HPE StoreOnce Reviews

We use StoreOnce with Data Protector, the backup and recovery software. We also use it with Micro Focus products. Additionally, StoreOnce has similar functionalities to Data Domain. 

They both offer NFS data store tools: Data Domain offers ETL and Catalyst Store, while StoreOnce has the equivalent in Catalyst Backup, similar to DD Boost in Data Domain.

StoreOnce helps with long-term data retention and disaster recovery strategies. It works similarly to Data Domain. It provides site-to-site replication, like StoreOnce to StoreOnce. 

Additionally, it offers snapshot backup functionality, just like Data Domain. StoreOnce has built-in ransomware protection, with immutable backup options, similar to Data Domain's automated approach. 

Finally, it integrates with Veeam, just like Data Domain. So, they're very similar products.

However, I have not used StoreOnce in a multi-site environment. We do have implementations with single-site, standalone deployments for many customers. But, I don't have any personal experience with using StoreOnce for multi-site replication, like StoreOnce to StoreOnce for disaster recovery purposes. 

However, I do have experience with Data Domain's multi-site implementation. Its DR and ER functionalities were good, including the bandwidth-compressed layer application aspects.

I like Catalyst StoreOnce. The performance of Catalyst backup restore is 4.1 gigabytes per second, which translates to roughly 100 terabytes per hour. This is the performance edge StoreOnce has over Data Domain. 

However, other aspects are quite similar. They both have features like NFS and Catalyst, and neither offers anything significantly different or additional compared to the other.

StoreOnce has deduplication functionality built-in. It works across all three of its storage pools: NFS, Catalyst Backup, and DTL. However, the deduplication algorithms and implementation are HPE's proprietary technology and developed in-house.

While StoreOnce has many features, it needs to focus on integrating with third-party backup software solutions. 

For example, they offer certified integrations with Commvault, but not with EMC Networker, NetBackup for Backup Exec, or Spectrum Protect. Data Domain doesn't face this limitation and integrates well with various third-party software solutions.

I have been familiar with this product for a year.

My experience with HPE's technical support is very positive. The engineers are available on time, and address issues promptly, and I haven't encountered issues extending beyond one shift. 

While any vendor can resolve uncomplicated issues quickly, I truly appreciate HPE's approach to problem-solving. I'm impressed with their support structure, call availability, understanding, flexibility in scheduling remote sessions, and accommodating customer timeframes.

Positive

My experience with Dell spans more than 14 years. However, the switch to HPE from Dell depends on the customers. 

If a customer specifically wants to switch due to internal factors, designs, or something similar, that's fine. We're here to help them if StoreOnce aligns with their needs and doesn't disrupt their internal operations. 

However, if they're currently using and satisfied with Dell, and we can offer them additional features and extensions, then we'll do that. It truly depends on the customer's budget and specific needs. But StoreOnce is another option as well.

The initial setup is not that easy compared to Data Domain.

While Data Domain requires maybe 13 or 14 clicks for specific tasks, StoreOnce requires more. The pool creation process is also completely different. 

We found Data Domain's procedures to be easier and more user-friendly, probably because we're more used to them.

While I've implemented a few StoreOnce licenses and migrated back to an HPE partner, my overall experience of 14 years is based on Dell technologies, so I have more experience and find them easier to use.

Recently, Data Domain introduced a Capacity Planning DD virtual edition, which helps customers preview and plan capacity needs. Monitoring the data tables is also easier now using that appliance. However, I haven't used anything similar for StoreOnce.

The price point and possibly the compression and deduplication value of Data Domain are significantly greater than StoreOnce. Otherwise, they offer similar features and functionalities.

Dell's deduplication technology is on par with HPE's.

Both products deliver similar results and outcomes. However, their internal processes might differ. The structure is the same, but Data Domain uses an inline source-based approach with deduplication, while StoreOnce has its own method and different terminology for similar functionality. 

Ultimately, both products offer similar features and are competitors in the market.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

The solution is used for data recovery. We need it when a disaster happens. We need critical applications on it so that we get an immediate uptime.

The product’s data retention is very good. It gives us good storage space for many critical applications without workload issues.

The latency is a bit high. The latency must be improved to help retrieve data quickly. The product must provide features to prioritize the retrieval of critical applications before the normal applications.

I have been using the solution for three years.

The tool is stable.

We have 400 users in our organization. We have only one administrator.

The support team is good.

We used Quantum, but it was very expensive. So we switched to HPE StoreOnce.

The initial setup is easy. It takes one day.

It is an economic product. It is worth my money.

HPE StoreOnce is the best solution for data recovery. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

We use HPE StoreOnce for data backup. We take our data backup on a disk-based backup, and we use HPE StoreOnce for that disk-based backup.

The solution's licensing policy is more practical and not confusing.

The solution's technical support should be faster.

I have been using HPE StoreOnce for four to five years.

HPE StoreOnce is a stable solution.

HPE StoreOnce is a scalable solution. HPE StoreOnce is a backup tool, and we have configured it on around 500 nodes for backup. We have plans to increase the solution’s usage over a period of time.

The solution’s initial setup is easy.

We implemented the solution through a partner within one day. Before we ordered, the box was almost preconfigured. The hard disk and the enclosure were already populated. We just connected all the power cables and checked the hardware and rack layout for any damages. Once we powered it on, we configured it as per our requirement and connected it with our software.

The return on investment with HPE StoreOnce is quite good. We have recovered the solution's cost within less than three to four years.

We have not taken a perpetual license for HPE StoreOnce, but you need to buy the license capacity as you increase the capacity. HPE StoreOnce is cheaper compared to other solutions in the market.

I would recommend HPE StoreOnce to other users.

Overall, I rate HPE StoreOnce an eight out of ten.

The solution saves a lot of storage capacity. It provides optimization, compression, and deduplication features. It gives me confidence about the security of the environment. It is integrated with Catalyst and SimpliVity. I can use SimpliVity for backup.

The backups are outside the production network. They are not connected. It is easy to recover the information. It is easy to get access to the environment. I have a lot of storage backups. Catalyst is the most valuable function for data deduplication. I have noticed some improvements in our data retention. The product is very efficient. I have very old backups. I do not have to clean out old backups for a long period.

The solution must provide backup options for smaller capacities. We do not need much storage capacity due to compression and deduplication. We do not use all the capacity. My device is half occupied. The solution must provide cloud management features. A lot of HPE devices and technologies are going to the cloud. I do not know if HPE StoreOnce can be managed on the cloud.

I have been using the solution for eight to ten years.

The tool’s stability has been great. I rate the stability a nine or ten out of ten.

Small, medium and large organizations can take advantage of the tool’s capacity and performance.

I am happy with the support team.

Positive

The initial setup is simple. The concepts were easy for us.

I rate the pricing a four out of ten. The solution is pretty expensive. It's not cheap because it's bigger than what we need.

My storage needs are less, so I did not need to scale the tool. I rate the solution’s management and integration a seven or eight out of ten. HPE is better than other products. It provides good integrations and storage. If anyone asks me what I do to store my backups, I tell them about HPE StoreOnce. I’m happy with the product. We also use it for recovery. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for a backup. Today, we are using Micro Focus Data Protector, which is a former HPE product, however, we are migrating Convault.

There are a few great features. Obviously, deduplication is a big one. There are the catalyst stores that we are using. It's a feature that does what we need it to do. We've been using the 5100 for quite some time with a lot of success and no issues. However, we were looking, at first, at expanding, however, we couldn't expand them anymore as they were at end of life. Now we are looking at the new generation, the latest, 5260.

It is easy to set up the product.

The solution is stable. 

You can easily scale the solution.

I haven't come across any missing features.

One item I wanted to see is SSD drives as a cache. Data is taken in by the subsystem on SSD drives and as later on offloaded to spinning media. That was a feature that you could already see in primary storage, and that was, for a time, still lacking in StoreOnce, however, they have done it now. It's not available yet, however, it will be shortly.

I, myself, worked for HPE for 34 years. Now, I'm working as an independent consultant. I'm working at a pharmaceutical company and they've been using it for four years.

It is an absolutely stable solution. We haven't had any issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's reliable. 

The solution is definitely scalable, to the extent that we need it. For our purposes, it is definitely scalable enough. It's modular enough. You can add, with the 5260, 192 terabytes of raw capacity that you can extend one shelf at a time.

Technical support is helpful, however, an advantage that I have is that I know the company inside out. I still have contact with my former colleagues there. They do their job. They are helpful and responsive.

The solution is easy to set up. It's not complex or difficult. I'd rate it nine out of ten in terms of ease of implementation.

I'm not into financials. I'm a technical guy. I just help with planning and designing a solution, and then others decide on pricing and configuration. I'm working as an external consultant, therefore, I don't have any decision-making there. 

I don't have any practical experience with many other solutions. Coming out of HPE, going to work as an independent consultant in a company that is using a lot of HPE products, I'm obviously quite satisfied that they are using StoreOnce, and they will keep on using it. 

In terms of the version we are using, we have the StoreOnce 5100 and now we're looking at the StoreOnce 5260.

I'd recommend the solution to others. It has the features that we require and the features that, are required by a lot of companies that have a lot of data today. It's all about data. Data requirements are booming in the primary storage market and storage subsystems. Obviously, to be protected, you need to back up the data. And there, it does what it needs to do. There are petabytes of user data that you can store on a terabyte type back up to the disk subsystem. 

That said, if you go to medium-sized companies or small-sized companies, probably there will be cheaper and smaller-scale options. For instance, the StoreOnce that we are using, are long connected, so they are accessed through the network, however, they're also connected through a SUMP, so a storage area network. That is something that you find mostly in the bigger companies that have the financial means to buy these types of subsystems. It would be depending on size and requirements. For bigger organizations, therefore, I would definitely advise they go for this product.

I would rate the product nine out of ten.

We use HPE StoreOnce for data backup.

The platform's price could be lower. We export data from websites every week. The processing speed is very slow.

We have been using HPE StoreOnce for a year.

I rate the product's stability a ten out of ten.

We have 300 HPE StoreOnce users. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

The technical support has a good response time. I reached out to them regarding a hard disk failure issue. They called me, understood the problem, and replaced the disk within two hours.

The initial setup is simple. It requires administrative executives to work on the process and takes a day or two to complete.

I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten.

I rate HPE StoreOnce an eight out of ten. It is a good solution in the market.

I use the solution in my company, and we design the solution per the customer's requirements.

The most valuable feature of the solution is its UI. The product's UI makes it easy for users to configure the tool.

The product's support is an area with certain shortcomings requiring improvements. Support needs to be faster.

I don't know whether a snapshot is an area that is covered in the tool or not, but if it is there or incorporated in the tool, then it is good.

I have been using HPE StoreOnce for more than ten years. My company may probably be using the latest version of the solution, but I am not into the implementation part.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

In terms of HPE StoreOnce's scalability benefits for our organization's growth, I would say that it is possible to scale up as and when there are requirements coming in from our customers.

I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

Neutral

The product's installation phase is easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution's installation phase takes two to three hours.

The solution's installation phase can be managed by two engineers.

My company has to keep on asking HPE distributors to offer the product at a better price, which is why I cannot disclose it. I don't utilize any licenses, which can be a reason why I have to pay extra money in addition to the standard license fees.

Even though I chose HPE over the other products in the market, I see that some equations have changed, specifically since HPE and Nutanix have started to work together. I did not consider any other tools against HPE StoreOnce.

The tool fits into your data protection and disaster recovery strategies, specifically for SME customers, as it is the most apt solution for them.

Speaking about the features of HPE StoreOnce that are most effective for data replication, I would say that there are DBs in my company for it.

I cannot comment whether I have seen any reductions with the costs because of the tool since it is used by my end customers. I believe that if they are still using it, then there shouldn't be any problem with it.

I have not faced any challenges when integrating HPE StoreOnce into our company's IT environment.

I have not used any AI features in the tool.

I would recommend HPE StoreOnce to other users. For an SMB customer, the budget is a constraint, which is why they can think about using HPE StoreOnce.

I don't do any maintenance of the product with the help of any third party since I take care of it by myself. If only some requirements are there, we scale up the tool.

I rate the tool a six out of ten.

We use it for our virtual workload back up. We are also a service provider, and we provide backup assistance to clients. We use StoreOnce for that backup too.

Deduplication and compression are in a good ratio. It supports the HPE Catalyst protocol, which is much faster than NFS and other protocols. We use CommVault and Veeam, and these two solutions support the Catalyst protocol very well and are integrated at high speed. It is faster than normal access.

When it comes to upgrading, it always goes block-wise. One block is 48 TB raw capacity. It would be good if they can include a smaller capacity for SMB customers. Currently, it is not possible to increase in a smaller capacity. You have to buy the exact same unit. It would be great if they can provide a smaller next block.

There are around 20 hard disks, and it would be really helpful if we can add 10 hard disks initially and 10 hard disks later.

I have been using this solution for a month. We bought it very recently.

It is a very reliable solution.

You can't increase the hard disk size. We bought two units. We have one unit connected to another unit. We have got ample capacity so far, and there is no need to increase it.

Currently, we have around 15 users. We have bought it for the backup of our customers. When it comes to customers, there are hundreds of customers.

They have been very responsive.

It was very straightforward. We knew the requirements, so we segmented it as required.

We have got a perpetual license, and we have access to all the features. 

If you are using cloud banks, you can store the internal data in HPE Cloud if needed. You can offload the data to the HPE Cloud. It is a licensed product. We have got around 10 TB of cloud bank storage with a one-time payment. We specifically took 10 TB for very critical offsite backups. We can also increase it in blocks if needed.

We evaluated EMC Data Domain. We decided to go with StoreOnce because it was more cost-effective and suitable for our budget. Its interface was also easy to use.

I would recommend this solution. For higher data capacity, we can have around 90 terabytes, and roughly, we can take 75 terabytes of effective capacity. It can do deduplication. As per the papers, it will do 20:1, which may not be realistic, but we have seen 8:1 kind of deduplication. Even if it was 2:1, it will be 140. So, deduplication gives a massive capacity.

I would rate HPE StoreOnce a nine out of ten. It has been very good so far.