HPE MSA Storage — Gen7 performance, entry-SAN price

MSA Gen7 is the latest HPE MSA generation, available to order from December 2024. The MSA 2070 is a flash-ready, hybrid-capable shared-storage array; the MSA 2072 adds two factory SSDs (3.84 TB raw) with automated tiering included; and the MSA 2070 Flash Bundle is an all-flash option with twelve factory SSDs. Gen7 delivers up to 783,000 random-read IOPS — roughly double MSA Gen6 — around 30% more sequential bandwidth than Gen6, and up to 7.37 PB raw capacity.

Gen7 roughly doubles random-read IOPS (up to 783,000 vs ~395,000), adds around 30% more sequential bandwidth, 32Gb Fibre Channel and double the cache (48 GB). Both generations reach the same 7.37 PB maximum, since they share enclosures. Gen6 (MSA 2060/2062) remains an excellent, lower-cost choice for proven workloads that don’t need the extra headroom — both share MSA-DP+, automated tiering and the same dual-active architecture.

They are the same Gen7 platform. The MSA 2072 ships with two SSDs (3.84 TB raw) and automated tiering enabled out of the box, so it accelerates mixed workloads immediately. The MSA 2070 ships without pre-installed SSDs — you configure it as all-flash, hybrid or all-HDD with your own drive mix. There is also an all-flash MSA 2070 Flash Bundle (12 factory SSDs, 23 or 46 TB to start).

MSA offers 32Gb and 16Gb Fibre Channel, 10/25GbE iSCSI (SFP+), 10GBase-T iSCSI (integrated RJ45 — no SFP transceivers needed) and 12Gb SAS. You pick the interface that matches your existing fabric; 10GBase-T iSCSI is popular for SMB because it removes SFP cost.

The base array is 2U in SFF (24 × 2.5") or LFF (12 × 3.5"). You add expansion enclosures in any mix of SFF and LFF — Both MSA Gen7 and Gen6 scale to 7.37 PB raw (SFF) with high-capacity media, since they share the same enclosures. The array supports up to ten enclosures including the base.

Yes — MSA is certified for VMware vSphere, Windows Server / Hyper-V and major Linux distributions. With automated tiering to SSD it delivers sub-millisecond latency for VMs, and dual-active controllers provide the resilient shared datastore that vMotion/HA and clustering need. Gen7’s extra IOPS headroom suits denser VDI and database consolidation.

MSA-DP+ is HPE’s distributed RAID for MSA. Instead of fixed RAID sets, data and spare capacity are spread across all disks in a pool, so rebuilds after a drive failure are dramatically faster (less time at risk), capacity expansion is more granular, and setup is simpler. It’s the recommended disk-group type on current MSA.

MSA is the entry/mid SAN — best value for SMB, branch and departmental workloads up to a few hundred thousand IOPS. Alletra Storage MP is the mid-range/enterprise platform with richer data services, scale-out and tighter SLAs. If you need higher performance ceilings, deeper data reduction or six-nines availability, step up to Alletra MP; our buyer’s guide covers where the line sits.

They are direct competitors in the entry-SAN segment — both dual-controller 2U/5U arrays with FC/iSCSI/SAS. They differ on performance ceilings, tiering behaviour, RAID approach (MSA-DP+ vs Dell ADAPT), expansion limits and software inclusions. We’ve written a detailed head-to-head — see "HPE MSA vs Dell PowerVault ME5".

Yes — earlier MSA generations and ex-lease units are available re-certified at a fraction of new, which suits dev/test, DR and budget deployments. For production we usually recommend current Gen6/Gen7 new, but we can advise on a refurbished MSA where it fits.

MSA ships with a hardware warranty and next-business-day parts as standard, with HPE Tech Care / Pointnext options for higher SLAs (including 4-hour and 24×7). Servnet provides UK pre-sales sizing and post-sales support, with on-site installation available.

Yes — Servnet is an HPE partner. We size the array (capacity, IOPS, connectivity), select the right model and media, supply expansion shelves and SFPs, and deliver UK-wide. Contact sales@servnetuk.com or call 0800 987 4111 for a quote.