Pure Storage FlashArray Reviews

Redundancy and the fault tolerance of the platform are the most impressive. Also, this allows all the hardware and software updates to be completed while the system is completely online.

The internal garbage collection process has been fixed recently in some OS updates so it is more efficient but that could be just a little better. That’s it!

Everything related to the hardware or software update of the system(s) are active with absolutely NO downtime and NO service interruptions.

The m50 will be our production machine for a brand new property, we have almost finished building. I can personally state that the Pure Storage Flash Systems are the best built and Pure has the utmost professional customer care. Pure only focuses on Flash and they do it well.

The FA-450 pushes around 200,000 32k IOPS and with our load, which is not small by any means, we top-out around 50k-60k IOPS. It’s fantastic! We will soon upgrade both boxes to the newer m70 with some added capacity and all of which will take probably 30 minutes to complete.

It's easy to use, and the maintenance upgrades to get free controllers work really well.

It's stable.

It's scalable to our needs.

The deployment is very easy. It's quick.

All storage is expensive so any price improvement would help.

We always consider other storage options.

I would definitely suggest this solution to a colleague because of the ease of use. Also, the controller upgrades, compared to Pure's competitors, are huge.

We have about 1,000 users using the product in our company.

The use cases for Pure Storage FlashArray are diverse, with virtualization being a primary one. Many users run virtualized workloads utilizing ESXi, Hyper-V, Citrix, and Server. 

Additionally, I often encounter use cases involving AI and HPC workloads in my consulting work.

One valuable feature of the Pure Storage FlashArray is its Flash-based architecture, which provides a significant advantage. 

Another noteworthy aspect is their platform, Pure One, a cloud-based analytics platform that automatically creates a case and sends out a part if a disk or controller fails. 

The Evergreen subscription model is also remarkable, allowing clients to receive the next version at no additional cost if they subscribe.

A noticeable area for improvement is the support for object storage. The FlashArray does not natively support object storage like S3 or Swift, which pushes customers needing these features towards the more expensive FlashBlade. Integrating object storage into the FlashArray would benefit entry-level and SMB customers by offering a more unified solution.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for about seven years.

The stability of the product is excellent. I have not encountered any significant issues, such as applying firmware that introduces bugs. The overall stability of the product is commendable.

The solution is highly scalable, particularly when there is a need to expand capacity. An expansion module can be purchased and connected, which speaks to the well-regarded scalability capabilities of the product.

Opening a case with Pure is a smooth process, and they prove to be reliable, even in severe cases where infrastructure issues arise. Their support is top-notch, and their NPS scores reflect this.

Positive

Compared to Dell EMC's older Isilon models, Pure Storage outperforms, although newer models from competitors prove competitive. Legacy vendors have made improvements to their solutions yet still adhere to their traditional architectures.

The setup of Pure Storage FlashArray can be completed in a matter of days, particularly if deployment tasks are prepared in advance. For a greenfield deployment, it can be executed quickly, potentially within a day if everything is ready.

Over a five-year cycle, compared to other vendors, cost savings of at least 10% can be achieved if configured optimally.

Pure Storage FlashArray is a premium product, but the introduction of the C-series has been a strategic move to make it more accessible to budget-conscious customers. Despite having various series, the entry costs can remain high.

The closest competitor to Pure Storage FlashArray I've encountered is HPE Alletra, which was previously known as Nimble. Although they are comparable, Pure Storage stands out in reducing latency and increasing throughput.

I recommend starting with a Proof of Concept (POC) as it helps to understand how the product will perform in your environment. It's advisable to begin with a demo and then proceed to a POC. 

Overall, I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.