Object storage, VM offerings emerge for HPE GreenLake
HPE aims to attract new customers to its GreenLake ecosystem by launching standalone virtualization software. It also eyes AI ambitions with new object storage hardware.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is pushing further into the virtualization platform market with a standalone software offering and new object storage hardware at HPE Discover Barcelona this week.
Company executives at the conference unveiled its Linux kernel-based VM platform, which will be available starting next month as standalone software called HPE VM Essentials. Who might benefit from VM Essentials is murky, however, according to Ray Lucchesi, president and founder of Silverton Consulting.
Customers looking to depart VMware following licensing and pricing changes will likely seek similarly capable and featured platforms such as Nutanix, he said. Others might seek open source alternatives, such as Proxmox, to avoid software and hardware lock-in -- especially if outside support services are available.
How many customers are going to latch onto that?
Ray LucchesiPresident and founder, Silverton Consulting
"It's not vSphere, and it's not VMware," Lucchesi said. "How many customers are going to latch onto that? It's not a completely plug-and-play solution."
The vendor also unveiled HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000, an object storage server meant to complement existing Alletra block and file storage offerings in GreenLake, its portfolio of hybrid cloud services. HPE Alletra Storage MP is the vendor's multiprotocol disaggregated storage appliance managed through GreenLake.
HPE also plans to release disconnected GreenLake management capabilities for air-gapped operations with Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnect and HPE Alletra Storage MP Disconnected.
Virtualization for all
HPE began offering its VM capabilities this summer as part of the GreenLake private cloud platform, limiting its availability to those already deep in HPE's hardware and software ecosystem.
However, HPE VM Essentials can operate on HPE's ProLiant and Alletra server hardware and third-party hardware both on-premises and in the cloud, said Hang Tan, hybrid cloud chief operating officer at HPE.
Customers can convert to HPE's virtualized infrastructure using included tools or manage existing VMs from other vendors, according to Tan. The platform is built using the IP and technology HPE acquired with the purchase of Morpheus Data this summer, he said.
"When customers are choosing a virtualization technology, they're not choosing it in isolation -- they're making a platform choice," Tan said.
The software will be priced per socket rather than per core, a deviation from a model used by VMware, according to Tan. Per-socket pricing charges customers for each processor placed in a server socket versus each core, which can exist within an individual processor.
Analysts covering the virtualization market question if HPE's entrance is too little, too late, however, due to the diversity of already-available alternatives.
Marc Staimer, president and founder of Dragon Slayer Consulting, said having a VM platform as part of the larger GreenLake ecosystem makes sense for all-inclusive customers to connect GreenLake's cloud services with the virtualization platform. It makes less sense, however, as a standalone offering, he said.
Breaking away from GreenLake connectivity puts HPE in direct competition with other clouds and enterprise virtualization offerings from Nutanix, which offers a deeper partner ecosystem. Many open source offerings also have premium, enterprise-focused support services available for easier adoption than HPE's offerings.
"I think they'll have a hard time successfully selling that as a standalone," Staimer said.
According to Sid Nag, an analyst at Gartner, the specifics of how or why customers should switch might ultimately be of secondary concern to HPE compared with keeping hybrid cloud customers away from hyperscalers.
A standalone software option might target only a handful of enterprise buyers, but those customers might be the most receptive to GreenLake's private cloud pitch.
"[HPE] doesn't want customers to move to the cloud, so they're creating stopgap solutions," he said.
The software could also be part of HPE's own R&D to break away from relying on VMware or other virtualization platforms, which means the software helps to solve a business problem while also becoming a marketable product, Nag said.
Hardware and disconnected software
The HPE Alletra MP X10000 is the latest all-flash storage server in HPE's Alletra line. It adds object storage support developed internally by HPE to the line, according to Jim O'Dorisio, senior vice president and general manager of storage at HPE.
The Alletra line has historically supported only file and block storage. HPE used Scality's object storage software through an OEM deal, and its file storage technology is a white-label version of Vast Data.
The MP X100000, which releases next month, will support data protection and data lake creation, according to HPE. The company said partnerships with Cohesity, Commvault and Veeam for data protection services are in the works.
Object storage is becoming a popular option for AI and machine learning model creation and training, Lucchesi said.
"It's a play to get more involved with the AI space," he said.
Customers looking for a GreenLake experience without an open internet will have several options with HPE Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnected and HPE Alletra Storage MP Disconnected. Both are scheduled to launch in the first half of next year.
Private Cloud Enterprise Disconnected offers an air-gapped private cloud experience, while Alletra Storage MP Disconnected provides block storage using a cloud-like interface without the need for the internet.
European customers will also have the option to create sovereign private clouds through the HPE Partner Ready Vantage Program, which will also launch in the first half of 2025.
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for TechTarget Editorial covering cloud and data storage.
