What TrustRadius Research Says
Nimble Storage Pricing 2021
Finding the best data plan can be a challenge for midsize companies. Plans from Google and Microsoft may not be enough storage and they don’t offer advanced data options for hard drives. Hybrid IT companies need in-office hardware integration and a cloud-ready system for data mobility.
A major player in the flash storage market is HPE Nimble Storage. They offer major advantages with their storage and provide quite a bit of much information to sift through.
HPE Nimble Storage is a flash storage service. Flash storage is one of the key reasons small devices like phones can handle images, videos, and all sorts of apps; they use flash storage which needs less power. HPE Nimble offers both adaptive flash arrays (cheaper) and all flash arrays (faster).
HPE Nimble has an immensely complex storage infrastructure and really needs an in-depth run-through. The section below goes into more detail about what Nimble actually is and does.
A Closer Look at HPE Nimble Storage
The process of how Nimble works can especially helpful The information below is ideal for IT departments to have while considering flash storage options.
How Nimble Storage Works
Nimble manages data with HPE InfoSight, an Artificial Intelligence platform. InfoSight uses machine learning and AI to offer support, protection, and analysis of your data. This is amazing for companies that don’t want to worry about checking for errors and focus on immediate tasks.
HPE Nimble’s AI interprets massive amounts of data, for the purpose of finding, predicting, and solving problems. Nimble can address issues before you realize and save you time. HPE attributes InfoSight predictive analytics to solve 86% of problems automatically.
Nimble does their best to provide fast and effective storage. They do this with data reduction which is a process that makes the data simpler and easier to store. This means you can store more and without inconvenient loading time.
Nimble also stores your data as block storage. This runs significantly faster but requires separate interpretation with another interface. This type of storage is referred to as SAN storage, Storage Area Network.
You may prefer the ability to interact with your own data, this would be Network-Attached Storage or NAS storage. HPE Nimble didn’t always offer NAS storage since their main advantage is handling your data for you. HPE now offers HPE StoreEasy 1000, which has network-attached storage so you can access files easily.
Nimble Flash Structure
Nimble prides themselves on flash-efficient architecture, and flash capabilities include Adaptive Flash Arrays and All Flash Arrays.
Nimble Storage’s Adaptive Flash Arrays can handle primary and secondary flash workloads, and doubles as backup and disaster recovery (DR). It has HPE InfoSight integrated for predictive analytics, and HPE Cloud Volumes to give you mobile access. Through the power of their AI, Nimble claims reliable access and 99.99% guaranteed availability.
HPE Nimble Storage All Flash Arrays have the InfoSight and Cloud Volumes just like their Adaptive Flash, along with the same satisfaction guarantee and access. Their All Flash does have other features like an all-inclusive software license, easy upgrades, and flexibility with payment options.
They believe their All Flash Arrays are optimized for integration with future technology using NVMe and Storage Class Memory (SCM). NVM Express is for accessing non-volatile memory quickly and with better encryption. SCM improves memory and storage performance on a device.
Nimble achieve its powerful storage capabilities through highly developed technology and software. That does not automatically mean they are the best company to buy from. Everyone can benefit from a little background knowledge about a company.
HPE Nimble Storage Hardware Pricing
Nimble offers hybrid options for businesses; they have hardware for you to install as well as cloud access and even servers. When it comes to exact plans and costs, HPE doesn’t supply starting rates for everything. The rates are also provided primarily from resellers.
HPE Nimble hardware can cost as low as $356.99 for the HPE StoreOnce VSA. It can also be especially hefty, like the cost of HPE B-series SN6600B Fibre Channel Switch, which starts at $17,611.99. You can look at more products and specs on their Data Storage Systems page.
Choosing a Nimble plan is not as simple as looking up OneDrive pricing and then finding a pricing page with everything laid out. They have hardware and software you need to purchase separately, and huge amounts of information for each plan. This is why they have a customer service team and pricing calculators associated with certain products.
You may not want to go through any consultations just yet, and that’s understandable. It needs to be clear HPE Nimble is a serious option for your company. In the next two sections we talk more about HPE, and who can benefit from HPE Nimble Storage.
More About Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
Nimble has always been a flash storage company, but in 2017 they were acquired by an off break of Hewlett Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, or HPE. HPE found they wanted to expand their company by jumping into the flash storage industry, which was growing exponentially.
They picked the small flash storage company Nimble because of their performance and potential and bought Nimble for over 1 billion. Since then HPE has grown Nimble as a company and is a serious company in the flash storage industry.
Companies That Can Benefit from Nimble Storage
Nimble offers powerful, smart storage solutions for companies that use data in-office and online. Their main selling point is protecting and managing your data, while you work on projects with speed and efficiency.
Midsize hybrid companies can benefit from their storage options. Enterprises that work with insane amounts of information that need to be accounted for will find a storage system that monitors for errors worth the price. Production companies that work with tons of software, video, and image files may also see good value in the flash storage giant.
When looking at reviews, they favor HPE Nimble with a trScore of 9.1/10. The company's that appreciate them overall are tech-centered or have large IT departments. Businesses that need to store enormous amounts of precious data, such as Credit Unions, and Utilities can benefit as well.
Enterprises that won’t benefit from Nimble would be fairly small businesses that cannot afford and likely won’t need to store nearly as much data Nimble handles. Start-ups that are new and entirely remote can find better online-only systems.
Businesses need to properly store sensitive customer data so it’s not stolen or lost. If you don’t have especially sensitive data, then the extra protection may not be worth it. Small magazines, opinion blogs, entertainment websites, and anyone else that doesn’t have customer accounts will be fine without a storage AI.
After looking at Nimble you might think they do have features you need, but they still may not be the best choice. There are other flash storage giants on the market.
Nimble Alternatives
HPE Nimble Storage’s big competition includes Dell EMC, and Pure Storage FlashArray. They both offer the same common data services, including all-flash storage and hybrid flash storage.
Pricing for competitors isn’t as upfront and requires customer service inquiries just like with Nimble. In terms of information and website design, Nimble is harder to navigate. Pure Storage goes as far as to include comparison tables with them and their competitors.
The table can be especially helpful for considering the spects you need and don’t need. Nimble provides powerful storage, but they may not have all the specific capabilities you want.
When it comes to customer reviews, HPE Storage is neck and neck with Pure Storage and Dell EMC. The highlights are HPE Storage has a better support experience rating than Dell EMC and Pure Storage. Pure Storage in comparison to the other two, has more reviews, and overall higher-rated Flash Array performance. Dell EMC falls slightly behind in favor when compared to HPE Nimble.
HPE Nimble Storage's main advantage is their support and their helpful AI InfoSight that contributes to that support. You may find either one of these flash solutions to be your ideal data storage.
More Help Understanding Nimble and Other Flash Storage: Key Terms
Nimble is an intense technical product for businesses. Below are key terms to help clarify alot of what you will see when looking at Nimble or other flash storage options. For more information on Nimble’s technology see Comport’s tech blog. They particularly love Nimble so you may see some of a bias.
Flash Storage
Flash storage is highly efficient for protecting data without losing speed. It uses flash memory for processing data and as a result, uses less storage and less power.
RAID Triple Parity RTP
Nimble is a flash storage that uses RAID triple parity. Triple parity is an algorithm that combats disk failure. RTP is used by Nimble to shield against drive failures.
Triple+ Parity RAID
Nimble combines Triple+ with RTP for optimal protection. It is Nimble’s second form of defense after RTP. The intra-drive parity in Triple+ protects data if the 3 disks of RTP failed.
Infrastructure Stack
You may hear the vague term infrastructure stack when looking at Nimble or other flash storage. They are more or less a group of coded elements that act as resources, combined in units.
One example is Nimble’s SmartStack, which is a tool for managing storage performance and workloads in an infrastructure stack. Many storage services offer tools to manage infrastructure stacks so that term may show up a lot.
CASL
Cache Accelerated Sequential Layout CASL is a type of filing system that Nimble uses. It’s an LFS system, which means it’s a log-structured file system. The LFS system is one of the main components that allow Nimble to provide its storage capabilities.
Data Reduction
Data Reduction is when the volume of data is minimized for space. Nimble reduces raw flash to make more room for data in storage. Nimble describes their entire process of data reduction in their community blog.
Sub-millisecond response time
Sub-millisecond response time refers to an amount of time less than a millisecond. This is often referred to as storage services like Nimble, indicating the system response. Many flash storage services offer this level of speed as it becomes an important feature.
More Resources
For further reading check out our product page for flash storage options for businesses. If you want a visual of how Nimble looks and works, here is a great video for managing the interface.
