support and performance. This is very important for us.

For how long have I used the solution?

As a company, we have been selling HPE 3PAR StoreServ for more than 24 years. Personally, I've been dealing with it for more than 18 years.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would give HPE 3PAR StoreServ a nine.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Director, Systems & Architecture at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Needs better support for iSCSI, as it was not designed for it initially
Pros and Cons
  • "After being properly configured, it has been a very stable product."
  • "We would like to see better support for iSCSI."

What is our primary use case?

We use it as a shared storage solution for a virtualized environment. It is not for complex business needs. It is really just for storage, and not even a very large amount of storage: between 20 to 40 terabytes.

We have used it in three environments. We were not happy with the performance initially, because it turned out the system was initially designed for Fibre Channel, and we needed iSCSI. So, we used the iSCSI configuration option off of 3PAR. This was probably when 3PAR was purchased by HPE, but the performance were extraordinarily bad in terms of I/O capabilities. It took a long time to obtain HPE's help and resolve the issue. This was for iSCSI in the context of VMware for shared storage.

How has it helped my organization?

The product is not for us. We deploy solutions on-premise. We use this product for one of our customers.

What needs improvement?

We would like to see better support for iSCSI.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

After being properly configured, it has been a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our systems are fairly static once they have been deployed.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is bad. I would rate it as a two out of 10. 

After we insisted for quite some time, then we did receive good support. However, it was a bother, we would have liked to have known initially that the system was not designed for iSCSI.

In the end, we ended up selecting something else.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were previously using multiple vendors. We switched to 3PAR for more performance, reliability, and we had challenges with MSAs (low-end storage).

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup takes about two days.

What was our ROI?

I have not seen any ROI so far.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Nexsan. However, we wanted to stay with HPE.

What other advice do I have?

Be extremely careful if you want to use the iSCSI feature of the 3PAR. It was not designed for it initially.

We were using low-end storage from HPE. I was hoping to get something a bit midrange in their storage, in terms of price with the reliability. I am still hoping that it will be reliable despite poor initial performance previously. As the problem was fixed, I am hopeful it would be reliable in the long run.

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor: We need something stable and reliable in the long run. Our contracts are at least five years, and they can be extended all of the way to seven to 10 years.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Director609e - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Technology Infrastructure at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Ease of management has cut our storage administration workload significantly
Pros and Cons
  • "Valuable features include the intuitiveness of the SAN itself, a lot of the built-in logic and functionality, the tiering that it uses to determine what type of disk is best for the various types of workloads, and the automation that is built in. It's also easy to manage."

    What is our primary use case?

    It's primarily used as our primary SAN, storage area network. We store all sorts of data and VMs on that particular set of disks. It's for local data center usage. We have three data centers now, one in Atlanta, one in Dallas, one in Provo. We aren't doing any site to site replication. It's really just localized and we're trying to get to a point where we are actually doing site to site replication for DR and things of that nature.

    The performance is good. We enjoy it. We like it.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The ease of management is what changed. Where we had, in simple terms, about an hour's worth of work, it has minimized that to maybe one-tenth, or something to that effect. Instead of us having to do a lot of steps to ensure that our environment is where it needs to be from a storage perspective, because of the ease of management, the UI differences, it has allowed us to manage our environment.

    What is most valuable?

    • The intuitiveness of the SAN itself, a lot of the built-in logic and functionality
    • The tiering that it uses to determine what type of disk is best for the various types of workloads
    • The automation that is built in 

    We used to have EMC and we have found that it's a lot easier to manage.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability is very good. No issues thus far.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We haven't really had to scale it yet. We got a pretty large footprint initially. I think we've added some SSDs, some nearline disk. But from that perspective, no issues, no complaints.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Most of what we have had to engage support on has been, "Hey, how do we do this?" or, "Hey, I see this, but I don't understand. What can I do?" We've had pretty good experiences so far.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We had a set of vendors come in and do proofs of concept to help us better understand what options and features were available. Based upon what we found with HPE and 3PAR - I wasn't actually a part of the initial assessment, this is all stuff that I heard when I came on board - it just was the best solution for us at the time.

    How was the initial setup?

    My team was involved in the initial setup and I managed the team. We had three resources that were a part of the setup, so they were onsite with the engineers. They got a week or so of training each. That was pretty much all we were a part of during the initial setup.

    It was probably complicated because most of our team were used to EMC and it's a different kind of mindset. Even today, there are a lot of things that we haven't leveraged because we simply don't have the expertise. Over time, though, as we've used the tool, we've become more comfortable with it.

    What was our ROI?

    I don't know if we've done enough analysis to gauge ROI yet.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    As far as I know, we had three vendors on our short-list: HPE, EMC, and a third vendor I don't recall at the moment.

    What other advice do I have?

    Definitely learn the features of the product, what it takes to actually administer and manage it, what type of resource load is also required. It's not necessarily a tool that enables anyone who says, "Hey, we bought a SAN, go take it over." It really takes someone who has an understanding of and background in the tool, maybe even a little background with HPE. Just make sure you fully understand what you're getting into.

    I would rate it a nine out of 10. We've been fairly satisfied with the product, we haven't had any issues. It's definitely not something that you can easily jump into without that initial set of knowledge to help you understand how to use the tool. From our perspective, the way we went into it was backward. We bought and then learned, instead of learned and then bought. That has been a part of our hurdle but, overall, it has been a good product.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free HPE 3PAR StoreServ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: November 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free HPE 3PAR StoreServ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.