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System Administrator at Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc.
Real User
Resilient without disrupting the user experience and very stable
Pros and Cons
  • "For us, the greatest aspect of the solution is the fact that it just runs. It is amazingly resilient. That's very important to us, because we are basically, with some exceptions, have a 24/7 operation."
  • "The one aspect of the solution that's negative for us is also more unique to us due to the fact that we did a MetroCluster. The tiebreaker piece that does the monitoring of the two different locations, and determines if one is not talking to the network normally (or if it's truly down) is a little difficult. It feels like it was not designed from the beginning to fit well into the other pieces. It feels like it was thrown in at the last minute and it is not smooth."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for keeping our information reliable. In our case specifically, here at the operations location, we've got a MetroCluster for redundancy.

What is most valuable?

For us, the greatest aspect of the solution is the fact that it just runs. It is amazingly resilient. That's very important to us, because we are basically, with some exceptions, have a 24/7 operation. 

The newer features will be able to do things without interrupting the user experience, such as moving volumes on the fly, as well as adding and removing nodes to the clusters. That general set of features is pretty important to us.

What needs improvement?

The one aspect of the solution that's negative for us is also more unique to us due to the fact that we did a MetroCluster. The tiebreaker piece that does the monitoring of the two different locations, and determines if one is not talking to the network normally (or if it's truly down) is a little difficult. It feels like it was not designed from the beginning to fit well into the other pieces. It feels like it was thrown in at the last minute and it is not smooth. I've actually spoken to NetApp about that. I understand from a little bit of my research that they do have another product out. They've renamed it. I don't know how much they've changed it. I don't know if they have made that a better fitting piece or if it's just got a different name.

I still have not moved to their most recent version. I believe they have incorporated several updates that I haven't had experience with yet. I'd hate to say, "Oh, we should put it that in there," and it's already there.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have different geographical locations. The different locations probably would have a different timeline in terms of when they started using the solution. The location I am sitting at is an operations-based charter for our location and we have had the FAS type filer for probably 12 years or so.

Buyer's Guide
NetApp FAS Series
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about NetApp FAS Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. It's quite reliable. We have it going 24/7. It doesn't crash or freeze. There aren't bugs or glitches, at least not that I have experienced. It's good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is not something that I would have much experience in from this location. We're a smaller site with about 1500 users. It's not something that has to be extremely scalable at our location. 

From talking to my coworkers at the larger locations, I believe that NetApp has become more scalable than they have been in the past, so they're going the right direction.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is outstanding. We're more than satisfied with their level of service.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the initial setup, the migration of the MetroCluster, in particular, is more complex. 

I handle the management and maintenance of the solution myself, unless I need the assistance of a consultant.

What about the implementation team?

We had a consultant come in and help us when we went from the non-clustered MetroCluster to the clustered MetroCluster for the different versions. That was a bit more than I wanted to tackle. I brought in the NetApp consultant to do that. I would say it was more complex than straightforward overall. The consultant even noted that when he was here that this is probably not something that, as a customer, he'd want to do on his own.

The consultant was excellent. He laid out a very clear roadmap of what we were going to do and broke it into three parts so that we didn't have too much on our plates and we could make adjustments in between each part. In the end, it was pretty smooth.

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

We haven't really done anything with the leasing options that they have recently come out with. We have instead outright purchased the equipment and all of the software that we use from them. 

It doesn't seem out of the normal range for other vendors. 

I don't really have a big pro or con stance on the pricing aspect of the solution.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers. We don't have a business relationship with NetApp.

The FAS Series itself is not as complex as a MetroCluster configuration of the FAS. I would say if you're doing the MetroCluster configuration, it's worth it to get a consultant to assist. Almost every time that I have used a consultant, I have been very glad that I made the decision to hire them. I've done the incremental migrations on my own without difficulty, however, the big changes from platform to platform in particular, and from the non-clustered on tap software version to the clustered on tap software version are more difficult to perform. It's worthwhile to get consultants in those instances.

The single FAS setup, I would say, the first time I did it, was probably the biggest learning curve. Regardless of the vendor, I would probably recommend having a consultant come in for the first time you're learning all the ins and outs of the solution. After that, the migration for the individual FAS and non MetroCluster FAS seems to be very manageable if you've got a certain level of experience. If storage is kind of an extra task for you versus your primary task, you're probably going to want to pull in a consultant regardless.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
AlexanderZhuravel - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Network and Server infrastructure department at Sense Bank
Real User
Top 20
A hybrid solution for production system with high workload
Pros and Cons
  • "It offers data compression and people management."
  • "Installation of the additional switches and ETP could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for the production system with high workload.

What is most valuable?

NetApp is the best solution because of price and production. It offers data compression and people management.

What needs improvement?

Installation of the additional switches and ETP could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the NetApp FAS Series for three or four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

4,000-5,000 endpoints are using this solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup takes an hour to complete. If we install simple storage, we can install it by ourselves.

What was our ROI?

NetApp is the economy or the physical port.

What other advice do I have?

We have two engineers that manage storage and backup. We search devices with easy management. It has a very simple integration.

If you want high performance on the Domino's system, please read the conclusion.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
NetApp FAS Series
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about NetApp FAS Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head of IT Operations at NCC BANK LIMITED
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Though the tool offers easy-to-use integration capabilities, it needs to improve its pricing model
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable solution."
  • "The high cost of the product is an area of concern, so from an improvement perspective, the tool needs to be made cheaper."
  • "The high cost of the product is an area of concern, so from an improvement perspective, the tool needs to be made cheaper."
  • "The high cost of the product is an area of concern, so from an improvement perspective, the tool needs to be made cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

I used the solution in our company to check Bash shell, specifically from when my organization started to function. For managing patches, the best storage my company prefers is NetApp FAS Series.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that the tool is good and serves as a relevant product at a global market level. My company receives good support for the tool, and the solution also offers many local support engineers.

What needs improvement?

The high cost of the product is an area of concern, so from an improvement perspective, the tool needs to be made cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using NetApp FAS Series for seven to eight years. My company currently uses NetApp E-Series E5600. The tool was purchased in 2015 and is used in our company's data center.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

My company had around 3,000 users of the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support offered for the solution is very ordinary and usual, meaning it is not very good.

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

Currently, my company has moved from NetApp FAS Series to a solution from Dell.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase was not complex. If you have knowledge or technical know-how, then everything is easy with the deployment and installation part. The tool offers an easy setup phase.

The steps to deploy the product depend on the requirements of the organization. I always recommend Dell EMC and IBM over NetApp FAS Series. In general, NetApp FAS Series is a very good product. Nowadays, NetApp has many new features, owing to which customers have started choosing NetApp to get access to its new features and the new architecture that is launched and available in the tool.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The setup phase of the tool is good since there is no need for a network change when shifting from NetApp FAS Series to Dell.

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

The price of NetApp FAS Series is the same as Dell's cost, so I don't think there are any comparable elements in the pricing part.

The tool is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

The solution's areas, like NFS and SSD, were useful for storage and management in our organization.

Only recently did my organization use Dell's data backup solution. Also, the recovery part was managed by Dell's software along with the backup area.

The integration capabilities of the product are good and easy to use.

There are no challenges in the product, and everything is normal when it comes to NetApp FAS Series.

In terms of performance improvement, the perfect architecture that the tool provides is good.

There are a number of benefits that are offered not only by NetApp but all the other types of storage products in the market. Organizations should use storage products like NetApp, Dell, IBM, Huawei, or Hitachi for data security safety. For good performance, there is a need to use some storage device.

I rate the overall tool 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.
PeerSpot user
Atilla Celiloglu - PeerSpot reviewer
Broadcast Technology Director at tv8
Real User
Top 5
An user-friendly solution that offers good throughput
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is user-friendly and helps to evaluate the performance of each node. It ensures that if one node encounters an issue, the system can immediately redistribute the workload without interruptions. This setup provides uninterrupted operation for our systems."
  • "The product should include an audit log feature."

What is most valuable?

The product is user-friendly and helps to evaluate the performance of each node. It ensures that if one node encounters an issue, the system can immediately redistribute the workload without interruptions. This setup provides uninterrupted operation for our systems. The high throughput, averaging 1.5 gigabits per second, also ensures that users can connect and work without encountering issues.

NetApp FAS Series follows a portfolio-based security system that allows us to manage folders and specify which files can be uploaded. For example, we can configure folders to only accept file types like MP3, MP4, or MKV. This ensures that only permitted file types are uploaded to the designated folders, enhancing our security measures.

What needs improvement?

The product should include an audit log feature. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for 15 years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Upgrading the data size is easy with the product. My company has 300 users. 

How are customer service and support?

We open a case whenever we encounter issues. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

NetApp FAS Series' pricing is competitive. 

What other advice do I have?

The product can be integrated with the cloud. It's compatible with various cloud storage layers like Amazon S3. Whether you're working with Amazon or Azure, it supports cloud connectivity. You can configure parameters so that data not accessed for over one month can be automatically moved to the cloud.

We manage our systems separately. I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager, System at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Vendor
Top 20
A stable solution that performs well and provides very good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The support is very good."
  • "NetApp is costly when compared to Dell."

What is our primary use case?

The tool is used for multiple protocols like NFS and iSCSI.

What is most valuable?

The solution provides fast performance.

What needs improvement?

NetApp is costly when compared to Dell.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for more than eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product does not allow us to add disks. We need to add a completely new disk shelf to scale the product. The solution is suitable for enterprise-level businesses.

How are customer service and support?

The support is very good. I am happy with the response time and quality of support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are using Dell because it is more feasible to use.

What other advice do I have?

I will recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the product 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
Senior Storage Engineer at Orange Business
Reseller
Top 5
Super stable and provides a positive return on investment
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are compression and dedupe."
  • "There are some technical limitations, but it would be great to have in-line deduplication and in-line compression for the FAS series as well."

What is our primary use case?

Primarily, we use them as backup targets. Additionally, we utilize them as archives or for slower-performing tasks, serving as masters for our customers.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are compression and dedupe. Since we mainly use them for backup purposes, being able to compress and deduplicate data is crucial. 

What needs improvement?

There are some technical limitations, but it would be great to have in-line deduplication and in-line compression for the FAS series as well. These would be improvements on current features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for around seven years. We are currently using version 9.11.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable. I use it on a daily basis. I would rate it a ten. It's extremely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I find it to be scalable both vertically and horizontally. It's a ten. It's super easy to scale.

How are customer service and support?

I really like NetApp's support. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

It's very easy, I think, once you know the product. I would rate it a ten, with one being difficult and ten being easy.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment took around three to four hours. I upgraded it, created and joined it to a cluster, and then configured it accordingly.

What was our ROI?

We do make money from it. I would rate it around a six or seven.

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

I would rate it an eight out of ten, with one being low and ten being expensive. In general, I find NetApp to be very expensive. That's the main issue I have with them. So it's a drawback in terms of pricing.

There are additional costs depending on the bundles you choose to purchase.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have worked with similar systems from some Microsystems in the past, but that's about it.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise them that it's a stable, functional platform, especially if they are already using other NetApp products. I highly recommend it. 

Overall, I would rate it a nine. It's a great product. The NetApp FAS Series is super stable and doesn't give us any problems. It consistently performs backups as needed and handles all the tasks we require. It utilizes the same excellent operating system as the enterprise-grade NetApp products, which is fantastic. Most importantly, it just works. I don't have to spend a lot of time managing, fixing, or troubleshooting it. It's simply there and working flawlessly.

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
Storage Administrator at Softcell Technologies Limited
Real User
Top 5
Offers features like compression, deduplication, snapshots, and easy deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "It's a stable product. No issues there."
  • "Cost is always a factor. Some people choose EMC or Dell because they perceive NetApp as being more expensive."

What is our primary use case?

I've been involved in daily operations like ratio to volume and aggregate monitoring. I've also worked on the ONTAP 9 manager, as well as an ONTAP upgrade of the operating system. I've also done a small implementation along with my colleague.

The use cases depend on the customer's specific needs. Factors like workload, legal requirements, and desired protocols would determine if FAS is a good fit. 

For example, if the customer has a large database workload, we might suggest AFF instead. But for most other cases, we can recommend FAS because it's more economical compared to AWS.

What is most valuable?

Most of the important features are already included, like compression, deduplication, snapshots, and more. 

What needs improvement?

More integration would be beneficial. Moreover, cost is always a factor. Some people choose EMC or Dell because they perceive NetApp as being more expensive. But we do have other products, like support for other models, that are more cost-effective.

So, the pricing could be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it since 2017.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product. No issues there.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable product. I've seen it used at a bank in India with a large number of users and also at another customer site with about 250 users.

How are customer service and support?

We've reached out to support when facing technical issues, such as hardware failures or processing problems. We log a call with NetApp support, and we've always received proper support. No issues there.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex. It's quite straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment itself usually takes around two to three days. However, if there's data migration involved, it could take longer. 

On the first day, we would onboard the box and do a hit-run test. Then, on the second or third day, we would do the implementation. 

If there's data migration, that would add some time to the process. But overall, the installation and setup can be done within two to three days.

For deployment, a team of two to four people is usually sufficient. It depends on whether it's a large-scale or small-scale deployment. But two to three people are generally okay.

What was our ROI?

It is worth it. It's very good for customers. Once a customer uses NetApp hardware, I don't think they'll go for other vendors or OEMs. They're getting the service, so there are no issues.

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

The licensing cost is on yearly basis. 

What other advice do I have?

It's the best for the environment. No issues. Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I can recommend it to others as well. But, it's important to check the pricing against competitors to ensure it's competitive.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
AdrianoSimao - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Project and Infrastructure Service Manager at CEDSIF - Ministry of Finance
Real User
Reduced the time to market for all of our products
Pros and Cons
  • "The replication feature is noteworthy because it's faster than most and it uses little bandwidth. Then there's the friendly interface that the equipment offers. With this interface, it is very easy to manage."
  • "I think this kind of infrastructure is mostly obsolete. To keep up with developments in this space, you need to move all these features to an All-Flash solution."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the NetApp FAS3240 as an integrated solution with a FlexPod that is used to host virtual machines, databases, and applications. It's a large solution with resilience and good performance; to date, we haven't had any complaints about it.

How has it helped my organization?

We decided to use NetApp FAS because we needed to decrease the cost of running our infrastructure. When we moved to this solution, we concentrated all the resources on top of it so that if there's something we need, we can offer it up without spending much time or money on new resources. There is no more hassle, beyond attending to the demands of running the FAS.

At the end of the day, we have reduced the time to market for all of our products, especially when we need to support our clients with new requirements.

What is most valuable?

The replication feature is noteworthy because it's faster than most and it uses little bandwidth. Then there's the friendly interface that the equipment offers. With this interface, it is very easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

I think this kind of infrastructure is mostly obsolete. To keep up with developments in this space, you need to move all these features to an All-Flash solution. Nowadays, we are working with a massive database involving big data and lots of information (even intelligence), and for these environments, it's not appropriate to run this kind of business. We feel that we need to move to an All-Flash environment in order to offer better performance for the client.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using NetApp FAS since 2010.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is fine. There have been no problems to date. Since 2010 until today, we have replaced no more than seven disks, but it all depends on the facilities that you are using. I can say that based on this factor, it has been very affordable to use this solution.

In general, it's a resilient solution with good performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We started with two instances, and now we are running four. It was very easy to scale them. We assembled them, connected them, and the business has been running very well.

On the second upgrade that we did, it was quite different because they started licensing based on the capacity of the disks. I thought this was strange, but technically speaking, it was very easy to upgrade the environment with minimal knowledge needed.

How are customer service and support?

NetApp has very good support. I have no complaints about them. When you go to Active IQ, you have all the features you need. You can replace any spare within 24 hours, which is good for business.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward and took only five working days to deploy. I remember that in the beginning it took quite some time to replicate one side to another because the communication between the sides was not good enough, but once we upgraded the communication, it started running smoothly.

What about the implementation team?

We do the maintenance for the implementation ourselves. We have an agreement with the facilities that we have with NetApp, such that it's not tied to the supplier and we can maintain it by ourselves. We have a team which is prepared for this scenario as the first line of maintenance, and if we need more than what we can afford, we open a call and it's very straightforward to solve the problem from there.

What was our ROI?

As I have mentioned, we have been using NetApp FAS since 2010 and lately some infrastructure is becoming obsolete. However, after only three years of running it, we have had good results in terms of return on investment. We plan on switching out some of the end-of-life solutions with the rest of the amount invested.

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

We have considered upgrading to an All-Flash solution but when we evaluated the cost-benefit we discovered that we don't have enough money to invest in it. To maintain the same technology with All-Flash would be too expensive for us.

What other advice do I have?

NetApp FAS is a fine product. I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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