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Atilla Celiloglu - PeerSpot reviewer
Broadcast Technology Director at tv8
Real User
Top 5
Reliable storage, easy to use, performs well, and the support is good
Pros and Cons
  • "It's an easy product to use that is stable and has good performance."
  • "The user interface could be improved to have better graphics and the performance analyzer could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We are using NetApp FAS Series on all of your sites.

We use it in four major systems for productions in broadcast TV channels. 

I can say that we use it in Production and Archive environments according to the model and disk structure. 

How has it helped my organization?

I can say that we use it in Production and Archive environments according to the model and disks structure.We tested many storages. Netapp was the most successful in terms of performance. We did multiple HD ingests in real-time. At the same time, Editing teams edited on the ingested files. As Ingest, we recorded more than 20 HD cameras simultaneously. We chose netapp when we saw that it was successful in the tests we carried out according to our structure.

What is most valuable?

  • First of all, I think it is very suitable storage for media.
  • When editing and recording at the same time, its performance is quite sufficient.
  • The fact that it is redundant for the controller provides sufficient security.
  • I can share all volumes as a single space through the FlexGroup structure.
  • You can manage departments independently by creating more than one SVM.
  • Ontap is a very stable and reliable operating system.

What needs improvement?

There should be a separate admin web management for each SVM. We are currently managing all SVMs from a single admin interface. it is a problem.

Real-time performance monitoring requires good software. It would be great to be able to see the audit logs.

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using NetApp FAS Series for more than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I can say that it is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

NetApp has a structure that can grow very easily. You can expand by buying suitable model shelves. You can expand by the value allowed by the controller.

How are customer service and support?

We have opened cases with technical support in Europe. They can connect and together we resolve the issue.

At times we use support from the support site.

What other advice do I have?

NetApp FAS Series can use the cloud services in the storage and can be upgraded to the cloud.

I could recommend this solution to other media companies to use. It's an easy product to use that is stable and has good performance.

I would rate NetApp FAS Series a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Service manager at VST ECS
Reseller
Top 20
Offers features like MetroCluster, easy to scale and setup but slow service centre support
Pros and Cons
  • "The strong point is that our clients like this are RadLV (Radiology Low-Value). They also use SnapMirror and MetroCluster."
  • "The biggest issue we face is parts delivery. There's no local warehouse in Myanmar, so if a customer encounters a technical problem like an IMEI issue, they have to wait a long time for replacement parts."

What is our primary use case?

Clients like the fact that FAS systems can boot from SAN and Boot volumes.

What is most valuable?

The strong point is that our clients like this are RAID DP (Dual Priority). SnapMirror and MetroCluster features are also very useful for DC, DR solutions.

What needs improvement?

The biggest issue we face is parts delivery. There's no local warehouse in Myanmar, so if a customer encounters a technical problem like hardware failure issue, they have to wait a long time for replacement parts.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for more than five to seven years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of the product an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. It is pretty easy to scale. It's good for medium-sized enterprises and also for larger enterprises.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is quite simple. It doesn't take a lot of time. It is quite easy and fast.  The exception might be creating key volumes, which can vary depending on the specific infrastructure involved. Some configurations might necessitate longer key volume creation times.

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

It's not the cheapest, but it's not the most expensive either. It's a fair price. However, the price could be more flexible for the clients.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten. It is one of the good products in the market. 

The customers also use a lot of EMC and HPE as well. In the current situation, we need to choose products with the best support, like EMC, with its rapid technical support response.

The NetApp service center in Myanmar here isn't the fastest at deliveries. The service center engineers are good, but it's not 100% reliable for support. Sometimes, there are delays that don't allow us to make the delivery on time, unlike with other vendors. So, the customers need to wait. 

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: Distributor
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.
MohamedAmr - PeerSpot reviewer
Infra Business Development Manager at GBM
Real User
Helpful technical support, priced well, and high performance
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has tiers inside which means we do not only need to use SSDs."
  • "The user interface could be improved."

What is our primary use case?


The NetApp FAS series is unified storage and can be used for the NAS or SAN environments. We had a customer that needed multiple protocols.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has allowed the consolidation of multiple storage boxes inside the organization. This has reduced the footprint on the data center. From a management point of view, the organizations do not need to manage multiple boxes, they only need to manage one.

What is most valuable?

The solution has tiers inside which means we do not only need to use SSDs.

What needs improvement?

The user interface could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the NetApp FAS series for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and has good performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and can be added on to easily if needed.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is very good and supportive. Their technical support is very helpful and they are engaged from the beginning with the customer and until the project is finished.

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

I have used other solutions in the past.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation of the solution was not that difficult.

What about the implementation team?

We used our internal team with the help of the NetApp professional service team to complete the implementation.

What was our ROI?

By using the NetApp FAS series solution organizations are able to reduce the power, cooling, and space required which reduces the overall cost of operations.

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

The NetApp FAS series price is very competitive compared to other solutions on the market it is a good choice.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

NetApp FAS series solutions have advantages over their competitors because they support multi-protocol, all the levels of the software, such as duplication, compression, and replication. It is an all-in-one solution, the customer does not require to have multiple solutions to get SAN and NAS environments.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the NetApp FAS series an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
MuhammadAli5 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Unit Head at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 10
Has an excellent feature set and protection
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature is its ONTAP product line for Ransomware protection. It also has features for file storage and block storage. The solution is stable. We've had no issues with it. The tool is scalable and meets our requirements. The technical support and the supporting partner are great. The initial setup is straightforward. It is very easy to maintain the product. The feature set is excellent. I recommend the solution."
  • "Replication should ideally be part of the ONTAP base bundle."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for storing our database data and for our virtual machines.

What is most valuable?

The best feature is its ONTAP product line for Ransomware protection. Another benefit is the hybrid and unified model. It also has features for file storage and block storage.

What needs improvement?

I was a little skeptical about the model. I wonder why the replication is included in the ONTAP One bundle when some customers may not require additional features. It should ideally be part of the ONTAP base bundle, even if there's a slight price increase.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for approximately two years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. We've had no issues with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is scalable and meets our requirements for TVs. It handles beta bytes well. We are happy with its scalability.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support and the supporting partner are great.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I work with HPE and Huawei OceanStor, too. HPE is great, but I'm not satisfied with Huawei OceanStor. I'm comfortable with HPE and NetApp FAS Series.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It is a SaaS solution. and very easy to maintain. It’s not a high-maintenance device. It runs smoothly. We use it within our university and have up to a hundred concurrent user sessions. 

What about the implementation team?

The deployment was handled by the partner from whom we made the purchase.

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

The product is on the expensive side, but the feature set is excellent.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate it a perfect ten because I haven’t encountered any issues since I’ve started using it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System Engineering Manager at BTC Networks
Real User
Scalable, high performance, but more replication features needed
Pros and Cons
  • "The input and output per second performance are satisfactory."
  • "The solution can improve on the replication features."

What is most valuable?

The input and output per second performance are satisfactory.

What needs improvement?

The solution can improve on the replication features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used NetApp FAS Series within the past 12 months.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is satisfactory. They need to invest more into the service.

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

We work with Dell EMC and Huawei.

I recommend NetApp on top of the Dell EMC since it's less complex.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not that complex compared to the other vendor. It's in the same level of complexity.

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

When we need to implement a less expensive solution we use Huawei. NetApp FAS Series is a little bit expensive compared to the average of the market.

What other advice do I have?

I rate NetApp FAS Series a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1527378 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology IT Manager Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Reasonable price, good file sharing feature, but the file system is not dynamic and the operating system is very cumbersome
Pros and Cons
  • "The file sharing feature is most valuable."
  • "Its operating system is very cumbersome. However, after you set it up, it runs pretty smoothly. Its file system is not very dynamic. It is very static."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was NFS. It was used for designing chips.

What is most valuable?

The file sharing feature is most valuable.

What needs improvement?

Its operating system is very cumbersome. However, after you set it up, it runs pretty smoothly.

Its file system is not very dynamic. It is very static.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is pretty stable. I would probably give it a six out of ten in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable to some extent. There is a limit, but then everything has a limit. We were using it at three sites across the US. We ran into this issue of hitting the limit just once in a while. When you are growing a cluster, you usually hit that limit.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support was okay. I wouldn't say it was very great, but it was there. Occasionally, they would just go round and round in circles. They didn't know what to do with the case.

They followed the sun model, which is followed by almost every company. If you open a case and the person is one hour away from his break or the end of his day, he would just say that he will have to give the case to someone else, and then you start all over again.

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

We have had different NetApp models. FAS has been around for a long time. The newer models are called AFF, and I have used AFF 300 and AFF 400.

How was the initial setup?

Its implementation was complicated. It takes a couple of hours if your network and DNS are ready. 

What about the implementation team?

There was a NetApp SE on the site to help us.

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

We purchased it for four years, and it wasn't expensive. It was reasonable. 

Every company has a different agreement with NetApp. We got everything we wanted with all the bells and whistles and all the features and functionalities.

What other advice do I have?

Its operating system is a little cumbersome, but it runs pretty smoothly most of the time.

I would rate NetApp FAS Series 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
it_user332772 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Vendor
The integration with Windows for SQL exchange is critical, but it doesn't allow for live deduplication.

Valuable Features:

  • High Availability – most important thing with all big storage systems
  • Flexible – it uses all different kinds of protocols (SAN, fiber channels)
  • Virtual Management Console – helps with and integrates with vSphere. I’ve deployed it, but haven’t configured it. Looks really promising.
  • Snap Drive – integration with Windows for SQL exchange is critical
  • Can update without taking the system down

Improvements to My Organization:

It’s a High Availability environment in which I haven’t had problems. We’ve only had one disk fail in a year. Quality of product is good.

Room for Improvement:

Tegile offers live deduplication. And NetApp can only be scheduled to dedupe in the background or for later.

Also, the web page for downloading software could be more efficient (for example, getting instructions takes a few clicks). Make it easier for customers to download software.

Initial Setup:

The instructions didn’t provide for re-configurations from scratch and tech support were stuck too. The person who configured before had installed NetApp 8.2 on 7 mode. 8.3 didn’t support 7, which I wanted to do, so that’s why I had to reconfigure from scratch.

Other Advice:

First, make a lot of calculations of how much data you’re going to use and how much you’re using now. Compare the two and look into how you configure storage solution. How much data, how to split, etc. If you can’t spend that much on storage, you need to determine how to follow best practices to get as much storage as possible for the money. For example, if you have five shelves, you don’t need to worry about LUNs going offline. But if it’s just two shelves, like I have, you must be very careful about provisioning storage and use as much as possible.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sarthak Panchal - PeerSpot reviewer
Module Lead - NetApp Admin, CMA at a tech consulting company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
Easy-to-setup product with efficient scalability features
Pros and Cons
  • "NetApp FAS Series is simple to set up."
  • "They should add new features to the product."

What is most valuable?

NetApp FAS Series provides all the essential capabilities of E-Series. It is a complete package and even more reliable than E-Series.

What needs improvement?

They should add all features from Flash Pool, Flash Cache, and other new features into the product.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the product’s scalability an eight out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

NetApp FAS Series is simple to set up.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed the product with the help of our in-house team.

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

It is a moderately low-priced platform.

What other advice do I have?

If you are looking for a solution with good scalability options, go for NetApp FAS Series. I rate it an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user