The year 2013, in my mind, was going to be the year when we went to 3PAR, albeit the low-end 3PAR storage devices, for storage.

However, a funny thing happened on the way to The Forum: HP introduced the MSA 2040 SAN Appliance.

As reviewed here, the HP MSA 2040 SAN Appliance is an exemplary piece of equipment for the SMB space.

It is priced right, provides an incredible performance boost from the prior series HP P2000 SANs, and, if needed, comes in a sweet all-SSD configuration.

It is easily deployed and managed, and used SAS, midline, and the afore-mentioned SSD drives.

Those features make the MSA 2040 the solution to beat, and the baseline by which we judge all other entry-level SANs.

Consequently, we are glossing it with the SmallBizWindows Storage Device Of The Year Award.

As everyone on Terra who needs enterprise-class, no compromise storage knows, HP 3PAR, is the ne plus ultra when it comes to storage.

You cannot do better that 3PAR.

However, 3PAR, even at the low end, is not for thrifty pockets or budgets.

HP MSA 2040 website

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