The new models have twice the cache as the EVA6300 and EVA6500 they will replace. The EVA6350 has 8 GB of cache memory, and the EVA 6550 has 16 GB. The new EVAs also support solid state drives (SSDs). The previous generation EVAs support SSDs, but the original P6000 arrays did not. HP is selling 200 GB and 400 GB single-level cell (SLC) SSDs with the 6350 and 6550. Each controller can handle up to eight SSDs with a maximum of 25 SSDs in an array.

HP also added support for 3 TB SATA drives to bring the maximum capacity to 720 TB on the 6550. The new models are also the first EVA arrays to support vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI).

Pricing starts at $18,993 for the arrays, and 200 GB SSDs have a list price of $9,800.

The new systems include no features that other major storage vendors don’t already have, and will fail to quiet critics who claim HP fails to innovate with the EVA. But HP storage product manager Matthew Morrissey said there remains a place for the EVA and HP remains committed to it with more than 10,000 units in the field.

“HP’s view on storage is that it’s evolving,” Morrissey said. “We don’t think every business is ready to make a move to the cloud or virtualization, and we think the EVA plays well in optimized traditional IT environments.”