VxRail Reviews

We use VxRail to manage capacity issues. It is very scalable and solved a lot of our challenges. We are an international company and provide services and platforms to customers based in South America, Latin America, and North America.

It improved from an operations standpoint as we reduced failures compared to a previous vendor. The hardware that we previously used had a lot of issues with components failing regularly.

This solution is very scalable and you can add extra nodes to the cluster and bring it online without any interruption to production systems.

When it comes to maintenance, it takes 16 hours to upgrade a 12-node VxRail plus. This could be improved in the system. 

We have used this solution for two and a half years.

The customer support team for this solution are very good at responding to cases. I would rate them a nine out of ten. 

Positive

The initial setup was a little lengthy but straightforward. To deploy a 12 node plus it took two months.

We partnered with Dell Technologies and they helped us implement the solution. We provided the required data for networking and firewall rules for them to roll out the solution. Four senior engineers were involved in the deployment.

We have seen a return on investment. It reduced the need for manpower in keeping our hardware up and running.

The pricing for this solution is on the high end but we do get good value for money based on performance.

I would advise those considering this solution to take a closer look at their workload and design clusters needed to meet that workload. Typically it is easy to deploy large clusters and it becomes tedious to maintain a large cluster. Scaling back on the number and nodes in the cluster is something I would recommend considering during implementation.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

Here in Mauritius, most companies prefer on-premise deployments. We use VxRail for civil aviation services.

The solution could improve by having more storage performance because in some other solutions you can have a file system that can be mounted at several places at one time.

I have been using VxRail for approximately 10 years.

VxRail is stable and we have had no issues.

The scalability of VxRail is very good.

We have four customers using this solution.

We have previously used Nutanix and SimpliVity. The support was not very good. VxRail could be viewed as lower grade and not a top seller compared to others, but if you have an issue with anything, such as the control or engines and it needs replacing, VxRail is better.

Additionally, I have used PowerScale and Isilon.

The process of the installation is straightforward. The initial implementation took use three to four months. The technician allocated to it did not have much networking experience. Once he mastered networking everything went well. You have to be good at networking to be able to have everything completed in a timely manner.

We do the implementation, maintenance, and support of VxRail with one technician.

The VMware licenses are included and we do not have to worry about the license, everything is integrated.

I would recommend this solution to others if the use case fits. Other solutions, such as PowerScale might be better in a particular use case.

I rate VxRail a ten out of ten.

VxRail has high performance and overall good features.

I have been using VxRail for approximately six months.

The solution is stable and reliable. This is one of the main reasons why we purchased this solution.

The solution is scalable. 

We have 100 users using this solution in my organization.

The technical support is very good, DELL is known for their great support.

The initial setup was not that easy, it was a medium difficulty level.

We use a system integrator for the implementation.

We made a one-time purchase of the solution and the price is expensive.

I have evaluated Nutanix.

Those who are thinking about implementing this solution should shop around because Nutanix is cheaper and provides a similar service.

I rate VxRail an eight out of ten.

We use this solution mainly as a middleware application. We work in banking and use VxRail to run all of our mid-layer applications.

We would like to have on-premise technical support.

A more containerized approach in regards to the interface would be better.

I have been using this solution for one year.

VxRail is very stable.

We haven't had problems with bugs, We recently updated VxRail and we haven't had any problems.

If there are any issues, we just open a ticket and are connected with an engineer who helps us solve the problem.

We use two solutions: Vxrail with a hypervisor on VMware; and HyperGrid, with a hypervisor on Microsoft Windows, 2016. Both solutions are different and have separate pros and cons.

The initial setup was not complex. 

We had an integrator from Dell to help us set up everything. I can't remember exactly, but I believe deployment took only one or two days.

Pricing its depend on your requirement well licensing is very simple all VMware and other license cost including in VxRail. But If an organization wants to buy a VMware enterprise license, then they need to pay separately.

VxRail is a good solution, but it all depends on your strategy. We could build our own VMware cluster by buying a separate product. Technically, I could purchase a server and then built my own solution, but with VxRail, everything comes in one box, including licensing, Dell EMC and VMware — It's nice and simple. Although, if an organization wants to buy a hypervisor layer on Microsoft, then that's another story. There are many solutions available for this, including Cisco, which uses Unity to provide a hypervisor layer. HyperGrid uses Windows 2016 on its host operating system. It all comes down to your strategy and roadmap. You need to select your hypervisor first. If you go with VMware, then VxRail is a great choice; however, if you're not using a VMware hypervisor, then there are many other options to choose from.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give VxRail a rating of nine, simply because there is always room for improvement.

We run the applications on VxRail. We run all the applications that we have virtualized through VxRail.

By implementing VxRail, we wanted hyperconvergence.

We are a little unhappy with the last five nodes that we have bought because we have had them for less than one year, but the power supply already burned out, and three network cards from three different nodes had to be changed. With the other seven nodes, we were more or less happy because the only failure they had was the CMOS battery. There were some small issues, but with these last ones, we are a little dissatisfied.

Their support team is always very willing to help, but in the end, we are not 100% satisfied. To give you an idea, we have, for example, four support cases open for which we still do not know what the solution is. One of the cases is that we have a cabin through a Unity node, which is also Dell’s, but the other nodes have zero visibility with the cabin. The only solution that we have been told is to eliminate or clean all the network units that are placed there, which is a drastic solution involving the loss of service, so we are a little dissatisfied with that solution. Their support is very receptive. Our customers try to quickly raise the incident, and we try to open the cases quickly as well. To be fair, someone from the support team contacts you quickly, but it takes too long for them to find the solution. For this reason, we are a little dissatisfied.

VxRail has the ability to consolidate infrastructure from multiple locations. It is a fundamental part. Especially for geographical redundancy, it is furthermore necessary and mandatory.

In terms of VxRail’s ability to simplify our management of VMware, simplifying VMware management is impossible.

VxRail consumes a lot of energy. The rack we have has seven nodes and then it has a cabin and more features. In the end, it consumes a lot of energy, but it is normal. They are working 24/7 after all.

When it comes to reduction in unplanned production downtime, because we have seven redundant nodes, it is hard to know if VxRail is helping to reduce unplanned production downtime. If we had only one or two nodes, the experience would be different because then the node would have been active 24/7, but this is not the case. Because we have seven nodes, we have everything redundant.

At the moment, VxRail has not had any effect on the flexibility of our operations or business. VxRail has also not had any impact on our organization’s sustainability goals because we do not have any sustainability goals.

It is very powerful. We find that to be the most valuable aspect. The movement of devices between nodes is very easy.

The agility of the support team to provide you with better solutions should be improved. VxRail also has to be improved in terms of simplicity. Adding a simple node seemed like quite a project.

We have had it for five years. We had seven nodes, and last year, we bought five more nodes.

It is pretty stable.

In our infrastructure, we started with five nodes. We then increased them to six, and then we grew them to seven. It is not “plug and play” as they say. It took Dell’s technician almost a week to add the node so it is not that simple.

It is a very expensive support, so it is logical that they will assist you quickly, but in the end, for the resolution itself, in many cases, you go around 1,000 times. You waste a lot of time, and they do not find a solution right away.

Neutral

This is the first solution of this type that we've used.

The ROI cannot be measured. In the end, it is a horizontal service that we have to provide, and we have no other option but to give it. The cost does not matter.

It is very expensive.

We also evaluated HP and other solutions, but in the end, we chose VxRail because other colleagues were using it and we already had that knowledge close to us. We said, “Well, let’s take advantage of the know-how.”

We did not consider public cloud infrastructure before choosing VxRail. Due to our business characteristics, a public cloud is not an option. We must have everything on-premises.

At the moment, it does cover our objectives. I do not yet know about the competition. We are now evaluating alternatives, and we cannot yet compare. I would rate Dell VxRail a six out of ten.

Foreign Language:(Spanish)

Título: El movimiento de dispositivos es fácil, pero el soporte es insatisfactorio

¿Durante cuánto tiempo utiliza Dell VxRail?

Lo tenemos desde hace cinco años. Teníamos siete nodos y el año pasado compramos cinco nodos más.

¿Cuál es su principal caso de uso de esta solución? (Incluya detalles sobre su entorno.)

Ejecutamos las aplicaciones en VxRail. Ejecutamos todas las aplicaciones que tenemos virtualizadas a través de VxRail.

Al implementar VxRail, queríamos hiperconvergencia.

Comparta cómo Dell VxRail ha mejorado su infraestructura de TI. Si no fue así, explique por qué.

Estamos un poco descontentos con los últimos cinco nodos que hemos comprado porque los tenemos desde hace menos de un año, pero ya se quemó una fuente y hubo que cambiar tres tarjetas de red de tres nodos diferentes. Con los otros siete nodos estábamos más o menos contentos porque el único fallo que sentimos fue en cuanto a la batería CMOS, Hubo algunos pequeños problemas pero con estos últimos estamos un poco descontentos.

Su equipo de soporte siempre está muy dispuesto, pero al final no estamos 100% satisfechos. Para que os hagáis una idea, tenemos por ejemplo cuatro casos de soporte abiertos de los que todavía no sabemos cuál es la solución. Uno de los casos es que tenemos una cabina a través de un nodo de Unity, que también es de Dell, pero los demás nodos tienen visibilidad nula con la cabina. La única solución que nos han dicho es eliminar o limpiar todas las unidades de red que allí se encuentran colocadas, lo cual es una solución drástica que implica la pérdida del servicio, por lo que estamos un poco insatisfechos con esa solución. Su apoyo es muy receptivo. Nuestros clientes intentan comunicarnos rápidamente sobre el incidente y nosotros también intentamos abrir los casos rápidamente. Para ser justos, alguien del equipo de soporte se comunica contigo rápidamente, pero tarda demasiado en encontrar la solución. Por eso estamos un poco descontentos.

VxRail tiene la capacidad de consolidar infraestructura desde múltiples ubicaciones. Es una parte fundamental. Especialmente en el caso de la redundancia geográfica, además es necesario y obligatorio.

En términos de la capacidad de VxRail para simplificar nuestra administración de VMware, simplificar la administración de VMware es imposible.

VxRail consume mucha energía. El rack que tenemos tiene siete nodos y luego tiene una cabina y más funciones. Al final consume mucha energía, pero es normal. Después de todo, trabajan 24 horas al día, 7 días a la semana.

Cuando se trata de reducir el tiempo de inactividad de producción no planificado, debido a que tenemos siete nodos redundantes, es difícil saber si VxRail está ayudando a reducir el tiempo de inactividad de producción no planificado. Si tuviéramos solo uno o dos nodos, la experiencia sería diferente porque entonces el nodo habría estado activo 24 horas al día, 7 días a la semana, pero este no es el caso. Como tenemos siete nodos, tenemos todo redundante.

Por el momento, VxRail no ha tenido ningún efecto en la flexibilidad de nuestras operaciones o negocios. VxRail tampoco ha tenido ningún impacto en los objetivos de sostenibilidad de nuestra organización porque no tenemos ningún objetivo de sostenibilidad.

¿Qué características le han parecido más valiosas y por qué?

La potencia que tiene es valiosa y el movimiento de dispositivos entre nodos es muy sencillo.

¿En qué áreas se podría mejorar Dell VxRail?

Se debe mejorar la agilidad del equipo de soporte para que brinde mejores soluciones. VxRail también debe mejorarse en términos de simplicidad. Agregar un nodo simple parecía todo un proyecto.

¿Utilizó anteriormente diferentes soluciones hiperconvergentes? En caso afirmativo, ¿cuál y por qué cambió?

No, esta es el primera.

Antes de elegir Dell VxRail, ¿evaluó otras opciones? ¿De ser asi, cuales?

También evaluamos HP y otros, pero al final se eligió VxRail porque otros colegas lo estaban usando y ya teníamos ese conocimiento cerca de nosotros. Dijimos “Bueno, aprovechemos el know-how”.

No consideramos la infraestructura de nube pública antes de elegir VxRail. Por nuestras características de negocio, una nube pública no es una opción. Debemos tener todo en las instalaciones.

¿Qué opina sobre el precio y/o la licencia de Dell VxRail?

Es muy caro.

¿Cuáles son sus impresiones sobre la escalabilidad de Dell VxRail?

En nuestra infraestructura, comenzamos con cinco nodos. Luego los aumentamos a seis y luego los aumentamos a siete. No es “plug and play” como dicen. Al técnico de Dell le llevó casi una semana agregar el nodo, por lo que no es tan sencillo.

¿Cuáles son sus impresiones sobre la estabilidad de Dell VxRail?

Es bastante estable.

¿Has visto el ROI (Retorno de la Inversión)? En caso afirmativo, ¿de qué manera (es decir, métricas/puntos de datos)?

El retorno de la inversión no se puede medir. Al final es un servicio horizontal que tenemos que dar y no nos queda otra que darlo. El costo no importa.

Cuéntanos tu experiencia con el servicio y soporte al cliente.

Es un soporte muy caro, por lo que es lógico que te atiendan rápidamente, pero al final, para la resolución en sí, en muchos casos, das 1.000 vueltas. Pierdes mucho tiempo y no encuentran una solución inmediata.

¿Cómo calificaría esta solución en una escala del 1 al 10 en cuanto a servicio y soporte?

5.

En una escala del 1 al 10 (1=peor, 10=mejor), ¿cómo calificaría Dell VxRail? Por favor explique por qué.

De momento, sí cubre nuestros objetivos. Aún no sé sobre la competencia. Ahora estamos evaluando alternativas y todavía no podemos comparar. Calificaría a Dell VxRail con un seis sobre diez.

In the last deployment, I had VxRail connected to Dell EMC Isilon storage and it increases the complexity of what you're doing and you need to have a team that can manage it.

I have used VxRail within the last 12 months.

I did not have any issues with the stability of VxRail. 

VxRail ability to expand was good, I don't remember what it maxes out at but the one deployment that I was working on and assisting with is one where they were running out of storage too quickly. However, this does not matter if it's HCI or if it's a traditional storage array that you're connecting via iSCSI or Fiber Channel or ports. Running out of storage is a lack of knowledge of utilizing the tools, such as vRealize or Turbonomic, and it is important to do capacity planning. When comparing VxRail to Nutanix, Nutanix had similar scalability capabilities.

The technical support from Dell was very good.

I have used other solutions, such as Nutanix.

The implementation of a VxRail, it's straightforward, but the ongoing utilization, and integration, are where it can start to become difficult if you're not used to doing it.

I rate the Dell price a four out of five.

The price of VxRail highly depends on your design and your configuration. For example, if I connect Pure Storage directly to ESXi hosts and bypass Fiber Channel switches and I will save on money. However, it reduces my redundancy and makes it not as robust of deployment and easy to manage. An HCI environment, it's more cost-effective than utilizing a traditional SAN. With storage and computing altogether, you don't necessarily have to involve the networking team as much. I don't necessarily need somebody that understands Brocade's or Cisco Fiber Channel Switches, because I have it all right there.

One of the most important aspects of implementing VxRail is the capacity planning and understanding of what kind of expansion is going to be needed over a period of 12, 24, and 36 months. No matter what the solution is, you'll start off with a minimum of three nodes, and growing from there, it's very difficult to go back and get more capital. 

Make sure that you understand using an RV tools exporter or something similar to understand when you are designing the solution. This will help make sure that I've allowed for 20, 30, or 40 percent growth over a period of 12 months, or 24 months, depending on the use case. 

It is important to manage budgets, such as OpEx and CapEx. You will always have a certain amount of money that you can spend and not need to go back and attempt to gather more capital, capacity planning is critical.

All right. Overall for the VxRail, how would you scale it from one to ten? If ten was the best and one was the worst.

I rate VxRail an eight out of ten.

We are a customer of VxRail with 200 users. We use the solution for production workloads for the company workflow.

We have Dell enterprise licensing and use all the features. VxRail is a complete solution that includes performance, backups, and disaster recover.

VxRail should try to improve the pricing.

We have been using VxRail for 12 months.

Stability is good.

VxRail is vSAN, so we only need to buy a node when we need to scale, which is not a problem.

Technical support is good.

The initial setup is straightforward. Installation took approximately 2 days, but migration from the old UCS to the new infrastructure took time.

We have ten people on our in-house technical team including networking, security, and data center engineers who do storage and servers.

VxRail is doing the job we require, we are not making money from it.

VxRail is an expensive solution as we have the enterprise license that is billed annually. It has everything we need but it would be nice if they could do something about the pricing.

If you have done the research about VxRail and know what you are looking for then I recommend using it.

I rate this solution a 10 out of 10.

It's somewhat hard to speak about specific features, but I like VxRail's simplicity and ease of use. It's a decent solution for customers with a small footprint. If you're operating a big data center, it's not easy to position VxRail or HCI solutions, but when you have a small customer managing many different components, it's easier to work only with one solution.

If VxRail could also offer file services in addition to virtualization, that would be nice because sometimes people want to complement their environment with file services, and you don't have that in VxRail.

I've been working with VxRail for several years.

VxRail is stable.

VxRail is not an easy tool for selling big projects or a lot of services.

VxRail is comparable to vSAN, which is the same product but more integrated. 
Nutanix offers more services, and it can behave as object storage, file server storage, or Sun storage, whereas VxRail is more of a virtualization solution. Also, Nutanix can work independently of VMware. That's an advantage for some customers because VMware is costly, so it increases your budget if you go with VMware and VCF. However, I can't say which is better for HCI. If something works with VMware, it works on VxRail. It's in the scope of VMware, so I don't see any restrictions.

Setting up VxRail is straightforward. 

I rate VxRail eight out of 10. I'm very satisfied with the product.