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IT Solution Architect at Altopro
Real User
Top 5
Good performance and hardware compression
Pros and Cons
  • "Its ease of use, performance, and hardware compression is very useful feature."
  • "The support could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it as primary storage for VMware clusters, and we are also using it as a backup storage system for small configurations, such as the 5000 model.

What is most valuable?

Its ease of use, performance, and hardware compression is very useful feature. 

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in terms of management. IBM can make management easier, as it doesn't seem to be as easy as Huawei. Moreover, the support could be better. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for three years. 

Buyer's Guide
IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has been stable in my experience and I have not encountered any stability issues. However, I am aware that some of our customers using StoreWise and FlashSystems have reported issues with snapshots and other features. Despite this, improvements are being made and the overall stability of the system is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution. It is easy to integrate. You can add disk shelves and disks to it, and it's online. Currently, we have approximately four customers using it. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support team is not bad, but it's not excellent either. The response time could be faster and more accurate in analyzing the systems.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward if you've been in touch with any of the storage services from different vendors, but it's not as straightforward as Huawei. All of the storage we have is deployed on-premises. We do not make cloud installations. It takes about forty minutes to an hour to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment process is straightforward if you have experience with storage services from different vendors. For maintenance of the solution, it's approximately two persons for each customer. The minimum requirement is one person who can operate and manage the storage.

For the deployment process, first of all, you have to install it by simply connecting the cables and power cables. After that, you need to set up the IP addresses for communication between your PC and the storage system. Then connect to the management and change the password. After changing the password, configure basic settings such as DNS, MTP, and other configurations. Then, you can configure the storage itself by creating storage pools, configuring logs, hosts, and mapping. Finally, check the connected systems and verify if you are able to see the configured logs on the storage system.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When buying the storage system, there is a basic bundle of licenses included. If you need something extra, you have to pay for it additionally. But generally, customers are buying all the licenses in the basic bundle.

What other advice do I have?

 I would advise them to go for the 7000 series as it is powerful enough in terms of performance and cost-effective. If they want something for backup or general purposes, then they can go for the 5000 systems.

Overall, I would rate FlashSystem 9100 NVMe an eight on a scale from one to 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: Partner
PeerSpot user
Mohamed_Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
IT manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Good performance, easy to manage, and remains stable even during maintenance
Pros and Cons
    • "I would like to have replication functionality built directly in the product, rather than having to use a separate device for this."

    What is our primary use case?

    The FlashSystem is currently hosting all of our applications and services.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The performance of each server was improved when we implemented this product. The IOPS rate is high with flash storage, compared to other types of disks.

    What is most valuable?

    The administration is easy and very straightforward. It is the same software for managing both flash and non-flash storage. It can be managed using either the GUI or the command-line interface.

    It is a high-performance product that serves our requests well.

    The IBM Professional Services give us technical support that is both timely and of high quality.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to have replication functionality built directly in the product, rather than having to use a separate device for this.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using the IBM FlashSystem A9000 for nearly eight months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a very stable product during daily operation, maintenance, and even while upgrading the firmware. It comes configured from IBM with one controller and after testing it for perhaps an hour, the firmware will be updated and the other controller will take over. Then, the next phase begins.

    At this point, it again tests the system for about an hour, and then the other controller is updated. There is no downtime, availability is not affected, and it remains stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is possible to both scale-up and scale-out, and it depends on the needs of the business. If I need more capacity then it's easy, and this is true even if I need more performance.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is very good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Prior to using the A9000, we were using the V9000 for nearly two years.

    Before moving to IBM, were work working with the EMC VMAX storage array. I was not the decision-maker who decided to switch, although it may have been related to cost.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is easy and not complicated.

    From scratch, the Rack and Stack take perhaps two days, and the configuration of the system takes an additional day.

    What about the implementation team?

    The setup is completed by IBM, although we are involved in the post-installation knowledge transfer.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    There are pricing options from the mid-rand to the high-range, of which the suitability depends upon the requirements.

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, I think that this is a good product and I recommend it.

    I would rate this solution a nine 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.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe
    October 2024
    Learn what your peers think about IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
    814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    PiyushKumar1 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Machine Learning Engineer at Tata Consultancy
    Real User
    Top 5
    A stable and scalable solution that has different controllers
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature of the solution is its upgrades, as we don't have to do much homework because of its different controllers."
    • "IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our client is Jaguar Land Rover, and we use the solution's storage array to store data related to car manufacturing and design.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature of the solution is its upgrades, as we don't have to do much homework because of its different controllers.

    What needs improvement?

    IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe since 2015.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is a very stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Around 700 to 800 users are using the solution in our organization.

    IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is a scalable solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    I rate the customer support an eight and a half out of ten.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution's initial setup was easy, and a vendor did all the configuration for us.

    What other advice do I have?

    IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is a very stable product. You need to do some homework to see if it supports your application, and then you can go ahead with it.

    Overall, I rate IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe ten 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.
    PeerSpot user
    Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
    Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd
    Real User
    Top 10
    A highly scalable solution requiring an easy setup while also offering its users a reliable long-term technical support
    Pros and Cons
    • "IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is one of the leading storage systems in the world...I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten."
    • "IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe is currently at the end of its lifespan and will soon become obsolete in the markets."

    What is our primary use case?

    IBM FlashSystem 9500 is the storage for our critical applications.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Business processes and response time has improved by 60% with the super performance of the IBM FlashSystem. IBM FlashSytem's storage is highly available and cyber-resilient. 

    What is most valuable?

    • Easy tier - Automates the placement of data to the right storage tier. 
    • Safeguard - Protection against cyber attacks.  
    • Flashcopy - For a point-in-time copy of data.
    • Compression without the impact of storage performance.
    • FlashSystem is hybrid cloud-enabled.
    • Encryption.

    What needs improvement?

    IBM FlashSystem 9100 is currently end of the market. IBM keeps innovating and FlahSystem 9500 which is the current high-end FlashSystem storage has lots of improvements when compared to the 9100.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe for three years. My company has a partnership with IBM.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is a very stable solution. I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The IBM Flashsystem storage is highly scalable. I rate the scalability ten out of ten.

    How are customer service and support?

    Since the technical support is good, I rate them a ten out of ten.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    I rate the solution's initial setup a ten out of ten since it was very easy. IBM uses IBM Spectrum Virtualize as its operating system, which is very simple to use with a friendly and understandable GUI.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Price-wise, the solution offers excellent pricing to its users. In short, the prices offered by the solution are competitive compared to similar solutions. So a person can get value for their money since the solution offers its users a wide scale to choose from when it comes to pricing. There are no hidden license costs. Most of the licenses come free with the Spectrum Virtualize OS.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated other options and settled for IBM FlashSystem because of the return on investments, simplicity, outstanding performance, reliability, high availability, security, and ability to integrate into the cloud. IBM also has a great support maintenance service called TSS and Expert Care. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would tell those planning to use the solution in the future that since many people would not be able to purchase IBM FlashSystem 9100. It is better to purchase IBM FlashSystem 9500. I also recommend other organizations embrace IBM FlashSystem as it is one of the best solutions in the market in terms of cost, performance, reliability, availability, support, and the fact it is supported on a hybrid cloud. FlashSystem is a software-defined storage from IBM.

    IBM is constantly investing and improving its storage portfolio. Since most organizations are looking at digital transformation nowadays, it is the best time to deploy and use IBM FlashSystem in their environment. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Tier 1 Business Partner.
    PeerSpot user
    AdeelAkhtar - PeerSpot reviewer
    Team Lead IT Infrastructure & Datacenter at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Simple, easy-to-use and scalable with a good UI
    Pros and Cons
    • "Good performance with a user-friendly UI."
    • "Deduplication and compression should be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for virtual infrastructure for our core system and we run Hypervisor on top of it. I'm team lead, IT infrastructure, and I work in a financial institution. 

    What is most valuable?

    The performance of this solution is good and they have a user-friendly UI. When we're working with a small volume without needing much compression and deduplication, FlashSystem works well. It's a simple, easy-to-use solution that is scalable. 

    What needs improvement?

    We're not satisfied with the deduplication and compression for our volumes. When we enable those features, we assess issues like virtual machine performance which is quite a complex thing to do with FlashSystem. We'd like to have better technical support because they ask lots of questions when we could just have a remote session and resolve the issue. I'd like to see application level integration with Microsoft Hyper-V integration with the IBM Storages in the next upgrade.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We are running over 400 virtual machines so the product is scalable. It's being used by internal and external users and we have our digital products -- internet banking, ATMs -- on this storage. 

    How are customer service and support?

    IBM needs to increase its technical support. The support mechanism is very complex compared to their competitors.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very simple. If fiber connectivity is good between storage and sensor chips, deployment will take a day. We had an IBM engineer implement the solution. 

    What was our ROI?

    You get value for money, because the product is good in terms of control failure. In general, it gives us peace of mind but we have an issue with their support because they don't handle our issues very well.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're looking to explore other solutions, and what they offer in terms of price and features. I recommend this solution but if you have the need for good compression and deduplication features, then I would suggest checking out other solutions. IBM is only good if you don't depend significantly on those two aspects. 

    I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

    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.
    PeerSpot user
    Consultor at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Unique FlashCore technology enhances architecture value with competitive pricing
    Pros and Cons
    • "The FlashCore modules support more value to the architecture due to their unique characteristics."
    • "In the FlashSystem 5200, there were only four ports of 32 fiber channels for the architecture. This has been resolved in the new generation."

    What is our primary use case?

    I work in an IBM Business Partner. I implement the solutions with different customers. We primarily deal with midsize businesses, sometimes in entertainment and retail, or in other environments.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are the FlashCore modules since they are unique in the world. The FlashCore modules support more value to the architecture due to their unique characteristics.

    What needs improvement?

    In the FlashSystem 5200, there were only four ports of 32 fiber channels for the architecture. This has been resolved in the new generation.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used IBM for about five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    In my experience, we did not have a bad experience with the storage. We didn't encounter any stability issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable. You can scale it up and out.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support team is effective. They do a good job with the cases and follow them with good attention.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I used another technology from IBM. I did not use other all-flash storage products that were different from FlashSystem.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is easy to implement. The GUI is easy and intuitive. It is not problematic with the technology.

    What about the implementation team?

    For installation, two people may be needed, but for the logical configurations, only one person is required.

    What was our ROI?

    In some exercises, the return on investment could be about three years.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    For this technology, FlashCore Model, the price is competitive. In some exercises, it is very competitive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I recommend it. It is very easy to install and manage. With the FlashCore technology, you can improve your performance in your environment, and you can store more data with the same quantity of drives due to compression or hardware compression. It has a stable architecture and is competitive in price.

    I'd rate the solution nine 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: Partner
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    PeerSpot user
    KashifAdeel - PeerSpot reviewer
    Pre-Sales Consultant - Infrastructure at InfoTech Group
    Real User
    Top 5
    A high-performance flash storage device requiring an easy setup phase
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a very stable product. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten because we did not face any issues in the last three years."
    • "IBM is currently not offering volume-based encryption or compression, while other brands or IBM's competitors are doing it."

    What is our primary use case?

    Some of our clients use IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe for the core banking, and some use it for their core ERP database server, like SAP HANA.

    What is most valuable?

    Feature-wise, I like that the solution's disk space includes NVMe flash modules.

    What needs improvement?

    There is a scope for improvement in the solution's software area. IBM is currently not offering volume-based encryption or compression, while other brands or IBM's competitors are doing it.

    Speaking about what I wish to see in the future releases of the solution, I would like to say that most of the time, we face the need for unified storage that others are offering, but IBM doesn't offer. The second feature I want to see is NVMe to NVMe storage extension.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    With IBM, I've been working for fifteen years. I have been working with IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe for the last three years. We are working with Spectrum Virtualize Version 8.5.
    My company has a partnership with IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is a very stable product. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten because we did not face any issues in the last three years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's quite good in scalability because, within the box, IBM offers around one terabyte capacity. If we use external virtualization, then it can go up to thirty-two terabytes.

    I rate the solution a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low scalability, and ten is high scalability.

    Some of my company's customers are medium-sized businesses, while others are enterprise-sized.

    How are customer service and support?

    I'm the technical person of our company. So, I'm the technical person supporting the customer.

    How was the initial setup?

    On a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy, I rate the setup phase a ten since it was very easy. The deployment took less than a day. But the migration of data from existing storage to the solution took seven days.

    The deployment process involved the initialization of the storage box and the customization according to a customer's environment. We usually provide the cluster IT, and then we customize, create the tools, create the volumes, host groups, and host metrics.

    What was our ROI?

    Using the solution, I can say that ROI is a hundred percent.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price and ten is a high price, I rate the pricing an eight. The price is a little bit expensive for IBM solutions, but sometimes it depends on the customer size, budget, or the discounts offered by IBM. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees.

    What other advice do I have?

    If a customer is looking for a high-performance flash storage network, it's a good option since it gives you end-to-end NVMe connectivity within the box.

    There are some missing features that IBM needs to improve or add to its solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine 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: partner
    PeerSpot user
    Aliyar Balikci - PeerSpot reviewer
    Information Technology Senior Administrator at Genpa
    Real User
    Top 10
    Good performance but technical support needs improvement
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's easy to use, has good stability, and many features."
    • "IBM's support is not good. I experienced a big problem where I opened the console IBM Storage and would see that something was broken. I called the call centers, and I said, "I have a problem. My drive is not working." They want me to give them the serial number, I gave it to them and they told me "I cannot find your product. Your product is not here.""

    What needs improvement?

    The prices are high. Except for this, there is nothing I don't like in FlashSystem. Before IBM Flash, I was using NetApp 2020. You can't easily do what you want to do with NetApp. It takes more time to take snapshots, it takes more time to do deduplication. 

    FlashSystem is better than the old system. I recommend it to my friends who ask what to pick.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe for about three years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    FlashSystem doesn't have any limitations. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    IBM's support is not good. I experienced a big problem where I opened the console IBM Storage and would see that something was broken. I called the call centers, and I said, "I have a problem. My drive is not working." They want me to give them the serial number, I gave it to them and they told me "I cannot find your product. Your product is not here."

    It was unbelievable. I had purchased it a week prior. I was the first person in Turkey to buy it. They said they couldn't help me. I ended up fixing it myself. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Before buying IBM Flash, I tested many flash storage solutions. For example, I tested Pure Storage for about one and a half months, Huawei Storage, and Dell Storage. I tested and compared the performance results. 

    I also tested Iometer. When we run the Imeter on NetApp, the performance result is not the same. It immediately goes down and suddenly, goes up. It's not stable. But when we were testing Pure Storage, we found it to be very good. It's stable. It goes on the same line. When I tested Dell Storage and removed the controller or hard drive manually I saw the performance go down. Dell goes down, and Huawei goes down. When I did the same test on Pure Storage,  the performance was near the same. Because of this, I would recommend Pure Storage. I plan to buy it when I have the budget for it. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate IBM FlashSystem a seven out of ten. The performance is good but the support is not. It's easy to use, has good stability, and many features. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: October 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM FlashSystem 9100 NVMe Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.