HPE Nimble Storage: Bigger, faster flash storage. But is it better?

[StorageExperts]

Big flash storage announcement news: The new HPE Nimble Storage All Flash and Adaptive Flash platforms are bigger, faster, timeless and future-proofed. What could be better?

All storage vendors announce platforms that are bigger and faster. But are they truly better? Today, it’s HPE’s turn to introduce the next generation of HPE Nimble Storage All Flash and Adaptive Flash Arrays.

Bigger? Check. Faster. Check. Because scalability and speed still matter. But better? You betcha.

Bigger and faster storage is always good—but our customers expect more. For example, HPE Timeless Storage ensures storage benefits today and tomorrow. Flat support pricing. No forklift upgrades. Free controller upgrade options. Guaranteed capacity efficiency and lots more. Instead of an asset that depreciates, you can get one that appreciates.

If you’re an all-flash customer, you want the best capacity efficiency. (Considering the inherent cost of raw flash storage, of course you do!) The new all-flash and adaptive flash platforms are bigger, faster, timeless and future-proofed. Let’s recap the highlights of our announcement and then dig into the details.

New HPE Nimble Storage flash arrays . . . and more

Here is what we announced:

-Next-generation hardware flash arrays

• A new All Flash Array with up to 220% more price-performance than previous models
• A new Adaptive Flash Array for both primary and secondary application workloads

-The HPE Store More Guarantee for Nimble Storage All Flash Arrays to provide assurance that you will store more of your production data per terabyte of raw flash

-All-flash arrays future-proofed for Storage Class Memory (SCM) and NVMe

Now let’s dig deeper into the details.

All Flash Arrays  

The new HPE Nimble Storage All Flash Arrays have twice the scalability of previous models with a capacity range of 14TB to over 4PB after data reduction up to 5x or more. A new entry-level model starts with 6TB of raw flash capacity. The platform is up to 65% faster and delivers substantial performance value with more than 220% higher performance at the same price point. As with previous models, latency is sub-millisecond for the most performance-sensitive data center applications. Also, as with previous models, the arrays are cloud-ready, have Triple+ Parity RAID and 99.9999% guaranteed availability, plus Timeless Storage and a Satisfaction Guarantee.

Adaptive Flash Arrays

Our new Adaptive Flash Arrays are just that—truly adaptive. It’s like having two flash arrays in one. It functions as a hybrid flash array for mixed, mainstream primary workloads. It’s also a secondary flash array for backup and DR while allowing you to put your backup data to work. New for the Adaptive platform is always-on inline dedupe to deliver even greater efficiency from the industry’s most efficient hybrid array.

These arrays are up to 65% faster and have more than twice the scalability of previous models. Entry-level arrays start at 11TB of raw capacity and scale to over 5PB capacity with up to 5x data reduction or more. Users can now hold more than twice the data than previously after data reduction while enjoying up to 150% better price-performance. As with all-flash arrays, adaptive flash arrays are cloud-ready, have Triple+ Parity RAID, 99.9999% guaranteed availability, sub-millisecond latency, plus timeless storage and a satisfaction guarantee.

HPE Store More Guarantee

Flash storage is fast, but it’s also costly when compared to spinning disk. The true cost of flash is not measured by raw terabytes. Rather, it’s the capacity that is available for production data that matters most. Let’s call this “effective capacity.” Smart customers spend a lot of time trying to find the most efficient flash arrays in order to gain the highest possible effective capacity.

The HPE Store More Guarantee means there is no longer a need to shop for the most efficient all-flash storage array. Our guarantee is your assurance that HPE Nimble All Flash Arrays deliver the most effective capacity per terabyte of raw flash among competitive all-flash arrays. It’s really that simple. If you are asking how we can make such a bold claim, read the guarantee or the blog to learn more. Note that data reduction expectations are also guaranteed under the satisfaction guarantee.

Designed for Storage Class Memory and NVMe

Strengthening our commitment to deliver timeless storage, the new all-flash arrays are future-proofed for Storage Class Memory (SCM) and NVMe. HPE is committed to a roadmap that unlocks the full potential of NVMe and SCM. SCM-powered arrays can drive latency up to 10x lower when compared to NVMe Flash. Together, SCM and NVMe address the needs of real-time data analytics and latency-sensitive workloads.

Going beyond flash

The new HPE Nimble Storage flash arrays are built on the predictive, cloud-ready and timeless pillars that are fundamental to HPE storage platforms. Whether it’s AI for the data center, easy mobility between on-premises and the cloud, or future-proofing your investment—HPE storage goes beyond flash to deliver real business value.

Where to learn more

For another look at our HPE Nimble Storage announcement news, please read the overview blog from my colleague Calvin Zito:

HPE Nimble Storage news: Bigger, faster, better

Or watch Calvin’s two new ChalkTalks:

• HPE Nimble Storage overview
• Store More Guarantee ChalkTalk

Also check out these resources:

• HPE Nimble Storage Family
• HPE Nimble Storage All Flash Arrays  
• HPE Nimble Storage Adaptive Flash Arrays 

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 Meet Around the Storage Block blogger Andre Franklin, Senior Product Marketing Manager, HPE Storage. Andre has more than 20 years of marketing experience in data storage that spans hard disk, flash and hybrid storage technologies. He worked many years at Hewlett Packard as well as a few small storage companies developing advanced storage technologies and architectures. Having worked with many enterprise storage customers, Andre has learned the challenges facing enterprise storage deployments.