Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) Reviews

Our organization primarily uses Unified Storage for hybrid cloud connectivity, virtual machine deployment, and migrations. We mainly use mixed storage with varying block and object sizes and compare various databases within the unified interface. It's mainly used to share storage to the SMB and enterprise protocols. It's very helpful for my use case.

We use any data type. The structural application code is any type of data storage. We have EC2 and S2 buckets in AWS and also GCP bucket storage. All of our storage is managed from one location, and we have more than 100 users. 

We previously used a traditional file server storage solution, and we had to use a different vendor for every type of work. By migrating to Nutanix storage, we could simplify everything through a single-vendor approach. The fact that Unified Storage is centralized makes it easier for us to consolidate business operations. 

We also appreciate the scalability aspect because we can scale based on the performance procurement of our workload. It unifies all types of storage. Everything has been streamlined and simplified to a single-window approach. This is amazing because we can accomplish whatever we want in terms of operations and migration. We had a three-tier architecture, but now we can stream everything using a single vendor. 

Unified Storage's centralized management features enable us to accomplish whatever we want in terms of operations and migrations. It's easy to manage the environment. Scalability is also a valuable feature. Unified Storage is highly flexible and stable. Scaling up the environment is simple, and we can scale based on our workload, which can be unpredictable. 

Nutanix's SaaS-based data security solution is great. It protects us against ransomware and global data threats. Everything is protected. It also provides cloud-hosted analytics. The Data Lens monitoring services are working well for us. We can view all the analytics from within the centralized management platform, which is convenient for users. The security features are all there. We feel comfortable knowing that we get a high level of detail at the security level. Data Lens' rating is centralized and everything is easy to use. 

The graphical user interface could provide more detail. It would be nice if we could click on the service and get some expanded definitions of them. When hiring new people, it's difficult to teach them how everything works, but if they can access everything, they can teach themselves. 

I have used Unified Storage for a year and a half.

I rate Unified Storage 10 out of 10 for stability. 

I rate Unified Storage nine out of 10 for scalability.

I rate Nutanix support 10 out of 10. 

Deploying it is straightforward. I wasn't part of the initial deployment, but I know about the integration and migration because I primarily focus on storage. The deployment took about 20 days. We have about 10 people on our team. 

Unified Storage requires some maintenance, but it isn't that difficult. We need to do some patching, but everything is efficient and manageable. The support system around is excellent. If we need to purchase anything, we can get everything quickly from the website. Only three people are responsible for maintenance and administration. 

The Nutanix team handled the deployment. They were very helpful. 

Unified Storage is reasonably priced compared to other platforms. The license is neither costly nor cheap, but it's reasonable. 

We explored Dell VxRail and NetApp's retail solution. Unified Storage offers a higher level of granularity and more control over the security features, and options are available to us.

I rate Nutanix Unified Storage 10 out of 10. I would recommend Unified Storage if you're looking for more security. It's a feature-rich platform that gives you a high degree of granular control over security. 

We use Nutanix Unified Storage for object and file storage.

We wanted to improve the availability of our storage solution by implementing Nutanix Unified Storage.

Nutanix Unified Storage is a flexible solution that is efficient.

Nutanix Unified Storage has enabled our organization to consolidate our storage needs, eliminating the need for multiple storage solutions.

Nutanix Unified Storage helps us with file and object storage on the same platform.

We are able to easily manage Nutanix Unified Storage from any location.

Nutanix Unified Storage effectively eliminates the silos in our storage and provides centralized access to all our locations across the country from a single location.

Nutanix Unified Storage integrates well with other Nutanix solutions.

The most valuable features of Nutanix Unified Storage are the unified dashboard and the ease of administration.

The integration could be improved by addressing the outstanding tasks that need to be completed before implementation can begin.

The documentation on the support site needs to be improved.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for one year.

I would rate the stability of Nutanix Unified Storage ten out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Nutanix Unified Storage ten out of ten.

The technical support is quick.

Positive

We previously used Azure NetApp Files.

The initial deployment was intricate due to the comprehensive set of requirements that needed to be fulfilled prior to implementation. It took four weeks and five individuals to complete the deployment.

Nutanix Unified Storage was cheaper than other solutions we evaluated.

I would rate Nutanix Unified Storage nine out of ten.

We have 1,000 users in our organization. Nutanix Unified Storage is currently deployed for a small group of people, but it will be deployed across the organization soon.

Nutanix Unified Storage requires some maintenance.

I recommend Nutanix Unified Storage.

We are using Unified Storage for our hybrid cloud connectivity as well as virtual machine deployment and migrations. We use it to create different tiers where we store our important data, for our data classification policy. Apart from that, we are using it for our production SAP HANA platform. All our use cases are related to our field which is energy and utilities.

The solution has definitely improved things a lot for us. Earlier, we were using legacy infrastructure with a heterogeneous environment with storage platforms from different providers. We had to approach each vendor for every type of work. But after migrating to Nutanix Unified Storage, everything has been streamlined and simplified, through the single-vendor approach. We are able to accomplish whatever we want in terms of operations and migration.

And with the advanced features—the data protection, data tiering, et cetera—we have been able to get rid of data silos.

The features that are most important to us are related to integration with the cloud platforms like Azure and AWS, although it supports Google Cloud as well. But the most important point is the simplicity of the API integration. We can leverage the API integrations and connect our hybrid-cloud network environment with Nutanix's cloud storage.

We also use Nutanix Data Lens to boot our virtual machines and to create zoning. 

In addition, we can manage and run the storage from any location. The solution gives us the capability to operate the complete unified platform from the cloud. We can create the logical chunks in the storage, and we can map the different types of pools to any resource, residing in any environment, irrespective of location.

And for managing unstructured data, like audio, video, and images, we create different types of tiering or pools in Unified Storage. On the basis of those pools, the data is classified and we use the classifications to connect the storage pools to their respective endpoints.

I would like to see the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. That could definitely be a major breakthrough in providing a unified, seamless experience for end-users. It could reduce costs as well as human effort.

We have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for about three and a half years.

The stability is perfect. We haven't faced any high-priority or critical issues where the storage platform has been degraded or users are facing difficulties. We are satisfied with the stability and code releases.

In terms of resiliency, with high availability and redundancy, Unified Storage works on a cluster model. With the help of this solution, everything has gone well.

An important point is that this storage is scalable on demand. It's very elastic. We can add and remove clusters without any downtime. We haven't faced any challenges with the flexibility or scalability. We have completed seamless integrations with third-party tools, including monitoring tools.

We have it deployed across multiple locations and have more than 10,000 end-users.

We get tremendous technical support from the Nutanix team, 24/7.

Positive

Previously, we used traditional, legacy storage solutions provided by different vendors, including CommVault and Dell. There were problems because we worked with a very heterogeneous network. We were facing a lot of complexities in terms of compliance and defining processes because we had different types of storage devices in our environment.

We found that Nutanix Unified Storage has a complete and rich set of features that can support a cloud-native platform as well as all the workloads that we operate on different cloud platforms. In addition, it's a very cost-effective and stable solution and includes an extensive set of security features for data protection.

After moving to Unified Storage, we got rid of all those complexities. Everything is simplified. We have a single-vendor approach for all of our storage.

I was involved in the full deployment, including migration, implementation, and operations. The initial deployment was a very straightforward process. We followed the complete life cycle approach suggested by the vendor. With that approach, all the phases went well.

Maintenance of the solution includes patching, checking the efficiency of storage, and checking alerts. These are part of the day-to-day operations. We have about 10 people involved in the maintenance.

We worked directly with the vendor.

We have seen return on investment over the last three years and we are quite satisfied with it.

The solution has reduced our operational, capital, and licensing costs. It has also reduced the human effort and our headcount in managing the operations compared to our old storage models.

Nutanix's pricing is definitely much better when compared to other storage providers. That was one of the main reasons we switched to this platform.

To anyone who is concerned about the price, I would say that Nutanix is very robust, stable, and unified, with a complete set of advanced features. If you look at the features, Nutanix has the upper hand when compared to other vendors.

The licensing model is very easy with Unified Storage and our operational cost has been reduced drastically.

We evaluated another product from a similar vendor whose storage platforms we were already using. The main differences were the cost, simplicity, ease of management, and having a single pane of glass dashboard for each module. The seamless integration and simplified licensing model were also important.

Nutanix also provides very robust security. The encryption is perfect. The data is fully encrypted with an advanced set of encryption keys and policies. We are very satisfied with the encryption and data protection provided by the solution.

My advice to organizations that are planning to migrate to a unified storage solution is to go with Nutanix Unified Storage as this is the most trusted and stable platform I have ever seen.

We haven't had any challenges using the solution. There have been no problems with the implementation, integration, or in terms of operations. That is also true for operational support, technical support, patch management, and license management.

We are also using Nutanix clusters for our traditional workloads and Prism Element and Prism Central. We are using them because they are a part of hyper-converged technologies and save us a lot of costs. These clusters have unified storage, network, and compute, providing an integrated platform that simplifies management.

Some of the features that we use include replication and snapshot capabilities, especially from remote locations to our data centers. The main benefit our company sees from using Nutanix Unified Storage is simplification. In the past, we used three-tier solutions with a lot of complexity and operational overhead. Now, we want to focus on the layers above. I want to have storage available, but I don't want to have to think about it. I want it to work without any issues.

The solution needs to be more open to integration with other vendors. Sometimes, we struggle with the support process. Our skilled engineers must explain our problems to everyone, even though we've already done preliminary investigations. The support team follows standard procedures, which can be painful. We're not a small customer, especially in the life sciences sector, so we'd appreciate more specialized support. I've heard Nutanix Unified Storage has teams dedicated to life sciences and healthcare; we should be part of that.

I have been using the product for five years. 

The solution's stability is good. We haven't heard about any issues with it, which is great. We have had issues related to hardware. 

We have used the tool's technical support and found it good. It's one of the best support services in the market. While some tech support experiences can be painful, Nutanix Unified Storage's support has been solid.

Positive

We see time and money savings from using the product. The simplification means we no longer need to worry about configuring small pieces. It's just a few clicks, and it's done. This saves us a lot of time and helps us avoid human errors. It's hard to put an exact number on the savings, but overall, it's a really simple process.

The solution's pricing is fair. 

The tool has been good so far. Our company has thousands of clusters installed, which we're using for virtualization and VMware. I want to explore whether there's a way to eliminate VMware. We want to try using AHV together with storage as a complete solution. 

Over the last five years, we don't have any other use cases with Nutanix Unified Storage. We're new to NetApp. We use NetApp extensively, and everything is connected to our NetApp ecosystem. We'll try the solution, but there are special use cases where we use some specific NetApp features that aren't available in Nutanix Unified Storage. 

One limitation we faced was the inability to use external storage, but I've heard that it's on the roadmap and should be delivered soon, which is awesome. Another important feature I learned about is the ability to scale up storage and compute independently. This is crucial for us because we've struggled with this in the past. It's good to see that you're listening to your customers.

We haven't been able to reduce the number of storage nodes so far because our systems are distributed worldwide. We need capacity everywhere, so it's hard to consolidate. However, we have been increasing the storage capacity in our storage nodes. I'm happy the tool allows us to think about storage and computing separately. We can grow each independently, which is good for our needs.

We initially used VMware virtualization, but we adopted a dual strategy by introducing Nutanix Unified Storage about five years ago. We saw great potential in it from the start. While there were some aspects we weren't fully satisfied with, we actively engaged with the tool, providing feedback. Our goal was to help make Nutanix our primary infrastructure solution.

The key factors driving us to adopt Nutanix Unified Storage fully are simplification and end-to-end coverage. We don't have to worry about building the solution or dealing with integrations.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten. 

Our use cases can be divided in two. The first relates to end-user computing. We run Citrix on top of Nutanix clusters. It's highly stable, and we have a user base of around 8,000 people. It's a platform where people can claim government benefits, and many of our office staff at job fairs use it to access their applications. 

We also use it for backend functions in our data and analytics department. Our data lake solution uses cloud data housed on several Nutanix clusters in our data center. The application crunches that data and several analysts rely on it to predict things like fraud. 

The other side is a data warehouse we use for our SaaS application. It holds a massive data set that is pulled into the SaaS application, which crunches the numbers. With Nutanix, we can spread our SaaS worker VMs across several Nutanix nodes. They're all rolled together, but each worker is only dealing with the local data.

Once we patch a Nutanix cluster, we know it has also patched the storage element. We aren't dealing with the hypervisor separately, so we know it isn't completely separate from the SAN, which makes things a lot slicker. It's the same with the storage element.

From an analytics perspective, the best aspect of Unified Storage is its locality. When you read data, you want to know that you're only reading data from the particular local storage node. It's also critical to access the data as quickly as possible from that.  From a business perspective, the most important thing is ease of use. Having a combination of compute and storage makes it much easier to manage. 

We don't have any latency, which is one reason we continue to use Nutanix for these workloads. Our data warehouse has a traditional three-tiered structure and has been that way for many years. It doesn't mean it doesn't function, but we wanted to modernize it by improving performance. 

We achieved that using Nutanix. We could remove the latency you would get from reading your traditional SAN and combine all that into the Nutanix nodes on a cluster. 

It has reduced the number of nodes to a degree because we've been able to collapse several legacy SAN infrastructures into the Nutanix boosters. We still need that storage for three-tier, so we put it together outside. 

Historically, it has been a hyper-converged infrastructure, so when you are looking to grow the solution, you need to scale the compute and storage. Having the ability to scale the storage independently would be a good improvement. 

We have used Nutanix Unified Storage for nearly seven years. 

Nutanix technical support is generally very good. You can speak with someone, and they'll work behind the scenes to resolve the issue. If it's a more long-term issue, it may need to be passed from one team to another. It tends to work smoothly. 

Positive

We also use VMware, Oracle, and Linux hypervisors. When we adopt new tech, we add tenants to the picture because of what they can offer. We combine the skills of our system administrators and collapse them into one. Nutanix's advantage is ease of use. Compared to all the products we've tried, Nutanix performs just as well as anything else — better in some cases. 

Nutanix Unified Storage is competitively priced. There aren't any competitors that can do much better for the same price. 

I rate Nutanix Unified Storage eight out of 10. 

I use the solution in my company mainly for file shares and also in conjunction with objects to provide persistent volume claims with Kubernetes.

In terms of benefits, my company has reduced costs by using free trial storage. Cost reduction, along with simplicity, means only fewer hours are required from manpower in configuration and day-to-day administration.

The most valuable feature of the solution is its simplicity because managing installations sometimes involves defining, undoing, and configuring phases, which are not very easy, but Nutanix makes it straightforward. The tool is very stable. It doesn't come to my mind that I have seen the tool in our company's infrastructure for four years.

According to the keynotes announced by Nutanix the previous day or this morning, the data storage for Kubernetes requires improvement as it has a few shortcomings in the area of operations.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for four years. I am a customer of Nutanix.

It is a stable solution.

Scalability-wise, it is quite a simple and straightforward tool. If you need more storage, you just get a new node, and everything gets done in the background, so you don't have to configure anything much.

The technical support for the solution is the best I have seen in my life. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

In the past, my company tried to use an early version of vSAN, and we found that its performance was not good. After my company performed a PoC phase, we deployed Nutanix Unified Storage.

The product's initial setup phase was simple.

When it comes to the product's deployment phase, my company defines the strategy along with the PoC because we are a manufacturing company that has a large and sparse site with more than 100 factories, which we have to take into account. My company started off with the PoC, and then we expanded.

The solution is deployed on a hybrid model, but the majority of the storage is on an on-premises model. My company uses the cloud services offered by Azure.

Nutanix does provide my company with a technical consultant and a pre-sales engineer to help us deal with the implementation part, after which we perform a small test and then go ahead with everything. In Germany and the United States, my company has worked with a third party that Nutanix recommended we approach in order to deploy, install, and configure.

My company pays money for the tool's licensing fees, but we are saving quite a lot of money by getting to have our own resilient storage device.

In my opinion, the product is fairly priced. I would not be surprised if, in the near future, there is a rise in the prices associated with the tool's licensing models.

My company did not evaluate any other solutions against Nutanix Unified Storage. After Nutanix Unified Storage was presented to our company at a meeting, it would be a good idea to do a PoC before choosing the product.

The throughput or latency of Nutanix Unified Storage for data-intensive workloads, such as AI or data analytics, is not an area my company considers a use case in our infrastructure. In our company, we are exploring and migrating some AI and LLM models while also testing them on an on-premises model in order to have a little more control of the data that we are training and so that we can reduce some costs associated with the public cloud, but in general, it is a medium-term project we have in our operations. The product is also capable of working with big projects.

My company has not faced any use cases where we had to use the product to detect and block ransomware threats.

Implementing the tool has certainly resulted in a reduction in the number of storage nodes due to an increase in storage capacity per node. I don't have the specific number because storage is not my main area, but I say from the top of my head that it could be at 3:1 or 4:1 consolidation. You should not take my word for granted because it is not my main area. The aforementioned area has affected my company's operations and business, especially in terms of simplification, by allowing us to save hours for our providers in the storage area for our administrators while also covering a reduction in incidents.

I don't have any idea about Nutanix Data Lens, but in the future, I am interested in working with the cybersecurity team to have a look at the tool's PoC phase, if possible. I think it could be a good use case for us.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

We have a local data center here that isn't connected to the Internet because of the nature of our organization. It does not have any external communications. Last year, we had a disaster when we ran out of storage space in the clusters assigned to the storage containers. We had around 10 TB allocated for files across five clusters. One of our clusters was hosting critical files, so we had to rate the machine consumption from that cluster, and it can expire because the application that the customer was working on was transferring pictures with enormous sizes. 

We realized that we also had the file license, so why don't we go ahead and use it? We contacted Nutanix, and the managers and system engineers suggested we have meetings. We discussed it and then started providing these storage services. Soon, we will expand with node storage, and that will be another option. We're currently looking at best practices because I think there is a limit on the file sizes. We cannot go beyond 10 TB.

The Nutanix solution has improved the overall performance of our infrastructure operations. Nutanix unifies our block file and object storage. It's like a separate service we can provide for the critical applications we are running, but I can ensure each application is secure against ransomware or other vulnerabilities. I will recommend my team to go further with the block and object storage.

I like Nutanix Prism Central. The primary benefit is that we can manage everything from the same page. It also gives you the data in graph form on the main page, so you can keep a close eye on what is happening. You can watch for high utilization and see the disks and reports in the central console. It's a resilient and highly stable application 

The modernized infrastructure and data services feature is the most beneficial to me as an administrator. We derive business value in terms of storage because we have the option of using Windows Firewall.

Nutanix Unified Storage allows us to consolidate our data platform within the Nutanix cluster itself without using external storage. You can work with all types of unstructured data seamlessly with Unified Storage. There should be no problem with that. There are no issues with audio, video, uploads, downloads, etc. 

It's a flexible solution. This is what I understood as I was reviewing the documentation today. Nutanix is trying to simplify storage and has many options for scalability. 

The GUI is easy to use, but it's complex to do tasks from the command line. That is one way they could simplify things for the engineers. People tend to use a graphical interface more than the command line interface. If anything goes wrong, we need to do troubleshooting from the CLI. It would be nice if there were more ways to fix issues within the GUI. 

Nutanix is highly stable. 

Scaling can be a challenge. Once you order a block with a specific size, it will need to be changed to a different node to scale up. We have to expand the cluster and have the nodes ready to increase the storage size. We cannot go ahead and add an extra hard disk if the slots are full.

I rate Nutanix support nine out of 10. 

Positive

We previously used VMware. Nutanix is faster, but the two solutions offer the same level of security.

A typical deployment could probably be completed in a day or two, but our data site required a lot of approvals and an on-site review by our engineer, so our deployment time was around a week. One person is enough to deploy the solution. It doesn't require much maintenance if the clusters are upgraded correctly. 

Switching to Nutanix Unified Storage reduced the total cost of ownership by nearly 50 percent. You can go on the Nutanix website and see a cost comparison of how much you can save over three to five years. 

Nutanix is priced a bit higher than some of its competitors. A lot of Chinese companies like Huawei are entering the Saudi Arabian market trying to provide similar solutions for a lower price. It offers good value, especially the support. Nutanix has a highly competent team. The after-sales support is excellent. 

I rate Nutanix Unified Storage nine out of 10. 

Nutanix Unified Storage is our primary storage solution, and I primarily use its volumes to provide additional disk space for machines. These volumes are shared between vision machines and technical servers. However, for some projects, this solution was discontinued. I currently have all of my additional systems running on bare-metal machines, which fully utilize the available hardware and provide ample storage capacity. To accommodate this, I've repurposed the volumes to share them over the network and connect them to the bare-metal hosts and storage systems. This approach has proven to be highly effective for multiple companies I've worked with.

Another use case for Nutanix Unified Storage is sharing storage through the SMB and NFS protocols. This has been particularly beneficial in my work, as it allows both Windows and Linux machines to access shared files seamlessly. This is a valuable feature for large-scale projects.

Nutanix Unified Storage also offers object storage, which I have used in large-scale environments. However, I have not been entirely satisfied with the available options. Therefore, I have opted to use AWS object storage instead. Currently, I do not utilize Nutanix object storage internally due to ongoing limitations. A year ago, I attempted to integrate object storage into my workflows, but it fell short of my requirements. Consequently, I reverted to the AWS system. Overall, I am pleased with the file storage and volume options provided by Nutanix Unified Storage, as they have significantly enhanced my productivity in various tasks and projects.

I previously worked at a hospital where I utilized Nutanix Unified Storage to facilitate data sharing and capture from the laboratory. I developed a shared design using Nutanix Unified Storage over the network infrastructure. This design enabled seamless data transfer whenever a machine-generated a test result. Upon receiving a blood sample, the machine, connected to a printer, would automatically print the blood test results and the blood type. Additionally, a copy of these results was generated and shared via the Nutanix Unified Storage platform. Using the 'fixable to call' function, I mounted the shared file to the machine, enabling the automatic printing of one hard copy and the simultaneous sharing of a soft copy. This allowed lab technicians or lab doctors to conveniently send the test results to the attending physician at the clinic or directly to the patient.

Nutanix Unified Storage has proven to be flexible to meet our needs.

Unified Storage is good at unifying our organization's block files.

Implementing Unified Storage has streamlined the way I manage and execute tasks across our multiple branches. Unified Storage has enabled me to consolidate data, effortlessly mount it to machines, and share files and folders with colleagues in different locations.

Unified Storage's ability to remove silos is good.

The integrations between Unified Storage, Kubernetes Engine, and the database service are complete. We have not encountered any incompatibility issues.

The Nutanix block files are the most valuable feature.

Unified Storage failed to fulfill our object storage requirements.

The virtual volume has limitations. If I create more than one disk, it encounters limitations. When I mount the volume group to the physical machine, it updates the same disk or partition on the machine, which is not desirable. I was working on a media project that required ten gigabytes of data. I created a volume group of that size, but due to the limitations of the virtual disk, which can be up to 64 terabytes, I had to create a mini disk. Once I mount the disk to the physical machine, it creates a mini virtual disk or mini partition, not just a single partition.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for five years.

Nutanix Unified Storage is stable.

The technical support is one of the best support services we have used.

Positive

I previously used VMware in another organization.

The initial deployment is straightforward and I can do it myself.

I would rate Nutanix Unified Storage ten out of ten.

The security of Unified Storage is comparable to that of other SDS solutions, and we have not encountered any security concerns.

Our positive experience with Unified Storage has prompted us to further invest in Nutanix products to establish our private cloud with on-premises data centers.

I would recommend Nutanix Unified Storage for anyone researching enterprise data storage solutions.

We are using Nutanix Unified Storage for the clusters, the AHV, and the environment for our hybrid cloud setup. This was our part of the refresh activity. As a result, our database and SQL servers are running on this unified storage platform.

The challenge we faced was transitioning from our legacy platform, which was at the end of its life. We had the option to either buy some of the Dell platforms or go with a data center refresh activity. Most of our hardware was at the end of its support life, which was becoming costly. This led us to look for a better technology platform, and ultimately we chose the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform after conducting a POC. We found that some workloads were better suited for this environment, so we moved to Nutanix Unified Storage.

With Nutanix Unified Storage, managing our unstructured data is much easier. The platform's manageability is a significant improvement compared to what we were doing before. Previously, we had to invest a lot of manual effort in tasks like patching and upgrading, but now, most of these activities are self-service and transparent. One example of this is self-service, which allows us to quickly restore files or folders in just a few minutes. This has been very beneficial for our engineers, as it enables them to easily recover files and data on their own.

Nutanix Unified Storage is flexible. We can add storage as we need it because we can add it on the fly. Once we see that our capacity is reaching a threshold, we can easily add a new brick or additional storage to our platform. It's really easy, with no downtime or any other requirements. We can expand it very quickly.

Nutanix Unified Storage is resilient, making it easy to increase storage capacity compared to older three-tier systems. Previously, extending storage required extensive follow-ups and project activities, taking months to complete. Now, these tasks can be done within days or even minutes as soon as storage is available. If assistance is needed, a support ticket can be opened, but most of the time, it is quickly resolved through self-guided documentation. In just a few minutes, tasks that used to take months can now be completed in one day.

Nutanix Unified Storage has significantly improved our organization's disaster recovery capabilities. We have been using Rubrik to back up our other DR activities, making it easier to manage multiple sites. This has allowed us to meet our DR requirements and seamlessly expand our environment while still meeting DR goals.

Nutanix Unified Storage helps to unify our block, file, and object storage. We can easily scale the environment because it operates on a consumption-based model, allowing us to track usage daily and expand our storage accordingly. The platform also allows us to see the capacity of file objects in a single pane, making it easy to access all data platforms from one storage system. This provides flexibility as we can use it for checking block storage, object storage, or file-based storage as needed. Nutanix Unified Storage supports various workloads and storage types in a unified manner.

Nutanix Unified Storage allows our organization to manage and run its storage from one location using a single platform. The flexibility is also a significant advantage, especially with capacity-based licensing, as it enables us to scale our environment as needed. We have observed that sometimes we reach an 80 percent threshold, and based on that, we can plan our consumption model for the next three or six months. We can control both aspects effectively. Additionally, the platform offers a single pane of glass for management, making it very easy to handle. We don't need specialized storage admins; anyone with infrastructure knowledge can manage this platform effortlessly. It's a straightforward and efficient solution for managing and running our storage.

Nutanix Unified Storage has helped us eliminate silos in our organization. We can move critical workloads as needed for IOPS and performance, and these workloads have been running smoothly without any performance issues. We were able to utilize different storage features, such as compression and deduplication, to manage our resources effectively. The best part is the scalability it offers without causing any disruptions or performance problems. We can easily scale up or scale out our environment based on data growth or workload requirements.

The integration between Nutanix Unified Storage, Cluster, and Prism is excellent. They are integrated based on the licensing model we choose. Once we have selected the appropriate licensing, we will be able to use all the features we are licensed for. The software is responsible for integrating all these different products together. Once we have all of them set up, we will be able to see all three solutions in one dashboard. This dashboard allows us to monitor our business, view running VMs, and track resource utilization.

There is a software called Nutanix Data Lens that provides insight into our infrastructure data. With it, we can keep track of anything we detect, allowing us to monitor and prevent suspicious activity and attacks. Nutanix Data Lens offers a feature that can monitor suspicious activity.

What I found to be the most valuable features were better performance and uptime. Performance, in terms of block storage, provided a good amount of IOPs, which was essential for our tier application. The other important aspect was meeting our SLA's uptime requirement. This ensured that our platform, applications, and customers were effectively served.

Storage has been constantly changing due to a significant improvement in technology over the past few years. As a result, the cost of storage has generally decreased. However, in recent years, pricing has gone up in certain areas due to factors like the COVID pandemic and disruptions in the supply chain. We are currently waiting for the demand and supply to stabilize in order to improve the cost situation.

Another aspect that needs improvement is continuous protection against security threats such as ransomware and potential data leakage. These areas require enhanced security measures to safeguard the data effectively.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for a couple of years.

We have not seen anything at all as of now that concerns the stability of Nutanix Unified Storage. In terms of performance, it is providing better IOPS. Everyone is content unless there is a concern raised by the application folks about some issue with IOPS or a performance conflict related to the application ID. In that case, we need to investigate. Otherwise, Nutanix Unified Storage works perfectly all the time.

It is easy to scale the environment. We can scale based on the performance requirements of our workloads. So, if we have a new workload coming in and need more storage, we can easily scale it. There will be no disruption or performance loss when scaling out or scaling up.

We have around 200 people that use the solution.

We contact tech support whenever we have issues and need help. It's very easy to reach out to them because they are available online. If we're stuck or unable to find specific documentation, they are able to help us out.

Positive

We had various types of storage, mainly Dell EMC, with three file storage systems. We used multiple different storage options since it followed a three-tier architecture. As a result, we began transferring some of our data to the cloud and some to Nutanix.

The initial deployment was straightforward because we had already done everything earlier, such as test drives. After that, a lengthy discussion was conducted to determine the capacity sizing and other necessary details. We then communicated with the Nutanix account team to decide on the required storage and the environment we would be implementing.

There were plenty of other team members involved in the testing. These team members also work with us and have specific concerns related to their areas of expertise, such as the application folks with concerns about the application and the database folks with concerns about the database. During the testing, we collaborated with these different team members to ensure that any questions or performance issues they had were addressed. This included the database team, application owners, and various infrastructure members. There were around 50 people involved in the deployment.

In our two years of using Nutanix Unified Storage, we have already seen a 50 percent return on investment.

Nutanix offers different pricing options, including Ultimate and Ultimate Pro. Depending on our business requirements, we can discuss these options with the account manager. We can also request a quotation based on the capacity and model we need. The price will vary based on our specific requirements and the workload we plan to run.

If the workload is critical, we will need better critical support licensing to ensure our platform is robust and has the flexibility to handle any additional storage needs. It's important to have a single point of management to monitor all files, objects, and block storage services in the environment. Our goal is to support a maximum amount of different product services and storage types to accommodate our environment.

Anyone who is worried about the price can run the test drive. They should do the Proof of Concept because, in the long run, Nutanix Unified Storage offers a good return on investment within the first year. One of the best things about it is that it provides peace of mind by transitioning an organization from a three-tier architecture to a single unified platform, offering a single pane of glass to help plan maintenance activities accordingly. There is no need for months of planning as required in those three-tier architectures. With Nutanix Unified Storage, it will be simple.

We also explored a couple of other solutions, such as moving everything to the cloud platform or utilizing the CMB with EMC storage and implementing the three-tier models. However, after careful consideration, we decided to go with a hybrid cloud environment. This way, we can run certain workloads that are not suitable for the cloud on our current setup while upgrading other aspects to the cloud.

I give Nutanix Unified Storage a ten out of ten.

Nutanix Unified Storage does not require regular maintenance. Maintenance is only necessary when performing patching or other specific activities. Even then, maintenance is simplified due to the use of clusters, which allows for easy transfer of workloads between clusters during upgrades or updates. The process is non-disruptive and allows for seamless transitions. Maintenance is only needed on a few occasions, as most upgrades are non-disruptive.

Anyone considering evaluating Nutanix Unified Storage should consider the workload they plan to run and the specific use case they have. Another important factor is whether they will be using a mix of cloud or hybrid environments, or if everything will be in the hybrid cloud. To begin, they should do a test drive and conduct a proof of concept with a critical workload. The advantage is that there is no cost involved in testing it out and seeing if it suits their needs before deciding to proceed with the unified solution.

We use it for the application virtual machines and the database virtual machines.

Performance-wise, it is very impressive. We get local storage, which creates copies of data objects on each host. Therefore, even if there is a host failure, we can rebuild the virtual machine (VM) using the copies from other hosts. This setup enhances performance, especially since the storage access is local.

When it comes to licensing, we get favorable terms compared to other technologies on the market. For instance, we receive the ready boxes at a lower licensing price than competitors. The applications run smoothly on these boxes, adding to their reliability.

Cost efficiency is another significant advantage of our setup. Our private environment provides considerable savings compared to public offerings like AWS.

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) provides an integrated environment that combines storage, computing, and networking resources into one cohesive system. This is a significant advantage. Additionally, we can easily migrate machines from any environment to Nutanix with the Move tool without the need for a license. Upgrading hosts, BIOS, or firmware for the physical hardware is also straightforward through Nutanix Prism. This ease of management makes Nutanix a convenient solution for our operations.

More training sessions should be organized by Nutanix, or they could consider creating training videos to help users learn about new features or tools that we introduce. This would provide a better way to gain knowledge in these areas.
The training programs could be improved. It's quite challenging to find adequate learning resources online, as there isn’t much available on the internet or YouTube. Users often have to rely on Nutanix documentation to learn how to use the platform. Therefore, it would be beneficial to offer knowledge transfer sessions that focus on installation steps and new tools.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) for three years and six months.

Regarding scalability, I would rate it an eight out of ten. Adding another node to scale the environment is straightforward and effective. Overall, I would also rate the scaling process as easy. By simply adding a node, we can increase the cluster's capacity.

I would rate the technical support for Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) as a solid eight out of ten. They respond very quickly.

Positive

Installation is straightforward. We simply need to install the foundation tool on a laptop, then provide the IP address, host name, and other details. The tool automatically creates the cluster and sets up the storage without any manual intervention needed during deployment.

It typically takes about four to five hours to set up a single cluster.

Five people manage the solution. 

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) requires maintenance. Regarding maintenance, the solution requires occasional maintenance, particularly to upgrade to the latest versions or to ensure compatibility with any tools or hardware. This maintenance primarily involves node maintenance, not application maintenance. As for the time required for maintenance, it varies depending on the features being addressed, such as FTS (Full Text Search) or LTS (Long-Term Support). Typically, it takes around two to three hours to upgrade at least five hosts.

It is cheaper than the market. 

When comparing features, one of the major advantages is that migration is very fast. It allows for easy movement from one environment to another without the need to purchase any special licenses. In contrast, many other solutions on the market require specific licenses for various activities, such as migration or upgrades. This flexibility makes this solution more accessible and cost-effective.

In terms of security, we primarily depend on the network side. The networking team manages all aspects of network security. As most of our hosts are connected to the network, the primary threats generally originate from this area. We regularly conduct upgrades and apply patches based on our assessment of potential vulnerabilities, which helps minimize risks.

I would definitely recommend this product to others; it is very resilient.

My overall rating for Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) is eight out of ten.