HPE StoreOnce Reviews

Deduplication. As well, having Catalyst backups that are supported by HPE StoreOnce 6600 is very good for BURA.

It reduced larger backup windows where we have had to wait for days to complete one full backup of a larger database.

Catalyst backup is used to back up Oracle databases, and provides very good throughput during backups.

We are looking for Federated VTLs just like Federated Catalyst Store. Currently, VTLs can only be created on individual service sets and cannot be used to share the resources of other nodes. 

We hope to unify all our solutions, so because our storage is HPE and all our services are HPE, we also need to use StoreOnce for our backup. It has good features.

Support is the main thing. If we have any issue, it’s easy for us to track or investigate it, because we don’t have different solutions from different vendors. This is the main benefit we are getting.

I would like to see automatic restore and monitoring tools like a dashboard.

We started using it in 2015.

We have had some issues. We are working with HPE to solve all the issues. For example, when we try to restore, other solutions have automatic restore.
Currently, we need to do it manually and it takes a very long time. This is a critical issue, but we are working with HPE on it.

Also, the hardware is from HPE and the software is from another company that is part of HPE and this causes some problems. So, if we have any issue with the hardware, it’s solved quickly. But, if we have any issue with the software, for example, with the console, we need to reschedule the jobs or there is a delay in a job, we need to go back to that company through HPE. This takes time.

Scalability is fine.

We use technical support quite a bit and we are not so satisfied with them. I rate them 3/5.

HPE introduced us to this solution.

For us, we can save a lot on storage costs for doing backups. It integrates seamlessly with our backup solution, which is a third-party solution, not from HPE. We use Veeam; and StoreOnce works with them.

It works great for backing up Windows. Backups are much quicker now. Previously, it took 15-16 hours every day. Now it takes 3-4 hours maximum.

Replication of our site using Virtual Storage Appliance is really easy. We did not have any backup solution for our site before. Now, we just have Virtual Storage Appliance running on site almost without any configuration. We use it to replicate all our site backups.

I would like to see a better integration with Active Directory to identify users. Currently, we need to create separate accounts, so we need to have separate passwords to log in for assurance. It's not a big issue, but it is an issue. We would like to be able to use existing Active Directory accounts to directly authenticate users.

There could always be better performance. There is a little bit to work on in this area.

We’ve been using it for little more than a year.

It is stable. We hardly ever had an issues with it.

When we started, it was already quite large, about 200 TBs. So far, we haven’t had any need to scale up.

Technical support is quite efficient. We only had minor issues, but they were handled pretty quickly.

We built an almost entirely new IT infrastructure for a new stadium that we built. The new infrastructure had a lot more than it had before; so we knew we had to have a better backup solution.

The initial setup was relatively easy. We didn’t need to do a lot. They were already pretty well-packaged out of the box. Aside from the configuration and integration with the backup solution, we didn't have much to do.

We looked at EMC, IBM, NetApp, and some others which I cannot recall at the moment.

We are building an entirely new infrastructure. We chose HPE StoreOnce after considering the servers, the storage, and the backup all at the same time. HPE had a better global solution, especially in terms of the backup solution.

Look into intuitive solutions for storage space. Deduplication is really efficient. You can do deduplication directly with Veeam, the backup software, side now. We save on network and bandwidth.

The most important criteria for us when selecting a vendor was the integration of the old backup solution in the previous stadium, and the need to save on storage space.

We use the product for backups in the manufacturing industry. 

HPE StoreOnce is particularly useful in situations where organizations require a backup solution to store their data. Its deduplication feature is quite impressive, providing a deduplication ratio of around 25 to 26. 

The tool is easy, quick, and reliable. 

HPE StoreOnce needs to provide a SaaS solution by offering high-density disks. 

I have been using the product for two years. 

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

The tool is a scalable solution, and it often works with Data Protector, a software that initiates the backup process. I rate it a ten out of ten. 

The solution's support is responsive and quick. 

Positive

I rate the tool's deployment a ten out of ten. 

HPE StoreOnce is simple, scalable, and stable. I rate it a ten out of ten.

The most valuable features of HPE StoreOnce are the single storage, disaster recovery, and configuration. Additionally, the feature to connect two stages together is useful.

I have been using HPE StoreOnce for approximately 10 years.

HPE StoreOnce works well, it is stable.

The scalability of HPE StoreOnce is excellent.

I am the only one using this solution in my organization. 

It is difficult to solve issues with this solution remotely. I prefer to use the knowledge base platforms. The response time could improve.

I have not used other solutions prior to HPE StoreOnce.

The initial setup of HPE StoreOnce is easy and the configuration is quick. It took 30 minutes to implement.

I recommend this solution to others.

I rate HPE StoreOnce a nine out of ten.

The most valuable features for us are the ease of use, the reliability, and the exceptional deduplication that we get across that data that we store on those devices.

We use it primarily for storage of backup data. We need to keep large numbers of historical backups and they typically repeat. It's a lot of data that is the same, but has to be kept for the purposes of historical reasons. You have to go back to points in time and storing the data on standard disks is wasteful and inefficient.

We needed a deduplication of parts. We've tried a number of different options and we settled on StoreOnce's being the most efficient and the fastest technology that met the price point that we were looking for.

In the service provider business, we are competing with a large number of other organizations and a lot of the time price is what matters to customers. We need to be competitive. We need to be able to provide a service at a price point that meets market expectation and this is a particular consideration in what we were looking for. The deduplication storage appliances and StoreOnce in particular does that by allowing us to provide lower price cloud storage for customer data

We would like to see some improvements in the Veeam Backup & Replication integration. It's good, but it has a lot of room to improve. In particular around the inability to easily move data between StoreOnce appliances. Also, there are some limitations around how it can be implemented for Cloud Connect repository storage. We currently have to use SMB Shares rather than proper Catalyst integration.  It's an interesting scenario, because Veeam tell us that it's the way HPE's StoreOnce Catalyst integration works and of course, HPE are saying that it's Veeam who have to work with us on this. We are hoping that they will get together and come up with a good solution and vision, too.

We have been using HPE StoreOnce appliances for just over two years now.

We've had failed disks but we've not lost any data and HPE's support has been very good. We did have some difficulty with the phone home functionality originally. Oddly enough, in one case, a firmware update fixed that for one of the devices. Overall, we found them to be very reliable.

I think it's interesting. The first one we did, we paid for HPE to install it, so they went through the whole setup process and everything else. I suspect that's probably why they normally get you to pay for it, because we did it ourselves from the second one and it was fine. It's not simple. It's not the click and point; it's command line. It's more technical; it's not a simple process, not like their wizards that you get with most of their products.

To be honest, we were quite happy with the price, but we always want things cheaper than they are. I think for what we got, we felt that the price was quite reasonable comparing it to other products that provide that same level of functionality; it was priced quite well in the market. We are looking for larger StoreOnce deployments for other requirements at the moment. Again, we are finding the price point quite attractive.

From that point of view, no problem at all. I'm just trying to think from a licensing point of view, they do seem to like charging for every little component. If you want to put a 10Gb adapter in there, there is a license charge for that. If you want to put in a fiber channel adapter, there is a license charge for that. On the whole, it hasn't been a limiting factor for us at all.

We looked at EMC Data Domain. We looked at Microsoft Storage Server on a number of different appliances, including an HPE option there. We found with Windows Storage Server, the performance wasn't there. It just didn't meet our requirements. We use Veeam backup and replication, and the integration that StoreOnce provides works really well. We have a very strong relationship with HPE and in the end they kind of swayed us.

I wouldn't want to say it's perfect because there is room to improve, but for what we are using it for, we are finding it does the job really well.

From a data point of view, you've got to be confident that the data you're storing is going to be deduplicable. Otherwise, you're not going to get any savings. If you're storing prededuplicated data, highly compressed data, data that doesn't repeat, you just wasted money on expensive disks, because you're paying a premium for the benefit of the data to be deduplicated.

You obviously want to be sure that the data that you're putting there is going to compress very well. We knew that was the case, so it was a no-brainer for us. I think we got a bit more deduplication than we were expecting, which is always wonderful. It doesn't always happen that way.

It's cost effective, technologically advanced, and very scalable. It integrates with the rest of the HPE infrastructure, like 3PAR, for example.

From a business point of view, it enables us to pay closer attention to our caps and our competitive cost level.

Because it integrates with other HPE systems, it is easier for us to manage compared to the system we had before.

I would mostly want to see some technical improvements in some very specific areas. For example, a feature that is missing, compared to the competition, is the ability to globally duplicate all systems.

EMC Data Domain can deduplicate globally among all volumes, whereas HPE StoreOnce's deduplication is per single volume. Thus, it is a little less efficient, if you have several volumes.

So far, it looks quite stable.

Scalability is very good.

We get technical support from our partner and also from HPE personnel. The support is very good.

The previous system reached its end of life and it was becoming obsolete. It was no longer performing enough for the company. Business is flowing, fortunately; so we needed a faster and more scalable solution. The switch to HPE StoreOnce was a planned investment.

I would say the initial setup was straightforward, but I was not involved from an operational perspective. I am involved in that I am responsible for the teams; so I was involved in setting the objectives and I was informed of the key facts. I’m not the one who strokes the keyboard.

We actually work with HPE a lot, but also with Dell EMC. For now, we balance the distribution 50/50. There's some good in both vendors.

My advice to colleagues is to deeply explore the features of StoreOnce because they have improved in the last year. StoreOnce is not the market leader. The market leader now is without any doubt EMC Data Domain. Try not to just look at the market numbers, but also at the technology of the product. Give StoreOnce a try. Try the product before deciding to buy it.

The most important criteria when we choose a vendor is the technology. We are very technically oriented, so first we compare products in terms of technological level. By technology, I mean features, performance, and integration with other vendor solutions.

We put cost effectiveness a little lower in our evaluation. Price is obvious, but it is not the main thing for us.

The partnership with the vendor is very important. The partner must have strong competence in what they are selling to us. It is obviously very important to have a skilled and certified partner that helps you implement the product. This restricts the circle of possible vendors and partners to very few.

The most valuable feature would be the high deduplication ratios, capable of 20 or more to 1 dedup ratio in a real-world backup environment. It seems to work very good for long retention times, even if there is little use, but sometimes you have to do it due to legal reasons, and that is where it shines.

In my previous organization, it removed the need for manual tape swapping. Hence, it removed the need for actual tape changers to be at 50 separate remote sites, leading to huge savings for the company.

Also, offsite tape storage is replaced by replication to a different/central site/device such as StoreOnce B6200/B6500 or even some lower-end one, such as 4900.

I would like to see them add the ability to turn on/turn off global deduplication and etc.

Currently, only VTL-level deduplication is supported properly, while there seems to be some part of global deduplication working. However, in some rare cases, I saw data being removed on untouched VTL while you were deleting some particular cartridge within a separate VTL. It has probably been fixed by the most recent StoreOnce OS upgrades.

I have been using it for 4+ years.

I have not encountered any deployment issues.

Some models are shipped with one power supply by default, even when redundant PSUs are supported in pairs; be aware of that.

As long as the architecture was done correctly, I did not encounter any scalability issues. If an entry-level StoreOnce device is placed on a “soon to grow“ site, that is a planning mistake, not a scalability issue.

Customer service is great.

Technical support is great.

We switched because of company policy, the tapes aged, etc.

Initial setup was straightforward.

I was within support team, which did implement as well as support the solution.

Huge. Simply eliminating the need for tape changers returned the cost of the hardware within less than half a year.

Get an expert who knows the products, so you can get the best prices possible for both DP and StoreOnce. Because there are some things that can work for the same solution in different ways, hence they are differently licensed as well as priced.

Make sure architecture is planning properly, e.g., centralised or decentralised HPE DP Cell Managers give you some quite different options and etc.