Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Reviews

We are using this product right now for our virtual environment.  

As the product develops, we are looking forward to utilizing the product on the cloud.

It has been great for the deduplication and compression of data, allowing us to save a lot of space.

If we wanted to deploy a virtual or new application, it used to take months to buy the product or hardware. Now, we can do it within fraction of seconds. That is time.

The compression and deduplication are very high. Therefore, we can use the size of the product more efficiently than other storage solutions.

I would like to see them expand onto the cloud.

HyperFlex has been very stable. It was implemented at our bank a year ago and has had no downtime.

It is scalable. We recently added three more nodes, which went very smoothly.

The technical support is very good, especially from the Cisco side.

We were not previously using another solution.

The initial setup was straightforward when implementing the hardware and deploying the software.

We used a reseller called Data Consult from Lebanon for our deployment. Our experience with them was good.

We have saved a lot of money with this solution, especially with implementation because time is money. Implementing the solution on the same box saves a lot of space.

The price is a bit high. It could be better, but the product is worth the cost.

We compared Cisco HyperFlex vs Dell EMC.

Try it. The HyperFlex solution is perfect.

Manufacturing and logistics software controls, ERP and document management servers, and database production and development servers.

Less rack space, decreased power and cooling costs, overall information technology team efficiency, and a single point of management.

The software defines networking, storage, and processing. Flash acceleration feature for most files.

Deployment scripts can be improved. Several clans need to be created before the deployment effectively works.

We are using HyperFlex for heavy workloads and virtual machines which are on a separate network.

• Past deployments
• The possibility to share the workload. We have many applications which have need of workloads only a few times in a month, so we share HyperFlex with them.
• The product works quickly.

We are working with a lot of different technologies and trying to manage them with one tool. The API could be improved for better integration with other systems. For example, the integration to VMware could be better.

We haven't had any downtime. It is absolutely stable.

The scalability is good. We use the nodes that we bought, and they have really scaled out.

Cisco technical support often makes things too complicated. We have easy problems, but they want to WebEx and constantly testing. In the end, we have to exchange a disk and everything is okay. In the beginning, we said the disk is defect, but they want us to test and retest, before acknowledging the disk is defect and we can exchange it. That is a problem for me.

We worked for years with HPE services. We didn't see that they developed, so we looked for other vendors. In the end, we decided on Cisco and are now testing some Cisco technologies. The main technology for us is UCS. HyperFlex was an idea which came from our account manager. I said, "Okay, we can test it." We have a use case. Now, we are working with it.

From day one, it worked. The initial setup was okay.

Cisco helped us to deploy and integrate. Our experience with them was fine.

We are testing it on the slowest workloads. We think by sharing the hardware with several applications that we can save money.

We considered all the vendors. In the end, Cisco checked all the boxes.

At the moment, Cisco is a good vendor, as far as networking solutions. I connect the servers to the network, and the compatibility is good.

We haven't tested the new container functionality. I hope it's good, because this is very important for us.

We have been using this product for a while. We wanted to use our current equipment and have been very excited with the results of our projects. 

It provides good security.

We did not have stability issues until now.

We are trying to determine the product's scalability now as we are doing a new proof of concept with new equipment/products.

We haven't had any issues with the technical support. We have had good cooperation with our Cisco partners.

Two or three years ago, it was something that my colleagues proposed to me as a very good program in order to provide an overall solution. All of our equipment was based in Cisco technology, so we didn't have to make any changes.

The initial setup was straightforward. With our partners and the consultancy that we had, we knew what we wanted to do. Therefore, we didn't have any problems with the installation and parametrization.

We used Space Hellas S.A., which is a company from Greece and a Cisco partner, for the implementation. We have a very good relationship with them.

We have seen ROI from this product.

I would like the pricing to be cheaper.

We did not consider any other vendors beside Cisco because all our equipment is Cisco. The compatibility of staying with Cisco is relevant.

It is a very good solution. Find a good consultant and vendor to implement it before purchasing the software and equipment.

Our primary use case is virtualization on VMware. We have some virtual machines, which need a lot of computing power, and HyperFlex seems to be a good solution.

It is a good system to run our virtual machines and services on for high performance and high availability.

You can administer things easily. E.g., if you need more power, you can add a system.

There is a VMware plugin for HyperFlex, which sometimes it hangs up in our environment, and doesn't function well.

We started in an early firmware version, so the software release version was a little unstable in the beginning. Now, it is good.

You can add a package to expand the storage space or machines if you need more machine power. If you don't look at the costs of the systems, the scalability is quite good.

I only had one tough case that I brought to the technical support, and they dealt with it quite well.

We have a lot of IBM Systems, which were getting older. 

Our entire network is Cisco. There was also a good bundle for the HyperFlex system at the beginning when comparing price and value, and overall, it was a good investment. We received more performance for less money at the start.

A year before we set it up, relative to the software the release, there were a few things you could not know as a customer. This is why we used an integrator who knew how to use and follow command line commands that we couldn't know. However, I think this is now fixed.

For the first time that we installed, we used an integrator for the day.

Take a look at HyperFlex because it is a good system. Out-of-the-box, it runs quite well.

Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is storage that is integrated with the stack as a standalone mobile unit. There is less infrastructure required. 

We have better computing power, better uptime, and easier management of the infrastructure due to it being a single unit.

I would like to see more flexibility in the storage.

If you have experience with Cisco, or you have experience with the HyperFlex HX itself, then it's a lot easier. If you do deployment on your own, there's a pretty steep learning curve.

Cisco technical support is very skilled. From what I've had to access, there were quick responses and the necessary escalation.

We were approached by Cisco originally to try out the HyperFlex HX. They installed a very small deployment of it and we grew from that.

The age of our equipment dictated that we have to upgrade. It was becoming end-of-life. That's what precipitated the move originally.

The setup was neutral since I was just learning. It was a little complex, but once I understood the purpose of the profiles and the templates, it became a lot clearer and easier. I would suggest getting contract services involved to help with the initial setup of the product. The setup time to figure it out yourself, especially if you are brand new to it, is extensive.

We used a professional integrator.

I can't quantify, but it seems to have a very good return on investment. We kept the equipment for a long time and it's worked flawlessly for us.

Our licensing is hybrid. We have all of our applications for billing and outage management through this.

Something else that we used before was the IBM BladeCenter. It was fine, but it was not as flexible. We couldn't deploy it and expand as easily as the Cisco HyperFlex HX.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Cisco HyperFlex HX with an eight out of ten at this point. Only because I'm not as versed to it as I could be.

The initial setup of profiles and templates could be improved. Maybe some end profiles that you can use based on your type of deployment would be good, i.e. instead of having to go through and configure every portion of the template.

We use it in junction with unified communication solutions. It provides great flexibility for our customers to expand the solution. Also, the ease of management is why they use HyperFlex.

We have some large customer managing some large hospitals in Denmark and it's very easy to make changes and expand with solutions around the hospitals. The management of the system can be done in a centralized way which has been a benefit for us. 

Most of our users are Cisco customers, so it fits in within the suites we use. Primarily for me, as a solution architect, it's the technology and architecture that is the most valuable. I know from my technical colleagues that it's easy to use and for the customer, the uptime is the most valuable asset. It's running and has low failure which is why we use it.

We are moving further out with more cloud solutions, so we need HyperFlex to be more cloud-connected. They should develop more connection to Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud because our customers use their services and are moving in that direction.

We've had some downtime, but it's 99.5% stable. They can trust it. Hospitals are 24/7 driven, so we need to have a high uptime which is why we use HyperFlex.

It's a very scalable product because they have about 150 commercial services, so the scalability is very high, and the uptime is great. 

We use technical support if we have any issues or trouble with it. Cisco is always awesome. It's very easy to work with a Cisco tech.

Our customers know its time to switch solutions because of the demands from their users to deliver faster and to be more prepared for meeting their customer's needs. They're using my company and myself as a solution provider and a trusted technical adviser, so we work very closely with our customers in the decision making.

Our customers definitely see ROI. Cisco is involved each time we do a business case, and the customers today are very cost sensitive so they're looking for return on investment. That's also why they use Cisco because they can either expand the products or they can trade the products back to Cisco and get credits and then buy new products.

We also considered IBM and Dell EMC. They go with Cisco because they're using Cisco in most of their environments so it's the easy choice. As long as Cisco provides the technology and the features that the customer needs, they don't have the need to look elsewhere.

I rated this solution an eight out of ten because there's still a little room for improvement. 

I would advise someone considering this solution to connect with Cisco, use the resources that Cisco has. Be open, discuss with Cisco, discuss the architecture the customer designed, the customer demands, include Cisco all around, both the account managers, their technical solutions, the SEs, and so on. Use Cisco.

We use this solution for many banks in Egypt. 

This solution has improved my organization because workers are more efficient and the time it takes to complete daily activities has been significantly reduced. It has also enhanced KPIs for the workers and the remote sites don't have any delay reaching the required data. 

The most valuable features are that it's an all in one solution, requires low power, it's easy for management, and easy to implement and train.

I would like for them to develop integration with other technologies, like SD Access. It's still lacking an enhancement management player.

Stability is very good. 

Their technicians are very qualified and supportive. 

Our customers knew they needed to switch to this solution because we have had good experiences with Cisco. It has a strong presence in Egypt and a good technical support and sales team.  

Our customers have seen ROI in terms of the time they save troubleshooting.

We also considered Dell EMC. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten, not a ten because nothing is perfect.