Vblock [EOL] Reviews

The system has performed very well with the workload we throw on it.  It runs large SQL servers, little MS Windows License key application servers, SharePoint servers, some Linux application servers, and a few specialty VDI guests. 

The original pair of VBlock’s were purchased to replace a hodgepodge of small VM clusters of 3 to 4 VM hosts and an outdated SAN, in addition to moving from an old data center to a new data center. Moving the VM’s from the old systems to the new VBlock --which had more shared resources and a newer VMware version-- was a big win. Once in place, we virtualized as many servers as could be converted from freestanding servers to a VM. The only exception was when the licensing of an application was cost prohibitive; we keep these on stand-alone hosts. This was mainly due to application licensing bias, rather than limits on virtualization.

The primary use case of this solution is as a virtualization host for everything and anything we can run on it.

Centralized virtual hosting platform in a cohesive system with a bundled verified combination of known hardware, firmware, virtualization

• Release Certification Matrix (RCM) is the core of a vBlock device. The RCM ensures that all the components inside a vBlock are fully compatible and settled together
• VCE Vision is also a key into a vBlock and monitors the health of the device
• VCE have done a lot of improvement on VCE Vision regarding customer feedback. It’s like working hand in hand with VCE

Legacy delivery times are usually known for being slow. Buying computing, storage and network components usually take times as much as you multiply providers. vBlock products are fully engineered and delivered operational, and the VCE promise is that a vBlock is delivered less than 45 days after SOW (State of Work), which means that you have a fully working solution into your datacenter quickly. That’s not only a promise, that’s the reality.

The first step is the Logical Configuration Survey (LCS) which is done by customers, helped by architects and engineers from VCE for networking, computing, and storage needs. This phase is done after less than 21 days, and assumes it to be the initial configuration build of your vBlock. The LCS is used by VCE to factory build your vBlock, and by the pro-support team to directly key into the device to finalize the delivery and realize the final test before giving you the keys.

It's an integrated box Mac solution, so it's a plug and play. The deployment and build is pre-made and ready to deploy. It makes it easy to apply. 

The user control could be more advanced. They should work to improve this in future releases.

I'd like a hypervisor to be added to the solution.

Upgrading should be easier. It should just be a click of a button to upload, enter calls or enter systems.

Converged data centers in hosted facilities in many locations.  The ability to roll in a solution and have it function right out of the box is key.

It's a little bit easier to maintain and easier when an upgrade needs to take place, since the vendor is handling the integration aspects usually for a fee.

Vblock™ – 3 of the World Technology Leaders Come together (something rarely seen) 

To start out I am NOT an employee for VCE/EMC/Cisco. This is based off of my own opinions and experiences. Now let’s get started 

The future of technology seems to be about effectively using datacenter resources and underutilized hardware. I believe that you need to converge infrastructure components to effectively use a datacenter. To me, a Vblock™ is basically a Technology Appliance that allows organizations to raise the bar for infrastructure utilization.

In order to maximize you’re spending (OPEX - operating expense) as well as your infrastructure utilization, you will have to have convergence and Vblock™ does this effectively. 

I also believe that Vblock™ will allow you to build and get to a cloud model in a much faster well-organized way.What I believe and have seen with the Vblock™ is that it allows an organization to move more effectively toward a Private Cloud model as well as maintain a high-level of performance to their customers. The Vblock™ alone will NOT get you to a “cloud model” but it’s a major step in the right direction. Vblock™ allows you to have a converged infrastructure that allows you to pool storage, computing and networking to optimize datacenter infrastructure (lower TCO - total cost of ownership). Seemingly, you get better performance in a black box at a lower cost. 

In my opinion Vblock™ technology allows you to virtualize and consolidate your systems while continuing to provide a high-level of performance that has been tested prior to running in your datacenter environment (validation of an outcome). Vblock™ (Standard components and devices based on my experiences): 

• Cisco UCS blade chassis 5108s. • Cisco B230s and B200s UCS Blade Models
• VMax and VNX 7500 Storage Models (EMC storage devices). 
• Cisco networking switches (6140s & 55xx) and FCOE inside UCS for connectivity (Standard Vblock™) 
• EMC RecoverPoint™ SAN replication (Block Base) with native splitters on the storage devices

Vblock™ allows an organization to standardize on what I call a ‘complete infrastructure framework/platform’ with many different components (Compute/Network/Storage). This can simplify an organization’s support as well as help companies move away from a fragmented infrastructure. This convergence (pooling) allows you to share resources to infrastructure components at the same time. 

Vblock™ allows for higher density level in a datacenter which can reduce your physical footprint. I have seen where Vblock™ technology allows cost savings by reduction in hardware maintenance cost (smaller carbon footprint) as well as consolidation on the virtual side. 

UCS manager allows companies to profile their systems for specific settings based on what application may run and where it will run (server profiles) for fast deployments and provisioning. This builds in versatility when you have hardware failures. 

Finally, Vblock™ model has allowed for ease of management from my experiences.

In addition, Vblock™ does enable disaster recovery plans/exercises and effective off-site recoverability to be more structured (i.e. simpler to perform) from my experience. That’s not only the Vblock™ but a major component of disaster recovery and business continuity. I have also experienced EMC RecoverPoint™ deployed with Vblock™ technology to perform state-full SAN replication on the backend with EMC storage to do block replication. This type of replication allows for a smaller RPO (recover point objective). I have also experienced EMC Data Domain® and Avamar® Grids deployed for effective virtual machine and database backup and restore capability. The replication from Vblock™ to Vblock™ allows us to focus on true “application” DRs vs. infrastructure DR opportunities. 

My Opinion: The Vblock™ is designed, to make IT life simpler (infrastructure framework) and more cost effective (an appliance) for an organization.

I think there needs to be more tools to monitor and manage the Vblock™ as a whole, instead of pieces.

We are a solution provider and we specialize in data center-centric, high-end enterprise-level infrastructures. We deal with a variety of things including hyper-converged infrastructure, and Vblock is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

The most valuable feature is that it is centrally managed, as it is quite easy for our customers to manage everything, end-to-end.

While IT evolved from a back-office business process, it is now in such rapid digital and mobile world that the data center is the first, most frequent point of contact with customers.

• Dealing with multiple vendors can be tricky in multi-vendor setup. Having one vendor to deal with from a support perspective is a huge potential benefit when it comes to reliability and avoiding wasting time and money. 
• Finding a fully bundled, deployed, and configured solution with a short delivery time and unique support is really attractive.
  
• As far as customer satisfaction, it will meet and surpass your needs.