It's a very good solution if you are using an Oracle-like environment. It's a very good, very powerful solution, but at the same time, it's a legacy solution. That's why we moved from NetWorker to Commvault.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
A very stable solution, but not user friendly and with disappointing technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very stable, especially if you are using a RAC environment."
- "The software also isn't user-friendly like Convault or Rubrik. The solution errors and management aren't so good in comparison."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
They need to improve their level of support.
The software also isn't user-friendly like Commvault or Rubrik. The solution errors and management aren't so good in comparison.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for six to seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable, especially if you are using a RAC environment.
Buyer's Guide
Dell NetWorker
December 2024
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is okay.
How are customer service and support?
I was very dissatisfied with technical support. It's one of the reasons we switched to Commvault.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was very difficult.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator for the implementation.
What other advice do I have?
We use the on-premises version of the service. We were also using a legacy solution from EMC.
In terms of recommending the solution, it would be my third choice, behind Rubrik and Commvault. There are newer versions, which are hyper-converged, but I would have to seriously evaluate them before I could recommend them.
I would rate this solution five or six out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Associate - System Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
With the integration with Data Domain Boost, we are significantly saving backup space. However, backups of VMs could be improved.
Valuable Features
- Support for various operating systems, we use, AIX, Solaris, Linux, VMware, and Windows
- Excellent deduplication with Data Domain Boost
- A good user interface, so we can, from a single console, manage the entire backup infrastructure
Improvements to My Organization
We are using a single product, with the same licenses, to backup Oracle servers, SQL Servers, Exchange, and our virtual environment. It also allows us to clone the backups to a disaster recovery site. With the integration with Data Domain Boost we are significantly saving backup space.
Room for Improvement
I think, first of all, the part that relates to backup virtual machines. I've seen better and faster solutions, for example: Veeam.
Use of Solution
We've used NetWorker for about ten years. We are primarily using NetWorker to backup our core servers with Solaris. For the last three years, we use Networker to backup the entire infrastructure.
We're also using the NetWorker Module for Microsoft v8.2.1.8, and the NetWorker VMware Protection v1.1.1.50.
Deployment Issues
No issues encountered.
Stability Issues
We had no problems with stability.
Scalability Issues
We had no problems with scalability. We have two data centers with different infrastructure.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Customer Service:
I have worked with local EMC partners, I have had a positive experience.
Technical Support:I did not use technical support for NetWorker, but I have used it for some other EMC products and I think they were a little slow. 7/10.
Initial Setup
Initial setup was straightforward. The documentation is good.
Implementation Team
We did it in-house.
Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing
We use NetWorker Capacity Licensing Model. Estimating the backup environment's capacity is, for me, very complex, and I think not even clear.
Other Advice
It is a good product with some problems backing up virtual machines (slow restore). We use NetWorker Capacity Licensing Model. Estimating the backup environment's capacity is, for me, very complex, and I think not even clear.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Dell NetWorker
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Dell NetWorker. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Solution Architect & Technical Team Lead at NDS
Precise, stable and straightforward data protection; provides a good physical and virtual environment
Pros and Cons
- "Simple, stable and straightforward."
- "Reporting templates could be easier to understand and more comprehensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution to protect our numerous file servers. We have SAP HANA servers, some Oracle servers, and we have an eM server. We have several partnerships and Dell is one of them. They are very good. I'm a solution architect and technical team lead.
What is most valuable?
This is a very precise and simple solution which is a great feature. It's also very stable and straightforward if you follow the documentation.
This is a good solution and I can't think of any additional features they could include. I went for NetWorker because it's a good physical as well as virtual environment, and the best possible solution compared to the other products on the market. The others are also good but I like NetWorker better.
What needs improvement?
I believe that the reporting could be improved and the report templates should be easier to understand and more comprehensive. I believe they are already working to replace the Java console with the HTML web browser-based administration console which is the other issue. I hope they are able to do this quickly. In terms of my expertise, I can't think of any other issues.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for four months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very straightforward and very stable if you follow the documentation properly. When I've been in trouble it's because of my lack of knowledge or not following the instructions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We're not such a big organization that we need to scale and it would take a few years before we did that, if at all, so I can't comment on scalability. We have two administrators using the solution. Primarily we just go to the backup console every day to check things are okay. It could be managed by one person but having an extra backup doesn't hurt.
How are customer service and technical support?
I'm very satisfied with the support that Dell provides. As soon you create a support ticket, someone immediately contacts you to provide the support. The person might not be an expert, they are generally not techie guys but they are often very helpful. They immediately take the remote of your system to understand the problem and I appreciate that.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was a little complex but that was my issue. It's worth spending a couple of hours to go through everything thoroughly beforehand and take proper notes. If you don't follow the documentation, you can get into problems. Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward.
Deployment time depends on the situation. Implementation probably took three or four hours. Once it's running smoothly there's no maintenance required.
What other advice do I have?
For anyone planning to implement this solution, it's essential to read the documentation, otherwise you will face a few issues. If you deploy having done all the reading, you won't have any problems. I believe that if something works as expected, it deserves a 10. In my case, it is working as per expectations so I don't have any complaints.
I would therefore rate this solution a 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Client Infrastructure Technical Specialist at Clicks
Has good technical support and is fairly priced
Pros and Cons
- "I feel that it is a good product."
- "There are too many reboots and the software requires constant updating."
What needs improvement?
I feel that it is a good product. However, if its setup is configured correctly, it will work well but if it's not, it's a total disaster. I think that goes for any backup product. Coming into architectural design thinking, for example, we introduced a backup network. This has helped speed up our backup time and the time it took Windows to backup. That has made a huge difference without impacting reduction systems elsewhere that connects into the same systems. So the main thing would be to optimize scheduling and do the setup correctly, then it will improve the backup features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working on this solution since I joined our company three years ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are too many reboots and the software requires constant updating - just like Windows. I don't like that so I feel that it isn't very stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support from EMC is 10 out of 10. I am really impressed by it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of this solution is very good.
What other advice do I have?
I will rate this solution an eight out of ten, based on my knowledge and experience on it. In the next version, I would like it if Dell EMC could back up IBM. They call it IBMi, or the A400 system. That would be awesome for the networker. My advice to others would be that they should be very specific who they use to set up the software and make sure they check references for successful installations.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
System Administration Team Leader at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Helpful support, scalable, but user interface needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable."
- "The user interface is hard to use, it should be simplified. There are a lot of web-based management interfaces which they should consider."
What is our primary use case?
We use Dell EMC NetWorker for backing up VMs, files, and databases.
What needs improvement?
The user interface is hard to use, it should be simplified. There are a lot of web-based management interfaces which they should consider.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for approximately eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found Dell EMC NetWorker to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The support of Dell EMC NetWorker is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complicated. It is difficult to implement for clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution could be lower, it is expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated Veeam.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend this solution, we are switching to Veeam, and I would recommend it.
I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
head of presales at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Integrates well with data domain, user-friendly, and has good support
Pros and Cons
- "It's a good product that can be integrated easily with the Data domain."
- "In the next release, I would like to see better pricing and more integration with the other products in Dell EMC."
What is our primary use case?
We are system integrators.
We have many systems that are being backed up using NetWorker, mainly in a virtualized environment, with several typical workloads.
What is most valuable?
It's a good product that can be integrated easily with the Data domain.
What needs improvement?
They have many different products but they don't integrate all of the features into one product. This is an area of failure with this solution. For example, if we want source-side deduplication then we have to use Avamar because this kind of feature isn't available in NetWorker.
Some features in NetWorker are good as well as some features in Avamar are good. If they could combine the features of both products into one single product, it would be better.
In the next release, I would like to see better pricing and more integration with the other products in Dell EMC.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for three years.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution and we have not had any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a backup system that is backing up more than 50 different systems.
We plan to continue using this solution. It's a good product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have contacted technical support and they have provided us with good technical support.
We have no issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Because NetWorker does not provide all of the features such as source-side deduplication, we have had to go with some other products.
How was the initial setup?
The Installation is quite easy.
The deployment took a maximum of three to four days.
The complete installation needed a bit of extra time due to some downtime for adding systems. But generally, the basic installation and configuration are done within three to four days.
What about the implementation team?
We have a good engineering team and the internal team is capable of handling the implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is a little on the high side, but it's reliable and provides a good service.
There are other products on the market with better pricing, which makes it a challenge to sell NetWorker.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend NetWorker to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Dell EMC NetWorker an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
A solution that minimizes recovery time with good stability
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has minimized the recovery time objective, and the recovery point objective, the RTO and RPO. Most customers are looking for to minimize downtime. The solution has helped ensure this."
- "It's not easy to integrate. We have to read a lot of documentation in order to configure the solution."
What is our primary use case?
Most customers are integrated with the hypervisor environment. It's a mix between VMware and Hyper-V. The database and integration with the database is SQL and it has since changed to Oracle. This is mostly what we are using to unify everything.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has minimized the recovery time objective, and the recovery point objective, the RTO and RPO. Most customers are looking to minimize downtime. The solution has helped ensure this.
What is most valuable?
The backup and configuration for the virtual environment have been the most valuable features, especially with VMware.
What needs improvement?
The operating system could be improved. The interface could also be much easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very nice.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has very good scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good, but it depends on the time zone. I've noticed that some areas offer better support than others.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup isn't straightforward or complex. It's somewhere in between. Deployment took about two weeks.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is mid-range. It's not the cheapest, but it's not too expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the on-premises deployment model.
I would rate the solution eight out of ten.
It's not easy to integrate. We have to read a lot of documentation in order to configure the solution.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
It allows us to not worry about our backups
What is most valuable?
- Management GUI
- Pools to direct backups to storage
How has it helped my organization?
It allows us to not worry about our backups.
What needs improvement?
Some functionality is restricted to Data Domain.
For how long have I used the solution?
21 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No.
How is customer service and technical support?
Excellent.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex in 1996, but now our environment is simpler, thus requiring two servers.
What other advice do I have?
If you need to backup multiple OS platforms, this is the product to purchase
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: December 2024
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