6.1 HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 & X10000: Features and Positioning
Key Takeaways
HPE Alletra Storage MP is a common, modular NVMe hardware platform; the B10000 runs block (and unified file) software and the X10000 runs object and file software.
HPE calls the B10000 the industry's first disaggregated, scale-out block storage with a 100% data availability guarantee, delivered at a midrange price point.
B10000 software (HPE Alletra Storage ArcusOS) is all-inclusive: snapshots, Remote Copy, Peer Persistence, QoS, Peer Motion, data reduction and cloud management; encryption needs a separate license.
HPE backs the B10000 with 100% availability, StoreMore (at least 4:1 savings), zero RTO/RPO, cyber resiliency and 30-day satisfaction guarantees.
The X10000 provides S3 object and NFSv4.1 file access, data intelligence for AI pipelines, and optional accelerator nodes for very fast backup and restore.
HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 & X10000: Features
Quick Answer: HPE Alletra Storage MP ("MP" for multi-protocol) is one modular, disaggregated NVMe hardware platform with two main software systems. The B10000 is mission-critical block storage, now with unified file, all-active scale-out nodes and a 100% data availability guarantee. The X10000 is scale-out object and file storage with native S3, NFSv4.1 and built-in data intelligence for AI. Both are managed from Data Services Cloud Console on the HPE GreenLake cloud.
One platform, different software
| Element | B10000 | X10000 |
|---|---|---|
| Data services | Block (FC, NVMe/FC, iSCSI, NVMe/TCP) and unified file (NFS, ArcusOS 10.5.0+) | Object (S3 and S3a APIs) and file (native NFSv4.1 namespace) |
| Software | HPE Alletra Storage ArcusOS | HPE-developed, container-based software with Kubernetes orchestration |
| Scale | 2 to 6 controller nodes; up to 16 JBOFs; about 5.9 PB raw | 3 to 16 controller nodes; up to 16 JBOFs; about 23.6 PB raw |
| Protection | RAID 6, distributed sparing | Triple-parity erasure coding |
| Typical workloads | Databases, virtualization, mixed mission-critical apps | Data lakes, AI and analytics, backup targets, digital repositories |
Both use the same building blocks: a 2U chassis that holds either controller nodes or 24 NVMe drives, with controllers and drive shelves connected over 100 Gb Ethernet. Section 6.2 covers the hardware.
HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000
What HPE says it is
HPE describes the B10000 as "mission-critical storage at midrange economics" and as the industry's first disaggregated, scale-out block storage with a 100% data availability guarantee. It was previously sold as HPE GreenLake for Block Storage built on HPE Alletra Storage MP. It brings the 3PAR and Primera lineage of all-active, multi-node block storage to the disaggregated Alletra Storage MP hardware.
Key features
- Disaggregated scale-out: add controller nodes for performance or JBOF shelves for capacity, independently and without disruption.
- All-active, multi-node design: every node serves I/O, with no single point of failure.
- NVMe end to end: TLC or QLC NVMe SSDs, and NVMe/FC and NVMe/TCP host protocols alongside FC and iSCSI.
- Unified block and file: NFS file services on the same system from ArcusOS 10.5.0.
- AI-driven cloud operations: intent-based provisioning, fleet analytics and invisible, non-disruptive upgrades through DSCC.
- Ransomware protection: real-time ransomware threat detection, automated response workflows, immutable snapshots for recovery, and SIEM/XDR alerting that identifies affected volumes.
- Integrated backup: application-consistent backup of B10000 volumes to HPE StoreOnce through protection policies, without a separate backup application.
All-inclusive software (ArcusOS)
The B10000 software subscription includes, among others:
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Virtual Copy | Read/write, read-only and immutable snapshots |
| Remote Copy | Synchronous and asynchronous replication, two- and three-data-center topologies |
| Peer Persistence | Active-active storage metro cluster with transparent failover |
| Priority Optimization | Quality of service |
| Virtual Domains | Multitenancy on one array |
| Dynamic Optimization | Non-disruptive changes to volume layout |
| Peer Motion and Online Import | Data migration from HPE and competitor arrays |
| Thin provisioning, deduplication and compression | Capacity efficiency |
| System Reporter | Performance and capacity reporting |
| Management UI, CLI, Web Services API and DSCC | Local and cloud management |
Data-at-rest encryption is separate: it needs an encryption license and self-encrypting or FIPS-validated drives, and once enabled it cannot be disabled.
HPE guarantees for the B10000
| Guarantee | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 100% Data Availability Guarantee | Guaranteed data availability for mission-critical apps on the no-single-point-of-failure platform |
| StoreMore Guarantee | Total savings of at least 4:1 for the workloads |
| Zero RTO/RPO Guarantee | Business continuity for configurations that HPE qualifies |
| Cyber Resiliency Guarantee | Access to an HPE Services expert within 30 minutes of reporting an outage caused by ransomware |
| 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee | HPE works with the customer if the system does not meet its specifications |
HPE's Future-Ready program adds a free, non-disruptive controller refresh. Guarantee terms and qualifying conditions are in HPE's guarantee documents; read them before quoting a guarantee to a customer.
HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000
What HPE says it is
HPE describes the X10000 as a next-generation, software-defined, scale-out data system for object and file storage and data intelligence, designed for exabyte-scale capacity. Its data layer is a log-structured, key-value store that is extent-based and optimized for TLC and QLC flash. Protocol layers such as object sit on top of it, so each protocol is native rather than layered on another.
Key features
- Native S3 and S3a APIs, tested with the AWS and MinIO S3 SDKs. Any host that can make HTTPS connections can use it.
- Native NFSv4.1 file system alongside object storage.
- RDMA for S3-compatible storage, which HPE says can boost performance by up to 2x, plus RDMA for file workloads and KV cache support for AI inference.
- Data intelligence nodes that enrich data inline with metadata and vector embeddings for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and analytics.
- Data protection accelerator nodes, based on HPE StoreOnce Gen5 technology, for very high backup and restore throughput. HPE quotes up to 60x data reduction, including deduplication, for data protection use cases.
- Efficiency: inline data reduction and triple-parity erasure coding within one array.
- Bucket-level replication between X10000 systems, including active/active.
- 100% data availability guarantee for object storage, which HPE describes as an industry first.
Typical uses
Active data lakes and analytics engines that read S3 (for example Spark or Kafka pipelines), AI training and inference data, digital repositories, and fast backup and recovery targets for Veeam, Commvault or Cohesity.
Positioning the B10000 and X10000
| Requirement | Choose |
|---|---|
| Block volumes for Oracle, SQL Server or VMware with a 100% availability guarantee | B10000 |
| Block plus NFS file on one system | B10000 with unified file |
| S3 data lake for analytics or AI | X10000 |
| Very fast backup target with high data reduction | X10000 with accelerator nodes, or StoreOnce |
| Scale-out file service based on VAST Data software | HPE GreenLake for File Storage |
| Small budget, a few hosts | MSA Gen7 instead |
Common exam traps
- X10000 as block storage: it is object and file; block is the B10000.
- X10000 as VAST software: it is HPE-developed; VAST software is used by GreenLake for File Storage.
- Encryption as included software: it requires its own license.
- "Six nines" for the B10000: the B10000 carries a 100% data availability guarantee.
A customer needs S3-compatible storage for an analytics data lake and wants metadata and vector embeddings generated inline for AI pipelines. Which HPE system matches these features?
X10000 with data intelligence nodes
B10000 with unified file services enabled
HPE MSA 2072 Hybrid-Flash
HPE StoreOnce 3720 with Cloud Bank
Which feature of the HPE Alletra Storage MP B10000 requires a separate license rather than being part of its all-inclusive ArcusOS software?
Remote Copy synchronous replication
Peer Persistence metro clustering
Data-at-rest encryption
Virtual Copy immutable snapshots
What does the HPE StoreMore Guarantee promise for the B10000?
A 100% data availability SLA for all workloads
Total savings of at least 4:1 for the customer's workloads
Free tape media for three years
A 30-minute response from HPE Services after a ransomware outage
Which statement about the HPE Alletra Storage MP X10000 data layer is correct?
It layers S3 object access on top of a VAST Data file system
It uses RAID 10 mirroring across pairs of controller nodes
It stores data in HPE MSA virtual pools managed by SMU v4
A log-structured key-value store with native protocol layers
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.