Why tier-1 apps are different
Business-critical databases — SAP HANA, Oracle, SQL Server — punish latency and variability. A storage stall becomes an application stall, and a stall becomes a business outage. These workloads want symmetric, predictable performance, deep queue handling, and data services that never pause I/O to do their job.
Availability is the other half. Tier-1 systems increasingly require active-active or synchronous replication so a site failure means zero data loss (RPO 0) and near-instant continuation. That points toward purpose-built block SAN (no filesystem overhead) and metro-class replication — exactly where ASA, FlashArray//X and Hitachi VSP One with GAD compete.
Indicative best-fit guide for this workload — Servnet confirms the final design and pricing on quote.
What we’d put in front of you
NetApp ASA
Top pickBlock-only, symmetric active-active arrays purpose-built for databases — six-nines availability and simple, fast SAN without filesystem overhead.
Explore NetApp ASA →Pure FlashArray//X
Lowest latencyConsistently low latency, ActiveCluster synchronous replication for zero-RPO metro, and effortless operations under heavy OLTP.
Explore Pure FlashArray//X →Hitachi VSP One
Zero-RPO HAAll-NVMe enterprise block with GAD active-active across two sites — Hitachi’s tier-1 availability heritage for the most critical systems.
Explore Hitachi VSP One →Indicative positioning for this workload — not a benchmark. We compare to your exact requirement.
Key decisions for business-critical applications
Business-Critical Applications storage — FAQs
What storage is best for SAP HANA or Oracle?
Tier-1 databases want predictable low latency and strong availability. Block-focused all-flash — NetApp ASA, Pure FlashArray//X or Hitachi VSP One — is the standard choice, with application-consistent snapshots and synchronous or active-active replication for the RPO the business requires. We size to your transaction profile and availability target.
Do I need active-active replication?
If a site loss must not lose data and must not stop the application, then yes — active-active (Hitachi GAD, Pure ActiveCluster) presents the same volume live at two sites for zero RPO and near-instant continuity. If a small RPO and a short failover are acceptable, asynchronous or synchronous replication is simpler and cheaper. It is a business decision we help you frame.
Why block-only (ASA) rather than unified?
For pure database SAN, a block-only array removes filesystem overhead and simplifies the stack — which is why NetApp split ASA out as a SAN-dedicated line. If you also need file services on the same platform, a unified array (NetApp AFF, Hitachi VSP One) is the better fit. We will recommend based on your actual workload mix.
Size it for your business-critical applications workload
Set your capacity, performance and protection needs in the Storage Solution Finder for an instant recommendation — or talk to our team for an impartial, vendor-neutral design and quote.
Talk to a UK specialist
Get expert advice or a no-obligation quote — servers, storage, networking, maintenance, finance and cloud. We reply the same working day.