HPE StoreOnce Reviews

It was primarily about the deduplication technology, and that's what brought it in the door for us. We were looking for something to offset our backup procedures so that we would be able to get better backup times, but also better restore time-frames for our backups.

The D2D capabilities have speeded backups.

The issues that I have aren't with the hardware itself. It's with our backup solution, it's with some of the other things that interact with StoreOnce, and it may be environmental. I don't see any deficiencies in the hardware solutions there.

We are on our third generation of devices. Its been around 5 years.

Early on, the firmware had some issues, but it has been steadily improved by HPE.

It's very stable.

StoreOnce scaling has been good. We've done a couple of field upgrades, we've had three different generations, actually we're down to two now, we retired one of the out already. But we've done a field upgrade of both of those which went really well. As far as the top end capabilities, we're not there. Both of our current generations still have headroom for growth.

7/10 - it can be hit or miss. We get better luck with our premium support levels. We have a named TAM for some of our systems, that works out well. Escalation managers are always good. There is good technical talent, it's just sometimes hidden by first level support. That can be difficult and frustrating at times, but over ten years working with them, I would say today it's probably a little better than when I first started. Actually, I would say it's probably improved a good bit since I first started working with them, but it's still got some room to go.

I wasn't heavily involved with the deployment. There is a little bit of learning curve to StoreOnce, and how it lays out, and different features within it. We had some consulting services when we first set it up, and I don't think we had the best advice, which led to a reconfiguration down the road.

License Catalyst. It is really the best performing interface for StoreOnce - so ensure whatever backup solution you are looking at has native Catalyst support to see the best results with the product. While it has VTL, CIFS and NFS capabilities, the best way to use it is with the Catalyst protocol.

I don't think it has anything much to do with the StoreOnce solution from a hardware perspective. That seems to be really solid, but you've got to have a Symantec NetBackup, HPE Data Protector, or Veeam to really enable you to get the most out of these products. Your mileage may vary based on your backup vendor, and how well they support the hardware. Veeam probably provides the best user experience from the software side - and the software side is extremely important to the solution.

The use of the OST product for NetBackup AIR has been the most valuable feature as this allows seamless Disaster Recovery options.

The B6200 allows us to complete daily backup and restore tasks quicker than from physical tape. Also, we can use the replication of deduplicated backups to our offsite facility rather than sending lots of tapes

Further integration with NetBackup to allow the use of catalyst storage as well as AIR would be an improvement.

I have been using this product for approximately five years.

When we first obtained the B6200 we did fill the disks due to our lack of understanding of how the the storage sets worked, which caused us an issue as the system at the time shutdown the F/C connections to stop any further data being sent to it. HP had to become involved in restoring the system, but this problem has now been addressed with new firmware.

With the older firmware we did have problems with the B6200 crashing with kernel problems, though this has now been addressed with the firmware updates.

We have not had any problems with the scalability of the B6200.

I have used HP services on a few occasions when setting up new functions and for problem resolutions and have found the service to be very good.

The technical support has been very good and the specialists know the product and can resolve the issues that were presented to them.

We switched from the HP VLS12000 system to the B6200 as the we wanted to use a full disk based backup solution rather than a Virtual Library. Also, the B6200 provides the support for NetBackup AIR.

We had a three-day onsite training course, so we found it fairly straightforward, I have since changed the configuration to accommodate NetBackup AIR and followed the HP documentation, which was easy to navigate and implement.

The set-up was completed by HP services.

The HP StoreOnce range is great if you are running NetBackup as it integrates well with the backup product, the deduplication rates are very favorable, and it also allows the use of the DR option using AIR.

Daily onsite backup, rapid data restore and reliable off site disaster recovery. HP deduplication technology can reduce the amount of backup data you need to store by up to 95 per cent and can deliver backup speeds of up to 100TB/hr.

• It’s less mechanical so it’s writing to hard drives and we’ve had no problems with it whatsoever during the year we’ve been using it. It’s saved us so much time as well because we don’t have to troubleshoot the migrations every day. We know that those migrations are going to happen and that’s taken a weight off a lot of peoples’ minds, particularly those running our out of hours services.
• We were creating so much data that even with two huge libraries and over 100 tapes, it only had the capacity to keep backups for three weeks. With deduplication on the virtual tape library it’s now achieving a compression ratio of 16:1 which means it can keep the backups for six months.
• Deduplication also reduces the number of disks required which reduces space, energy and cooling costs.
• Since the staged back-up happens in the background there is no impact on the network so back-up times are not an issue. However, even with the added work of deduplication, StoreOnce is delivering a transfer rate of up to 7GB/min.

Since the staged back-up happens in the background there is no impact on the network.

Came with two additional enclosures to put the drives in and you can add another one. We ordered the additional enclosure, it arrived, we racked it up, connected it into the VTL and ran a command to say ‘recognise this enclosure - expand to this enclosure’ and it just did it. You don’t lose anything because the data that is on the existing enclosures just spreads out across the new enclosure.

HP offered as much or as little support as we required so we did the implementation ourselves. It was checked over by an HP engineer and signed off in two weeks. HP provides support with a nine to five next business day callout. HP comes to visit us and we have conference calls, presentations and demonstrations. That is the kind of interaction we’re getting.

HP provided a Webinar overview of the virtual tape library, gave us access to HP Labs and also sent in two technical specialists to talk through the product, demonstrate it and answer all our questions. However, what swung the deal for us was that we were able to have the kit on loan for up to three months. If you don’t like it HP come and remove the kit. If you do like it you just pay for it and keep it. That was brilliant because I didn’t want to go through the process of buying something and then find it didn’t operate in the way we wanted or was incompatible with certain backup software.

Our storage infrastructure was founded on an HP StorageWorks EVA 4400 disk array and when demand increased, a further EVA 6550 array was added.

It integrates very well with our backup software. Creating a new VTL is very easy. You just go into the system and create the new library saying what kind of emulation you want, how many drives and how many tape cartridges and it creates it. It has a whole range of emulation types and most backup software will support one of the emulations that StoreOnce will use.

We did the implementation ourselves.

We have not so far computed the amount of money saved but efficiency and service standards have certainly increased. Previously, if someone lost a file it could take 10 minutes to locate and load the appropriate tape. Now, the restore time is around five seconds.

StoreOnce is a new product for me. Throughout the years, as director in certain companies, I've been a big EMC Data Domain customer. We've purchased a couple StoreOnce, and so far I really like the product. It's very similar to Data Domain. It was very easy to stand up. We had it going in one day. It was our target for our backups for CommVault, to write all of our backups to. Now we replicate from one StoreOnce to the other, so as far as DR and contingency, it's really nice. The ease of use is excellent and the price point is very competitive. It's really good.

There's no tape involved. The tape is gone. Our backups are very easy to use with the StoreOnce. It's takes very little configuration. We don't have to babysit the device. Every once in a while, we just go in and look at it and see what kind of dedupe rates we're getting and check on our storage, etc. So far it's been a very easily operational situation with the StoreOnce.

Where I've used Data Domain in the past as another application - another use for Data Domain, maybe StoreOnce can improve by not just being a target for open systems, meaning Windows or Linux boxes. In the past, I've used Data Domain with, an IBM AS/400 iSeries, as a backup target to an iSeries platform, so they could possibly improve there.

The biggest thing that StoreOnce is very easy to use, just like Data Domain is very easy to use. The price point of StoreOnce is really something people should be looking at.

In my experiences with Data Domain is that it's going to be very expensive to maintain. To keep that after the purchase, it's very expensive to maintain. Not only on the initial purchase, but also on the ongoing annual maintenance fees of Data Domain.

It was very easy.

I had HPE do it.

Even the small one that I have over at the job site was not cheap.

If it had a little more functionality with other platforms, it would be rated higher. Really look at that product and compare it to the direct competition and compare it as far as features, price and annual maintenance and I think you'll see that StoreOnce should really take a hard look at that one.

I use HPE StoreOnce in my company as a backup tool for our personal data.

My company works with HPE and Dell. Recently, we moved from Dell to HPE. In our company, we used Dell to make use of the performance of Dell Data Domain Boost, after which we moved to HPE StoreOnce.

The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of configuration.

The user interface of HPE StoreOnce is an area of concern where improvements are required. The UI of HPE StoreOnce provides users with a lot of information, but its users find it difficult to use. Instead of the user interface providing users with a lot of information, it should be made easier for users.

I would like HPE StoreOnce the ability to do more compression, but it may change the compression and deduplication, which is not good.

I have been using HPE StoreOnce for four or five years. I use HPE StoreOnce Version 3.4.0.

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

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

Positive

The product's initial setup phase was easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

In terms of ROI, I would say that I was not satisfied with the product's performance since we faced a few problems with it in our company. I feel it doesn't work well, and it takes time when the recovery aspect is involved.

The product is not expensive. It is available at a good price.

The capabilities of HPE StoreOnce are not good, especially when compared to its competitors like Dell Data Domain Boost and SolarWinds.

HPE StoreOnce is an easy-to-use tool.

People should use HPE StoreOnce as a secondary backup tool.

I rate the overall tool a four out of ten.

My company's customers use HPE StoreOnce to run their core enterprise applications.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that the tool provides good value for somebody who needs an affordable and reliable storage solution. HPE StoreOnce is a robust solution.

I think it does what it says on its label pretty well.

HPE StoreOnce doesn't have a setup phase that favors an end-user setup process. The setup phase is not so simple that an end user can plug and play to make it operational. The setup phase for end users can be considered for improvement.

I have been using HPE StoreOnce for three to five years. I am an integrator and managed support provider for the solution. I use some of the solution's latest and old versions.

It is a stable solution that is solid and reliable.

It is a scalable solution. In my company, we work in an SME-type environment, which is not really large.

If we face technical issues with the tool, we normally escalate them to the distributor and resolve them very quickly. I rate the technical support an eight or nine out of ten.

Positive

I have previously worked with Dell EMC.

HPE StoreOnce always comes in at better pricing and value compared to Dell EMC. However, it is important to note that cheaper products usually have a smaller feature set. The customer should think about whether every single feature in the more expensive product is needed or not. HPE has a feature set and is okay for customers who don't need everything in larger, more expensive products.

The initial setup of HPE StoreOnce was average. The tool is simple enough to work with for its end users.

All I know of the setup phase is that the process involves plugging in the box and then setting it up according to what the end user wants to use it. The tool gets up and running after plugging and configuring it to meet the customers' requirements and a few operational routines because it's a storage device in which somebody needs some backups.

The time taken for the tool's deployment is a couple of hours.

All products require maintenance. The product is simple to maintain.

To those planning to use it, I would say not to be afraid to try it or give it a shot since it might meet your needs.

One buys HPE StoreOnce for its value, and it does serve the purpose. There are cheaper products that have more of an advantage than HPE StoreOnce. There are expensive products that are probably faster and more powerful than HPE StoreOnce.

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

HPE StoreOnce was being used as our backup and recovery solution. The software we were using was HP NetBackup, which is Symantec NetBackup.

The IT infrastructure we back up consists of close to 20 servers includes database servers, a web email server, and a REST application. This is a tape backup solution.

We didn't like anything about this product. For example:

• It is not easy to restore data on the fly. The backup and restore processes are very complex.
• Backing up data is slow, as it is a tape backup system
• The web interface, ease of use, and GUI all need to be improved.
• It needs better integration with other products, such as the ability to store backups in the cloud or in Microsoft Azure.
• They lack reporting functionality. All of the reports are just CSV files and you have to compile your own reports. When you look at other backup solutions, they have reporting and alerting built-in. You can also create customized reports with them, but not with StoreOnce.

We were using HPE StoreOnce for almost three years.

The stability is not very good. It is not software-driven, but hardware-driven.

If you have a large enough storage capacity then you can take an ample amount of data. That's about it, in terms of scalability.

There are five or six people in the IT team who were using it.

The support from HPE is terrible.

Prior to using this product, we were using Microsoft Backup, as it is built into the operating system.

A reseller was used to assist with the deployment.

When it comes to deployment, maintenance, and support, it used to cost at least 20% of the price of the hardware. That is simply not feasible.

The cost of HPE StoreOnce is very expensive.

Of my friends, colleagues, and peers, I don't know anybody who is still using HPE StoreOnce. They are typically using software-driven backup solutions like Acronis. I would not recommend this product to anybody.

I would rate this solution a three out of ten.

It's very usable with the interface for the administration. It works with a lot of different applications so it is very scalable for other applications. You don't have to just backup the entire system but you can back up specific applications if you want.

From an operational standpoint it has increased our efficiency and we're able to save a lot of manpower and resources for mundane backup stuff that we've done in the past so that other people can focus on more strategic initiatives in our business.

One of the things that I think that's on the docket for implementation with StoreOnce is Azure and Cloud incorporation. Currently we are doing object copies with StoreOnce to take our backups and copy them to the cloud. But I know that the feature is actually going to be integrated even further in the near future with StoreOnce and Data Protector so that's one thing that we're looking forward to.

The product is great. I've been a 3PAR and StoreOnce customer for many years now and I am now a very strong backing of HPE's storage and backup infrastructures. It's been a really good experience for the past couple of years.

I think that what other products or other competitors are lacking is the use and the adaptation for other applications within Microsoft. If you wanted to backup SharePoint or SQL or clusters or other kind of features within Microsoft products with other backup companies or other partners they don't necessarily have that compatibility. If you have a large environment with a lot of diverse applications and systems and configurations, Data Protector definitely covers that and obviously StoreOnce is backing that.

They're excellent. Everything from pre-sales to post-sales and then just more on the sustainment model. They're eager to be engaged and they definitely take the extra to make sure that we're meeting our needs because obviously backups are important stuff. I would say they're leading the edge as far as customer engagement.

We were using other solutions previously. We initially started using 3PAR as our storage provider. As we went along that road we saw that 3PAR and their storage solution was really solid. We had a great experience with that so we kind of grew our footprint with HPE and we just added our StoreOnce. It's been a great experience.

It's actually very straightforward. A lot of the times when you're dealing with storage and architecture it can be very complex with other vendors. With 3PAR and StoreOnce, those setups are very easy and then you can hand it over to lower skilled admins to manage the systems because it doesn't take an architect to manage the system.

Veeam obviously does a lot of virtualization but it is only virtualization so we have a very diverse set of applications in our environment. You have NetBackup and Symantec that have their backups as well. They've been around for a long time but I think that the maturity of Data Protector at StoreOnce has really surpassed their technology and just usability and support. That's why we went ahead with StoreOnce.

StoreOnce is fairly new. Even this week, they're announcing a lot of new features for reporting and management. I think there's a lot of room for them to grow and it's exciting to see what they're going to come out with in the near future. I think it's a great product now and I think it's going to get even better in the next couple months.

I think the best thing to do is to get a demo. Try it out. Obviously its looking and feeling is more important than looking at a bunch of slides or a bunch of white papers so actually looking at and seeing how it works and see if it meets your requirements. Everyone has their specific environments and their unique criteria so that's really what we did and we're really happy with it.a