We primarily use the solution for migrating our DR site.
System Team Lead at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliable with the capability to extend but is very expensive
Pros and Cons
- "The solution runs well in the background, just in case we need it."
- "The user experience could be more friendly."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
We have a system that can now move us to a DR site. I have yet to experience any major crisis, however, so I haven't yet tried it.
What is most valuable?
The solution runs well in the background, just in case we need it.
It is stable.
The solution has the capability to scale well.
What needs improvement?
I don't have any notes for improvement.
I'd like the installment and configuration to be more seamless.
The user experience could be more friendly.
It's, by definition, a complicated product.
We'd like the entire solution to be more automated. We'd like as much automation as possible.
The solution is very expensive.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven't had any stability issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It is reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not tried to scale the solution. However, we are aware that it can be quite scalable. It depends on the license.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup and configuration can be complex. It's a complicated product. I'd rate the complexity of implementation eight out of ten.
It took us a few months to fully deploy the solution.
What about the implementation team?
We had an in-house team and professional service to manage the setup process. We did not do it fully by ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is very high. However, you get what you pay for. You need to invest a lot of money in order to gain any functionality. In order to have a DR site and maintain it, you need the investment.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's expensive. However, it's a good investment.
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.
SAN and UNIX Administrator at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Excellent replication feature, extremely stable and has a straightforward initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "The replication is the solution's most valuable feature. If we have some issues on the VM in the main site we can migrate it to another site automatically."
- "If you have a failover case, you need to work on it manually. It would be helpful if this could be automated. It would simplify things."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for disaster recovery.
What is most valuable?
The replication is the solution's most valuable feature. If we have some issues on the VM in the main site we can migrate it to another site automatically.
The configuration assembly for the VMware is good.
What needs improvement?
If you have a failover case, you need to work on it manually. It would be helpful if this could be automated. It would simplify things.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is great. We've tested the system and haven't discovered any bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is amazing. They have a great background in VMware issues and engineering.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. It's quite simple. However, those that implement it must have some experience in virtualization. In terms of deployment, you can have a demo regarding SRM and need to apply the scenario on it. Afterward, you can apply it to your environment. It's very easy.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You need a license for SRM. We have a permanent license. There aren't additional fees if you need access to support. However, you can upgrade to another support tier. If you like, you can pay extra for premium support.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the on-premises deployment model.
I'd recommend the solution. I'd rate it ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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VMware NSX T/V Consulting Engineer /Solutions Architect at Onebox Solutions
The solution allows organizations to have a solid business continuity plan but some research needed for configuration
What is most valuable?
Integrated replication / recovery plan ease of use and creation.
Running Production out of DR site
How has it helped my organization?
This product allows organizations to have a solid BC business continuity plan in place in case of disaster. By running regularly scheduled simulated test fail overs a business can realistically plan accordingly and customize their DR strategy.
What needs improvement?
Perhaps the array replication or vm guest customization features. Perhaps more features are needed to allow
For recovering VMs in situations where replication on production site has been paused for (ie: 1 week or more)
For how long have I used the solution?
4 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Deployment is fairly straight forward but it still requires a good amount of VMware experience on the architecture side to properly deploy and scale.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues. Product is fairly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues. This product scales according to licenses purchased.
SRM 5.8 scales very well as compared to v5.5
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
VMware customer service is great.
Technical Support:VMware technical support really delivers.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously used Netbackup and Avamar.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is straight-forward but you need to really do some research on prerequisite environment config needed for this product to work as developed.
What about the implementation team?
It was implemented in-house and on-site in customer environments.
What was our ROI?
100% ROI.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Other options evaluated were EMC Avamar and Symantec Netbackup.
What other advice do I have?
You should aspire to be really well versed on supporting this product you need to have in-house engineers that are well rounded in the networking, storage and operational aspects of vSphere/vCenter/SRM. I would recommend getting hands-on training through a VMware a Partner before implementing this product in your environment.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Director Of Service Delivery at Kinetic IT
A good solution for those with a VMware footprint
Pros and Cons
- "This SRM solution can improve your footprint within a data center."
- "The product functionality is fairly high-quality."
- "This product is not appropriate for those moving to a broader cloud footprint."
- "The technical support is not very good and needs to make an effort to improve."
What is our primary use case?
We vetted out that data center a number of years ago. We were told SRM would improve our footprint within the data center and that was attractive to us at the time so we went with it.
We are using VMware SRM but we are also currently looking into alternatives that could replicate the benefits that SRM currently provides for our on-premises installation. Once we are in the cloud, we are looking at whether or not we need dual availability zones. We also are looking at what functionality we could get from not having to change RPs (Recovery Point) as we do now with SRM.
What is most valuable?
I would not be able to tell you the features and benefits that are best for the Engineering Teams. That would be more a question for my Engineering Manager and those guys. I am in service delivery and I am familiar with the product but not with hands-on use.
What needs improvement?
The decision to move to another product is a matter of room for improvement around functionality and requirements that we had with AWS and moving to the cloud. We are not going to be procuring any more licensing for SRM when we make the move to the cloud. We were looking at a cloud-native solution in order to provide the same functionality as the SRM provides but in the cloud. That is just a matter of the changing environment.
If the functionality of SRM could be replicated in the cloud, that would be the improvement we are looking for in the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SRM (Site Recovery Manager) for probably six years.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have contacted technical support multiple times. I would not say that I am satisfied. They are not very good and need to make an effort to improve.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup and installation were pretty straightforward. It was ten plus years ago so I do not remember the exact details, but I do not remember it being difficult at all.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of SRM is on par with market rates. So I think the costs for this product are fine.
What other advice do I have?
I personally will not continue using the VMware SRM solution. That is not a question of what is best. Our position moving forward is that we will not be having a footprint in the VMware space. If someone had the ability to focus on lots of things with using VMware in the cloud then there no issues at all with the product and this is a good solution for that purpose. The product functionality is fairly high-quality. Our decision is more based around the direction that we are taking. We will be cloud-based and we will be using AWS predominantly as our cloud-provider solution.
On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I would rate this solution overall as an eight-out-of-ten. It would not be closer to a ten because there is still some work that we need to carry out with regular maintenance and then there are the increasing license costs. An eight seems about right.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior advisor at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
A user-friendly hybrid solution for DR
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for DR.
What is most valuable?
We use the LDM component within our government. Additionally, SRM, a leading VMware product, is user-friendly and supports all our requirements.
What needs improvement?
There could be an integration between VMware SRM and Nutanix products, which can benefit many users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware SRM since last year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There is a minimum downtime.
I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is good.
2000 users are using this solution.
I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Whenever we have an issue or need help, we raise it directly to VMware.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We have a cloud environment that requires disaster recovery capabilities. We utilize HZX to extend layer two connectivity and leverage Site Recovery Manager (SRM) for replication.
I recommend the solution to other users.
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.
Head Of Business at Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited
Is easy to set up and is stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "I like how VMware SRM is able to automate and orchestrate disaster recovery."
- "The price, in general, could be lower."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for disaster recovery.
What is most valuable?
I like how VMware SRM is able to automate and orchestrate disaster recovery.
What needs improvement?
The price, in general, could be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for probably three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with technical support has been fine.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward if you have the required skill level. It took about a week for the initial setup.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price could be lower, in general. My clients pay for an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend VMware SRM and rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.
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: Partner
Customer Success Engineer at Digital Network Solution (DNS)
An easy-to-deploy solution for synchronous replication and asynchronous replication
Pros and Cons
- "It is a very stable solution...I was involved in VMware SRM's deployment phase two years ago, and it was an easy process."
- "The technical support is not quick enough to respond when a user tries to contact them."
What is our primary use case?
In my company, we use VMware SRM for synchronous replication.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that vMotion is possible in VMware SRM, making it a great tool, especially when doing a DR drill. Synchronous replication and asynchronous replication are also some of the good features of the solution.
What needs improvement?
The weakness in VMware SRM is visible when, in our company, we try to do some cross-platform programming. For cross-platform programming, we might need some external tools, like Veeam or Commvault, for cross-hypervisor replication. It is not so easy to integrate it with other solutions. The aforementioned details can be considered for improvement of the solution.
The technical support is not quick enough to respond when a user tries to contact them. For improvement, the support should respond quickly to a user.
Cross-hypervisor restoration support or multi-platform support would be some of the best traditional features I would like to see in VMware SRM's future releases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware SRM for two to three years. My organization functions as a cloud service provider. My company uses the product as well as recommends the product to the company's customers.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't found any issues with VMware SRM's scalability.
In my company, most of the machines have been replicated through VMware SRM, which consists of very few and not many in numbers. We also use Veeam as a backup for external storage, making VMware SRM a handy tool for our company.
One or two administrators are enough to handle the solution.
Speaking about the product's future usage, our company doesn't have much of a requirement for VMware SRM because we majorly need it only for testing purposes. For our company, VMware SRM is not an important tool. Our company recommends VMware SRM to our customers since VMware has been putting out all these features, making its product better.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is not bad since they are responsive. My company successfully resolved most issues we faced while working with the product. My company had raised only one or two issues with VMware, and they had successfully resolved our issues.
I rate the technical support a seven to eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In our company, we use Nutanix Leap, which is similar to VMware SRM.
VMware SRM is available to users as a separate package from VMware, while Leap comes with Nutanix allowing users to use it anytime. In terms of utility, Nutanix Leap and VMware SRM are the same.
How was the initial setup?
I was involved in VMware SRM's deployment phase two years ago, and it was an easy process.
The solution is deployed on-premises.
The setup phase of VMware SRM can be done within a day, and then the planning and all policies that need to be set up would take four to five days or even a week.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
VMware SRM is expensive when compared to Veeam and makes Veeam look cheaper. For support, some additional payments need to be made over the licensing costs of the solution. Even with Veeam, additional payments must be made over the licensing costs.
What other advice do I have?
VMware SRM is a handy solution since it does what it is told to do by its user while staying stable.
I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.
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: Partner
Director - Cyber Resilience at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A highly scalable solution, especially for those who run enterprise-sized businesses
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is strong when it comes to protection and analytics, with the latter being added later on."
- "The administration guides can be complicated and difficult to use, so it would be helpful if it was made easier."
What is most valuable?
The interface of VMware SRM is quite basic and doesn't offer much in terms of features. The solution is strong when it comes to protection and analytics, with the latter being added later on. Protection has been the major feature that we have been using, and it has been quite effective for our needs.
What needs improvement?
The two main areas for improvement in VMware SRM are pricing and administration guides. Pricing is always a consideration, and it could be improved. The administration guides can be complicated and difficult to use, so it would be helpful if it was made easier. Administrators don't want to find themselves in a situation where they can't find what they need, so it's important to make sure that the tools are easy to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware SRM for six to seven years, which is also the longest experience I have had with any VMware product. Our company recommended it to one of our customers initially, and after that, we had complete freedom to implement it for them. It was a good experience overall. Additionally, my company has a partnership with VMware.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of VMware SRM is good. Scalability for Azure and AWS is also good. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
My company deals with enterprise-sized customers.
How are customer service and support?
VMware's vendor support was good. I rate VMware's technical support an eight or nine out of ten. To be more specific, I rate it an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I rate the initial setup process of the solution a seven or eight out of ten on a scale where one is difficult, and ten is easy. The setup process was not too difficult or too easy. Essentially, we were imaging all their physical servers on the cloud.
In our company, the deployment process takes about an hour. In some cases, due to the size of the data we were dealing with, it took a couple of days, which was the maximum, but usually, it was completed within a few hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the solution's pricing a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive.
What other advice do I have?
l always recommend others to have a POC in place. It's always about whether a solution suits your environment or not. So if it does, then go for it. If it doesn't, one should go for another solution. I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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I found implementation very straightforward and configuration as well. This is a great product and has helped us to further our DR strategy. Array based replication is great with our Nimbles.