IBM FlashSystem Reviews

We use the on-prem deployment model. Our primary use case for this solution is for backup for the solutions. We sell this solution to customers. 

The most valuable features are deduplication and compression. 

The interface is also good.   

The ease of installation should be improved. We had issues with the configuration model. 

In the next release, there should be and flash and caching features. Customers also have problems accessing their files from the storage. That's what they usually complain about. This is something they should improve. 

The main issue is the speed in terms of accessing the data. That is the customer's big complaint. They also complain about the speed of the hard drive.

We did not have any issues from the client saying that Storwize had stability issues. We didn't have any issues with it. 

Technical support was okay. We had their support remotely and also from the local support stream.

The price is good. We are also IBM partners and the give big discounts for the same product. 

I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

I/O speeds. This products in basically a RAID comprised of SSD drives with PCI-Express interface, that you can connect to 16GB HBAs, making this storage one of the fastest available in the market today.

This storage has incredible performance, the I/O is awesome. It is difficult to understand how fast it is if you don’t have one, that’s why IBM gives you a month trial, to install it in your infrastructure and give it a try.
In my organization's case, we use the FlashSystem basically for virtualization (VMware). It's amazing how fast a virtual machine boots. We use it for databases too, and the disk I/O performance is incredible.

This storage is factory configured so it's very difficult and expensive to add more flash modules (disk capacity).

Scalability is the main area which needs to improve.

Six months.

No, no at all.

IBM support is excellent as always.

No, this is my first experience with a 100% SSD solution.

No, in fact it was easier than I expected.

If you are going to buy one, have in mind the amount of capacity you need, and your estimated growth for the following years. As I mentioned above, it is expensive to add more SSD modules.

Not really, it was recommended to me by a friend, and after the first month, my company couldn't live without it.

I recommend adding a pair of SAN switches to the Flash solution, otherwise it's a waste to use as and direct attach storage.

Easy to use GUI, both for me and the customers is the most valuable feature of this solution. It's very self-explanatory, very easy to install and of course, the IBM Easy Tier function is easy to maintain.

The benefits are pretty much the same as I have mentioned herein, i.e., it's the time that takes to do an installation as compared to the old products. So, everything is time-related, i.e., the less time you use then it's also cost-effective.

I really don't have any preference for it, this is very easy to install and is actually a customer setup. I've talked to many customers, and all of them agree that "This is so simple, so easy, and straightforward", so IBM has done a very good job so far.

Since 2012

Very easy so no problems.

The stability is very good.

Scalability is also very good because in the first product you could add four expansions to it, but then today, with the later code you can add nine to the controller units. So, it's very good and also, if you put an SVC product on top of it, then it works very well together as we see in all of the products as well.

Out af 10 I would say 8 for none advanced users

Very good when it's needed.

We are a business partner and what we sell are IBM Storwize products. That's our main focus, we don't sell any other vendors. So, it was a pretty straightforward decision to invest in this solution. But according to what I have seen in the past and worked with than this is without a doubt the most user friendly product.

Actually, I've done many of the installations; it is very straightforward.

This product is so easy to use.

Have it checked over, test it out and try it. Compare it to the other competitors and make a decision from there, because I think this will definitely be a winner.

We use IBM FlashSystem for VM farms, physical SQL servers, and replication.

The solution is not easy to use and could improve.

I have used IBM FlashSystem within the last 12 months.

IBM FlashSystem has been stable in our operations.

The scalability is similar to the Nimble Storage solution.

We have approximately 200 users using this solution, and we have plans to increase usage.

We have not used the support from IBM.

We previously used free CSS Storage.

The installation is complex and it could be easier. The concept is quite different from traditional storage. The full process took approximately three days.

We used vendors' support for the implementation.

We had approximately three engineers for the implementation.

There are no licensing fees, it is a one-time purchase of the IBM FlashSystem.

I rate IBM FlashSystem a seven out of ten.

• User friendly interface
• Robust hardware
• Good support

VMware and Hyper-V datastore (with Fiber Connect). All virtual systems are running on the Storwize V7000 storage in our company.

Deduplication and DRC synchronization. Deduplication is small, limited. We need better deduplication and disaster recovery.

Since 2014.

Good stability.

No.

Global support is good.

Yes, I myself have used. The customer decided to switch.

Yes, it is easy in terms of management and installation.

Yes, I evaluated HPE, Dell EMC.

Check IOP values and disk speed. Check often for updates and firmware. Make absolute SNMP settings for warnings and alerts.

The solution can be used for backing up data, such as in databases and local clouds.

One of the valuable features is the performance, it is one of the best in the market.

I have been involved with IBM FlashSystem for approximately four years.

The solution is stable.

I would recommend this solution.

IBM FlashSystem can expand very well, it is scalable.

The technical support is very good.

The installation is not easy. You need to have extensive knowledge to handle it.

We have a team of three engineers that do the implementation.

Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license.

I rate IBM FlashSystem a nine out of ten. 

My main use of this solution is for backup.

The data reduction pool feature sucks and is not recommended for use with heavy workloads. I also understand that the APIs don't work well and need improvement. In the next release, I would like to see a better monitoring system for metrics.

I've been using this solution for around five years.

This solution is scalable.

The technical support is good.

The initial setup is straightforward and can be done in an hour and a half by one person. 

IBM FlashSystem is fast and reliable. However, we also use Huawei, which is more reliable and has less frequent upgrades. I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

Auto Tier is 1M-iops.

It improves our number of TPS.

Flash Manager needs to be included.

2 years.

Only battery for controller.

None so far.

If 10 is the highest, I would rate them at 9.

We were using a V7000 before, so only upgraded.

Almost straightforward and the same as doing a V7000 series.

Licensing has already everything you need like replication, but you need to consider the license cost for the SAN switch.

EMC Xtreme IO, HPE 3PAR, Nimble.

Consider which type of disk to use: All flash, High Capacity Drives, SSDs.