We performed a comparison between HPE StorageWorks MSA and IBM FlashSystem based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."HPE StorageWorks MSA is an entry-level, cost-effective solution for SMB customers."
"The most valuable feature of HPE StorageWorks MSA is its flexibility."
"The most valuable features were the dual controllers and being able to expand it."
"The product is very easy to deploy."
"The simple configuration feature is great. It is very simple, allowing you to set up MSA very easily."
"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 solution is very easy to use, it is not really complex for any user, such as non-technical individuals."
"We've found the solution to be very stable so far."
"IBM FlashSystem has been stable in our operations."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is SCM (Storage Class Memory), which has the lowest latency value in the storage industry."
"The compression and deduplication features are the most valuable."
"High availability and enhanced security; Proven dependability; Data compression with hardware acceleration; Advanced copy services features are all in this product."
"The performance is very good and we use this product to enhance our core system."
"The storage system is one of the best in the world."
"At the FlashSystem level, customers are especially fond of multi-tier and distributed rate systems, particularly the dynamic rate six arrays."
"I rate HPE support four out of 10. I'm not happy with them. We purchased mission-critical support, and we're supposed to get a response in four hours. Instead, I'm waiting days for them to replace the drive. They asked me to send back the failed one, and I don't know the address. After I sent it back, they told me they haven't received it. It's a nightmare."
"Synchronized replication is very important for MSA; however, HPE StorageWorks MSA doesn't provide synchronized replication."
"The solution could improve by adding configuration tools."
"Some clients have suggested room for improvement in expanding storage capacity beyond the base traces."
"The support contract is expensive, although they are very responsive."
"The solution's license should be integrated and not separate."
"HPE StorageWorks MSA could maybe include a pay-top of texture feature or something like job replication."
"The solution requires hardware."
"IBM could do more marketing and improve brand awareness. I had never heard of this product until a colleague told me about it. FlashSystem could add a few features, but it would probably increase the price. For example, Pure Storage offers instant snapshotting and partitioning. That would be nice to have, but I think the cost would go up."
"Additional licenses might be added for the fundamental licenses, such as those for copying and flash copies."
"I think the only thing the developers can look at, is that it is limited to 25 gigabytes currently. In the next release they might want to increase that."
"The solution's pricing is a bit high so there is room for improvement."
"The solution is not easy to use and could improve."
"The solution has a low number of NVME host attachments at 16 per IO group over the fiber channel."
"They can include Amazon file system S3 protocol in the upcoming releases. It is a cloud file system. IBM FlashSystem doesn't have this feature in the box for high-end or mid-range. We have got requests for this from customers because we need to use S3 for EDI application storage. At the beginning of every year, IBM releases firmware. When I find any bugs in the firmware during the year, I am unable to find any information from IBM regarding the bug. I need to open a ticket, and the IBM engineering team makes a patch only for me. This patch is not public. By creating a customized patch for a client, they don't really solve the issue for everyone. If multiple users have the same bug, IBM should upload the patch on the official website so that we can download it. IBM FlashSystem has a monitoring tool in the box, but it is not advanced. I need a more advanced tool for more advanced equations and monitoring. All top three storage vendors, that is, EMC, IBM, and Pure Storage, don't have a powerful monitoring tool. To monitor our box to show the statistics for I/Os and latency, I need to pay for extra software. The built-in monitoring storage is not mature enough to handle all requests and generate all reports that I need. They can include the functionality to stretch a cluster natively without using any additional boxes. In addition, there are some features that EMC has integrated with the box. These features are not available in IBM FlashSystem."
"This solution could be improved by offering greater amounts of storage."
IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.
HPE StorageWorks MSA is ranked 5th in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) with 18 reviews while IBM FlashSystem is ranked 2nd in Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) with 105 reviews. HPE StorageWorks MSA is rated 8.4, while IBM FlashSystem is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of HPE StorageWorks MSA writes "An affordable solution for data storage but lacks cloud backup". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM FlashSystem writes "An easy GUI and simple provisioning but our model does not support compression". HPE StorageWorks MSA is most compared with NetApp FAS Series, HPE 3PAR StoreServ, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform, Fujitsu Eternus DX400 series and HPE EVA, whereas IBM FlashSystem is most compared with Dell PowerStore, Pure Storage FlashArray, NetApp AFF, Dell Unity XT and Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series. See our HPE StorageWorks MSA vs. IBM FlashSystem report.
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