HPE SimpliVity Reviews

• Integrated backup and DR features
• De-duplication and compression
• Management using the vSphere client
• Total ease of management

Backups - policies are built in and managed using the SimpliVity extension in vSphere. It makes working with backups and recovery extremely simple and removes all the complicated tasks of backup storage management. The ability to place backups at any datacenter within the vSphere environment is nice too. These are full backups too, not just snapshots.

Reporting - improvements have been made, but I would like to see some enhancements for recalling historical information: automated reports on storage efficiency over time and backup growth over time.

I have used it since January 2015.

I have not encountered any stability issues. We were able to migrate all of our legacy environment of physical servers and data over to SimpliVity with no issues. Performance was improved and storage efficiency with the deduplication really works. When we had an Accelerator card fail in one host (the card manages the deduplication tasks for the host), we got an alert the card had failed but never had a service interruption. The card on the other host takes over for the failed card until it is replaced. Very resilient.

I have not encountered any scalability issues. We initially started out with a 2+1 configuration and then scaled up to a 3+2 with no issues.

Technical support is the best. Their first-line guys know the product and can solve issues. I have always had any issue or support request resolved in a timely manner and by the same guy who was assigned the ticket.

Initial setup was very easy. I actually set up the “Federation” myself one Saturday morning with no help from support. I just followed the instructions for the rack and stack, powered up assigned IP addresses to the networks it required and the embedded wizard did the rest.

The nice thing about SimpliVity is that ALL the features are included in the base price. You don’t have to try to pick and choose and fight the pricing game.

We looked at other solutions before purchasing SimpliVity (Nutanix), but SimpliVity was a better fit for our requirements and had what I judged as features Nutanix could not compete with.

Do your homework and compare them to the competition apples for apples so that you see the value the product has from features, ease of use and pricing.

I have spoken to other customers at SimpliVity road show events and serve as a customer reference for them when asked. I really believe in the product that much.

We are using it for SAP HANA.

It is a hybrid solution. We updated to the latest version two months back.

Its performance and availability are most valuable.

Technologies are going ahead with new patches and updates, and HPE has to find out a solution to make it more reliable and secure.

Its deployment should be easier.

We have been using HPE SimpliVity for a few years.

We have around 200 users.

Their support is good.

We didn't use any other solution.

It was very difficult. If you want to implement this, you have to hire the most technical consultants.

It took us six to seven months for the entire portfolio, including SAP HANA.

Its licensing is yearly.

I would definitely recommend this solution. It is a good solution, but it needs some improvements.

I would rate it an eight out of 10.

I was searching for a high availability system that could replace our traditional SAN and be responsible for computer configuration and backup.

This solution was an easy way for us to ensure high availability along with offsite backup of data. It has made offsite recovery a faster process than in the past.

Offsite backup, replication, and duplication of data are important for our plant environment since we are hard on our equipment. The ability to restore quickly and get the business back up and running is priceless.

Bandwidth throttling during offsite backups. When we implemented this solution for the first time to replace another system we brought down the WAN line until the initial data set was replicated. They do have an off-peak time setting but throttling would be better for a 24/7 shop.

It is used as a data center solution. We run all our company's workloads on SimpliVity. It has been running for a year now. We have no complaints as it has been running seamlessly.

• Fast data recovery
• Low on operational costs

There are two main drivers:

• Data protection
• Low operational costs.

I have some worries about the support after the acquisition. The support was better before HPE acquired SimpliVity. They are not very clear on what to expect. That makes me a bit nervous.

Stability is pretty good. We have no complaints as it has been running seamlessly with no downtime.

There was no downtime when this solution was acquired by HPE.

The scalability is linear.

The support organization has changed a bit since the switch to HPE, but that has not impacted any of the services yet.

Yes, we did have a previous solution. 

We switched because we have to renew components in the datacenter every so many years. First year, the storage; second year, the switching; third year, the computing; and so on. So, with SimpliVity, we know that we have boxes that we can add, and the oldest one can move out of the datacenter without all the hassle of making components obsolete. 

Other vendors fall short on price compared to HPE on this product.

Our reseller pitched SimpliVity.

Then, we consulted the market and asked for a solution for five years. We looked at the TCO, total cost of ownership, over those five years, including all the support. Overall, it made a good case to invest in SimpliVity. 

To really consider a solution based on SimpliVity. Also, look for a reseller that has the knowledge to give proper advice on the material. 

We have full trust that it will help us in the next few years to deliver the IT functionality that we need in the firm that I work for. 

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor: I fit with that company's cultural, basically. I chose HPE through the reseller that I use. With the reseller, I had the cultural fit.

"Less space and power, less management". We have stored all data, compressed and deduplicated, with less transfer over the WAN.

Adding a node to the federation is as simple as plugging it into the network, selecting it in the GUI, and clicking "Join".

I would like to see a better price/performance in comparison with a standard ESX servers/storage farm solution.

As a trade and service SimpliVity partner since 2013, we have sold and installed dozens of systems based on CN-3000/5000 in various configurations. These include models from: CN3400-12abc, miniCube, 2xE5-2640v3, 16C, 4x400GB SSD, 20x1TB HDD, 256GB Memory to models CN5000-bcc - OmniCube CN-5000 platform, Dual 12 Cores, 384 RAM, 400GB SSD, etc.

In multiple cases, we have upgraded the first versions of OmniCube Box (delivered in 2013/2014) based on the request of our clients to higher configurations, in a time span of 12-18 months. Our company has been using the OmniCube CN-3000 system internally since 2013.

We did not have any issues with stability.

The scalability options are clear and mostly satisfying.

Technical support varies based on the level of paid service (Gold/Silver).

The SimpliVity OmniCube solution was the first that we have used for software defined, data center field. We have been using it ever since

The initial setup was fairly simple. SimpliVity offers high-level technical training and the system itself is well documented.

The price of OmniCube Box is still higher compared to standard ESX server/storage farm solutions. Its advantages are only appealing to clients who:

• Want to increase the efficiency of both physical and human resources
• Want to decrease complexity
• Are lacking data room space
• Have more branches

SimpliVity can help organizations take on the challenges of maximizing efficiency while reducing costs.

Performance scalability was easily achieved for a virtual environment running a mix of common IT business applications, while providing fast, predictable response times.

Combined with the ability to offer the same level of administrative simplicity, data efficiency, complete functionality across data centers around the globe, and low-cost cloud capabilities, SimpliVity OmniCube is noteworthy.

Visit the SimpliVity website for reference information and familiarization with the product.

We sell SimpliVity to our customers along with all products that can be categorized as hyper-converged infrastructure. I'm a consultant in pre-sales, and we are resellers and distributors.

We find the solution exciting and rewarding. When we first began with the product, we realized that it wasn't for larger markets. It was meant for only small business enterprises. But with time, the product expanded to incorporate larger markets and became more appropriate for our market. So it's more of an exciting experience these days.

SimpliVity's ability to scale a product like Vmware to the cloud is one feature we found most valuable. SimpliVity is great for small companies. It's a nice product, and our customers are really happy with it. HPE focuses on VMware, and it really shines as a VMware. It's a very good design, and they've put some serious thought into the infrastructure.

The solution has a complex configuration. So I think they should simplify the con. They should go back to having special hardware for the compression with T2, so you don't need to have a big processor if you use just one processor. 

We've been using it for about five to six years.

The scalability of this solution is great but could be better.

The technical support was excellent.

The configuration was a bit complex.

The pricing is fair. However, there's no need to base the pricing on the number of processors you have. The pricing goes up if you are trying to use two CPU configurations.

It's a great choice for people who run small businesses, and their storage capacity doesn't expand more than the number of their virtual machines. The solution doesn't support storage-only nodes. It only supports compute-only nodes, so you have to buy a new license when you increase storage by buying a new node.

I'll rate it an eight or nine out of ten, I think it is one of the best in the market.

We use the solution for HCM, secondary distribution endpoints, file sharing, domain controller, all many kinds of applications.

I find the replication feature valuable.

There are a lot of different components to choose from in the chassis. This could be easier by providing a standard or a base model to create and configure from. 

I have been using the solution for a couple of years.

I believe the solution is stable, I did not see any issues.

The solution is converging in a public place, the scalability is good. We have approximately 70 users using the solution in my company,

We previously used Dell PowerEdge rack servers.

I found the installation straightforward. However, I am not sure about others.

The solution took a couple of hours to do the implementation with two technicians, and we have one technician for the maintenance. Next time I am going to use a consultant or a supplier to do the implementation.

The product is expensive.

We are going to continue to use the solution in the future, and I recommend it to others.

I rate HPE SimpliVity a nine out of ten.