Dell XC Appliance Reviews

Name: Dell XC Appliance
Brand: Dell Technologies
Rating: 4.3 (7 reviews)

4.3 out of 5

7 reviews
100% willing to recommend

403 followers

What is Dell XC Appliance?

XC Series hyper-converged appliances integrate Dell EMC 14th generation PowerEdge servers with Nutanix software to offer one of the industry’s most versatile and scalable hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) platforms. By supporting a choice of hypervisors, XC Series appliances can be deployed quickly for all virtualized workloads to reduce management complexity and total cost of ownership.

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Dell XC Appliance is the #33 ranked solution in HCI Software. PeerSpot users give Dell XC Appliance an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Dell XC Appliance is most commonly compared to VxRail: Dell XC Appliance vs VxRail.

Buyer's Guide

HCI

December 2024

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Featured reviews

reviewer1264599

IT Technical Operations Manager at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

We did a lot of research ahead of time with this solution to make sure that it was stable, scalable, had a good interface, was easy to use, and that it had good technical support. I don't have enough time with the solution to know what areas need to be improved. When I have run into some difficulties, Dell has let me know that those have been addressed and instruct me or direct me to where I can find and enable certain functions. These functions are there, but with my inexperience, I didn't know they were there. I haven't found things that are missing yet. It's a single driver update that reduces management costs. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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Mohammad Ishaq

Solutions Architect at SNSKIES PVT LTD

My advice for people who are selling this product is to first make sure that you educate the customers. The customer doesn't often know much about HCI and what the need to be using it for. If they speak with the Dell EMC pre-sales team or technical team, then they will have a good understanding of it. Overall, the Dell XC Appliance is a very good product. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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it_user1229061

Technical Solutions Architecture Senior Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

I work for integrators, and my role is solution consulting. I secure customers and recommend technology solutions that are available in the market. To other customers who are looking to implement Dell XC, it's a very good hyper-converged solution. Dell EMC is built on the VMware vSan platform. It's a good package from Dell with robust public servers that are incorporated into the solution along with VxRail manager, which makes your life easier. From a management perspective, it supports almost all of the workloads that you have. It's object storage so that it can serve both, all the protocols. This product is good. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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Dell XC Appliance mindshare

As of December 2024, the mindshare of Dell XC Appliance in the HCI category stands at 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Oct 31, 2024

Valuable Features

Dell XC Appliance features deduplication, compression, low management overhead, and simple deployment. Users value its integration with VMware vCenter and vRealize Operations Manager, reducing skill requirements. It's praised for user-friendly interface, quick setup, and ease of management. Volume assignment on-the-fly and SSH VPN add flexibility. Its built-in vSAN offers high availability and seamless vSphere management. Users find the hardware easy to install and appreciate strong technical support.

"When we compare it to normal hardware servers, I'd say it is quite easy to configure and deploy."
"The solution's hardware is great."
"The most valuable feature is that you can assign a volume to an off-shore workload on the fly."

Room for Improvement

Dell XC Appliance requires simplification in maintenance and life cycle upgrades. Costs for public cloud deployment are high. Storage and provisioning capabilities need enhancement. Users often need to research to stay informed about features. Allocation of volumes to workloads outside clusters is limited. Available specs inside servers require improvement and interoperability with other hypervisors is lacking. Support for Docker and containers is desired to enable native containerization.

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Docker and containers."
"The solution's storage size could be improved."
"Currently, there is no support for the servers that are not in the cluster."

Pricing

Pricing for Dell XC Appliance is considered fair and competitive within its category. Costs vary based on selected components and technology, and some users noted favorable deals from Dell. While TCO is perceived as lower compared to traditional architectures, the high pricing of public cloud options was noted. Generally, Dell XC Appliance might be more expensive than other solutions and potentially less suitable for small and medium-sized businesses due to its cost.

"The pricing for Dell EMC solutions is quite expensive and not really made for small or medium-sized businesses."
"The pricing is good."
"The pricing is dependent on the technology and is in direct relation to the manufacturer and the components."

Popular Use Cases

Clients mainly use Dell XC Appliance to reduce maintenance and avoid traditional three-tier architecture, running workloads including file servers, databases, web servers, and front ends. It is employed for production workloads, infrastructure virtualization, and data storage. Companies use it for consolidating and visualizing terabytes of data and also for virtual desktop infrastructure. Solution providers implement Dell XC Appliance for clients seeking enhanced efficiency and simplified architecture management.

Service and Support

Dell XC Appliance customer service is highly regarded with users frequently praising its technical support. Teams report satisfaction with the service level, valuing the on-site setup assistance and indirect methods utilized. Engagement with Dell EMC support is regular and collaborative, enhancing the local support experience. Many highlight the excellence and expertise of Dell's technical assistance, often rating it highly and expressing long-term satisfaction with their interactions and outcomes.

Deployment

Users found Dell XC Appliance's initial setup straightforward and uncomplicated. Some employed Dell ProDeploy for a seamless installation, spanning approximately two months featuring design and migration. Others noted a setup time varying from half a day to two weeks. The process was described as quick, easy, and simplified. Compared to traditional servers, Dell XC Appliance was seen as easier to configure and deploy. Some encountered challenges during its lifecycle but not during setup.

Scalability

Dell XC Appliance is easy to scale and can accommodate numerous users across various client locations. It supports numerous nodes on hyper-converged systems and caters to thousands from diverse financial institutions, utility companies, and SMBs. It's mainly used by large enterprises and can expand significantly if necessary. Deployments may include multiple HCI servers, serving thousands of users.

Stability

Dell XC Appliance demonstrates impressive reliability. Users report no bugs, glitches, or crashes, and express satisfaction in its performance. Stability is consistently highlighted without any issues encountered. Feedback from multiple sources indicates a lack of complaints or concerns, emphasizing dependable functionality. The absence of technical problems reassures users, contributing to continued positive experiences.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

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