HPE StoreOnce Key Capabilities
Catalyst — Source-Side Deduplication
HPE StoreOnce Catalyst deduplicates data at the backup server before it leaves the source — reducing network bandwidth consumption, accelerating backups, and maximising deduplication ratios across geographically distributed sites.
Cloud Bank Storage
Transparently offload deduplicated backup data to AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage via HPE Cloud Bank Storage. Maintains full deduplication across on-premises and cloud — you only pay to store unique data, dramatically reducing cloud storage costs.
Broad Backup ISV Integration
HPE StoreOnce integrates natively with Veeam Backup & Replication, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup, and HPE Recovery Manager Central — supporting all major enterprise backup platforms with certified connectors.
StoreOnce VSA — Software Appliance
Deploy HPE StoreOnce as a software virtual appliance on VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V. Up to 500 TB licensed capacity. Ideal for lab, development, remote office, or cloud environments where physical hardware is not required.
High-Throughput Hardware Appliances
Physical StoreOnce appliances scale from the 16 TB entry 3620 to 1.7 PB usable on the enterprise 5650. The Gen4+ 5260 and 5660 add an SSD read-cache tier for faster restores — the flagship 5660 delivers up to 105 TB/hr with Catalyst and up to 3.3 PB total once Cloud Bank Storage is added.
Immutable Backup & Ransomware Protection
HPE StoreOnce supports immutable backup copies via Catalyst that cannot be modified or deleted by ransomware. Combined with air-gapped Cloud Bank Storage, it provides a comprehensive 3-2-1 backup architecture for ransomware recovery.
How HPE StoreOnce Deduplication Works
StoreOnce uses variable-length, hash-based deduplication: every backup is split into chunks, and only chunks the appliance has never seen before are written to disk. Because nightly backup sets repeat heavily, the appliance ends up storing a small fraction of the data sent to it — HPE rates StoreOnce at up to 95% storage reduction, equivalent to roughly a 20:1 reduction at the top end. With Catalyst, that deduplication runs on the backup or media server before data crosses the network, so you also shrink the backup window and the bandwidth needed to replicate to a second site or to Cloud Bank.
Real-world ratios depend on data type, retention and change rate — already-compressed or encrypted source data dedupes less. Servnet sizes appliances on your actual backup volumes, not headline ratios.
HPE StoreOnce Model Range
The current line spans Gen4 (3620 to 5650) and the Gen4+ refresh (3660, 5260, 5660), plus the software-only VSA. Capacities shown are local usable and expand on demand via capacity licensing — the 5260 and 5660 also add an SSD read-cache tier for faster restores. Each appliance extends much further with HPE Cloud Bank Storage: the 5650 reaches 5.2 PB and the 5660 reaches 3.3 PB total once cloud tiering is added.
Where StoreOnce Fits: Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape
StoreOnce is the fast, deduplicating disk tier — recent backups land here for restores measured in minutes. For long-term retention and a genuine offline copy, tier ageing backups out to HPE StoreEver tape: air-gapped, WORM-capable and the lowest cost per TB for data you rarely touch. Together they deliver a 3-2-1-1-0 strategy — production data protected on dedup disk for speed, plus an immutable, air-gapped tape copy that ransomware cannot reach or encrypt.
Frequently Asked Questions — HPE StoreOnce
What is HPE StoreOnce?
HPE StoreOnce is a purpose-built backup deduplication platform that reduces the storage required for backup data by up to 95% (a typical 20:1 ratio). It ships as physical appliances across two generations — Gen4 (3620, 3640, 5200, 5250, 5650) and the Gen4+ refresh (3660, 5260, 5660) — and as a software virtual appliance (VSA) for VMware and Hyper-V up to 500 TB. The Gen4+ 5260 and 5660 add an SSD read-cache tier for faster restores. StoreOnce uses the proprietary Catalyst protocol for source-side deduplication and integrates with Veeam, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup and Backup Exec, HPE Data Protector, BridgeHead and HPE Recovery Manager Central.
What is HPE StoreOnce Catalyst?
HPE StoreOnce Catalyst is a backup transport protocol that enables source-side deduplication — data is deduplicated at the backup server before it is sent to the StoreOnce appliance. This reduces network bandwidth consumption and dramatically increases deduplication ratios compared to appliance-side deduplication. Catalyst also enables federated deduplication across multiple StoreOnce appliances at different sites, ensuring data is only stored once across the entire enterprise backup environment.
How does HPE Cloud Bank Storage work?
HPE Cloud Bank Storage is a feature of HPE StoreOnce that allows deduplicated backup data to be transparently offloaded to AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage object storage. The StoreOnce appliance manages tiering between on-premises and cloud automatically. Because data is already deduplicated before it reaches the cloud, you store only unique data in object storage — significantly reducing cloud storage costs compared to sending full backup copies.
Which backup software works with HPE StoreOnce?
HPE StoreOnce integrates with the major enterprise backup platforms: Veeam Backup & Replication, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup and Backup Exec (via the HPE OST plug-in), HPE Data Protector, and BridgeHead. It also provides no-cost Catalyst plug-ins for Oracle RMAN, SAP HANA and Microsoft SQL Server, plus HPE Recovery Manager Central (RMC) for snapshot-based protection of HPE primary storage (Alletra, Primera, 3PAR). Backups can be presented as Catalyst stores (over IP or Fibre Channel), VTL (iSCSI/FC), or NAS shares (CIFS/NFS) — and Catalyst delivers source-side deduplication across all of them.
Can Servnet supply HPE StoreOnce in the UK?
Yes — Servnet is an HPE partner and can supply the complete HPE StoreOnce portfolio including physical appliances, VSA licences, and Cloud Bank Storage subscriptions. We provide expert pre-sales sizing advice to identify the right model and capacity for your backup environment, and UK delivery with post-sales support. Contact sales@servnetuk.com or call 0800 987 4111 for a quote.
What is the difference between HPE StoreOnce Gen4 and Gen4+?
Gen4 covers the established 3620, 3640, 5200, 5250 and 5650 appliances. The Gen4+ refresh adds the 3660, 5260 and 5660 — and on the 5260 and 5660 introduces an SSD read-cache tier that accelerates restores and rehydration. The Gen4+ 5660 is the throughput flagship at up to 105 TB/hr with Catalyst and up to 3.3 PB total with Cloud Bank, while the Gen4 5650 still offers the highest raw capacity in the family at up to 1.7 PB local (5.2 PB with Cloud Bank). Servnet can advise which generation and model best fits your backup volumes, restore-time targets and budget.
What deduplication ratio does HPE StoreOnce achieve?
HPE rates StoreOnce at a typical 20:1 deduplication ratio — equivalently, up to 95% less backup storage compared with a fully hydrated (non-deduplicated) backup. The real-world ratio depends on your data type, retention period and daily change rate: highly repetitive data such as VM images and database backups dedupes very well, whereas already-compressed or encrypted data dedupes less. Catalyst source-side deduplication maximises the ratio and also cuts the bandwidth needed to replicate to a second site or to Cloud Bank Storage.
Ready to Reduce Your Backup Storage?
Servnet is an HPE partner. Our team can size the right StoreOnce model for your backup data volumes and recovery requirements.
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