I work with VMware products, including VMware server, ESXi, and my experience is on vCenter Server, ESXi, virtualization, and server-based virtualization environments, which is a part of the whole VMware suite acquired by Broadcom. VCenter is a product from VMware and serves as a management platform for ESXi where many ESXi servers exist and you want to manage them from a single management platform, providing high-availability features and enterprise features to manage all the ESXi servers. VSAN is basically another product, a combination of software and hardware that is an engineered product from EMC. It comes from both Dell EMC and VMware, and it is a kind of engineered HCI solution. I am not working with vSAN specifically. In fact, they are our competitors. We are working with the vCenter server or VMware products, but not with the Dell products. We are providing other solutions with VMware, certified solutions from VMware such as Cisco UCS and NetApp FlexPod, which is also an engineered solution from NetApp, VMware, and Cisco, along with other products in the HCI or CI platform such as Oracle PCA and Oracle Private Cloud Appliance. In the UCS, we are specifically working with NetApp FlexPod solutions. When it comes to FlexPod solutions, it depends on customer requirements whether a blade chassis is acceptable or server rack-mount machines suffice, as we propose accordingly based on the customer's requirements. If they prefer a condensed environment or lower rack space, we suggest blade chassis solutions, and for heavy compute needs with bigger CPUs and more cores, we propose rack-mount servers. We do not propose a single system; rather, we offer a complete solution from FlexPod that is pre-configured based on customer needs, getting one OEM solution from NetApp for appropriate hardware from Cisco, including networking, the hypervisor, VMware licenses, and storage within that solution, providing a complete engineered solution from one window. A hybrid cloud environment is a significant concept where you have a storage system integrated with data management software. NetApp E-Series does not come with that built-in data management software, so I would not recommend it for hybrid cloud needs. Instead, I suggest the NetApp FAS series, which includes the FAS and AFF all-flash series that feature internal data management software enabling seamless interactions with cloud service providers through protocols such as S3, all through another operating system from NetApp known as ONTAP, unlike SANtricity which is part of NetApp E-Series. NetApp E-Series uses traditional RAID technologies, and on top of that, there is Dynamic Disk Pool, which is a commendable feature because it alleviates concerns about disk replacements and offers a self-healing setup alongside traditional RAID configurations such as RAID 1+0, RAID 5, or RAID 6. While these are traditional RAID options also offered in NetApp E-Series, Dynamic Disk Pool is ideal for users wanting to avoid worrying about underlying RAID issues such as disk replacements, and for customers placing critical emphasis on data protection, I would recommend leveraging this feature despite the trade-off that comes with using it where usable capacity is less than with other RAID technologies.
IT-Techniker at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Reseller
Top 20
Sep 23, 2025
The support team is there when you call them. There is a waiting line, and when you talk with them, you get many disturbances and disturbing noise in the background. When working in a rack or data center with server noise, it is quite difficult to understand them. Regarding support quality, 20% of them you can rely on, but the rest are only for transferring calls. A direct number for second-level support would be better. When tech personnel are on-site, we do not need first-level support. We need only second-level support because we have action plans for first-level issues. When stuck with a problem and the machine is not behaving properly, you need somebody who actually knows. Getting through first level to second level takes two hours minimum. US support deserves a rating of 10, but Indian support would get a 2. When I get Indian support, I know things will go sideways. Considering the pricing of NetApp E-Series products and maintenance, they should be capable of providing better support because that is something expected from a company of this caliber. I would rate NetApp E-Series an eight. It is good, but cannot get a 10 because some initial steps are complicated. Overall review rating: 7 out of 10.
Data Systems Principal & Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Aug 13, 2025
I deal with data storages, and we were evaluating some products. I recently received one for POC evaluation scheduled for this month or next month. We work with multiple platforms, which makes it difficult to focus on just one platform. The overall experience has been positive. I rate NetApp E-Series an 8 out of 10.
We manage the tool only when we connect to the system’s interface. It is dedicated to SAN storage. It is enough for us if it is stable. NetApp’s market is growing in Turkey. They have a lot of space to grow in Turkey. The vendor must work more on their marketing in Turkey. Overall, I rate the product a ten out of ten.
I rate NetApp E-Series an eight out of ten. They need to improve automation and business continuity. They have a gateway with other products coming from ONTAP to use cloud storage in Azure and AWS, and so on. That's good for hybrid clouds. I would focus on automation and business continuity because, for products like NetApp Insight, there are a lot of tools to administer and follow the storage during its lifecycle. It's quite easy to use and has some information about the array of storage uses. This functionality is useful, especially on primary storage rather than backups, since customers always ask for business continuity.
I will not say that the NetApp E series is the best option because the best option depends on the customer's requirements. You always link the requirement with the option you choose. Even if the requirement does not fit the NetApp product line, NetApp will not best fit that particular requirement. If the customer wants a server with a normal disk drive installed in it and they wants cheap storage, essentially server-cum-storage, NetApp will not fit within that particular budget. However, that particular solution will not have better availability, scalability, and resilience based on the server storage solutions. But it will be cheaper. Suppose you have use cases that NetApp advertises on their website, like the media and entertainment, and the oil and gas sectors. In that case, NetApp offers the best storage within the requirements written within their product line. I rate NetApp an eight out of ten because this storage is built as a cost-effective solution for the customer. However, there are fewer features than the FAS series.
NetApp E-Series offers a flexible, high-performance storage solution ideal for handling intensive data requirements. Designed to optimize capacity and improve data availability, it supports diverse sector needs.NetApp E-Series is a purpose-built system engineered to deliver fast, consistent performance. It is best utilized in environments requiring high-performance workloads where speed and efficiency are crucial. Users appreciate its reliability and scalability, which contribute to effective...
I work with VMware products, including VMware server, ESXi, and my experience is on vCenter Server, ESXi, virtualization, and server-based virtualization environments, which is a part of the whole VMware suite acquired by Broadcom. VCenter is a product from VMware and serves as a management platform for ESXi where many ESXi servers exist and you want to manage them from a single management platform, providing high-availability features and enterprise features to manage all the ESXi servers. VSAN is basically another product, a combination of software and hardware that is an engineered product from EMC. It comes from both Dell EMC and VMware, and it is a kind of engineered HCI solution. I am not working with vSAN specifically. In fact, they are our competitors. We are working with the vCenter server or VMware products, but not with the Dell products. We are providing other solutions with VMware, certified solutions from VMware such as Cisco UCS and NetApp FlexPod, which is also an engineered solution from NetApp, VMware, and Cisco, along with other products in the HCI or CI platform such as Oracle PCA and Oracle Private Cloud Appliance. In the UCS, we are specifically working with NetApp FlexPod solutions. When it comes to FlexPod solutions, it depends on customer requirements whether a blade chassis is acceptable or server rack-mount machines suffice, as we propose accordingly based on the customer's requirements. If they prefer a condensed environment or lower rack space, we suggest blade chassis solutions, and for heavy compute needs with bigger CPUs and more cores, we propose rack-mount servers. We do not propose a single system; rather, we offer a complete solution from FlexPod that is pre-configured based on customer needs, getting one OEM solution from NetApp for appropriate hardware from Cisco, including networking, the hypervisor, VMware licenses, and storage within that solution, providing a complete engineered solution from one window. A hybrid cloud environment is a significant concept where you have a storage system integrated with data management software. NetApp E-Series does not come with that built-in data management software, so I would not recommend it for hybrid cloud needs. Instead, I suggest the NetApp FAS series, which includes the FAS and AFF all-flash series that feature internal data management software enabling seamless interactions with cloud service providers through protocols such as S3, all through another operating system from NetApp known as ONTAP, unlike SANtricity which is part of NetApp E-Series. NetApp E-Series uses traditional RAID technologies, and on top of that, there is Dynamic Disk Pool, which is a commendable feature because it alleviates concerns about disk replacements and offers a self-healing setup alongside traditional RAID configurations such as RAID 1+0, RAID 5, or RAID 6. While these are traditional RAID options also offered in NetApp E-Series, Dynamic Disk Pool is ideal for users wanting to avoid worrying about underlying RAID issues such as disk replacements, and for customers placing critical emphasis on data protection, I would recommend leveraging this feature despite the trade-off that comes with using it where usable capacity is less than with other RAID technologies.
The support team is there when you call them. There is a waiting line, and when you talk with them, you get many disturbances and disturbing noise in the background. When working in a rack or data center with server noise, it is quite difficult to understand them. Regarding support quality, 20% of them you can rely on, but the rest are only for transferring calls. A direct number for second-level support would be better. When tech personnel are on-site, we do not need first-level support. We need only second-level support because we have action plans for first-level issues. When stuck with a problem and the machine is not behaving properly, you need somebody who actually knows. Getting through first level to second level takes two hours minimum. US support deserves a rating of 10, but Indian support would get a 2. When I get Indian support, I know things will go sideways. Considering the pricing of NetApp E-Series products and maintenance, they should be capable of providing better support because that is something expected from a company of this caliber. I would rate NetApp E-Series an eight. It is good, but cannot get a 10 because some initial steps are complicated. Overall review rating: 7 out of 10.
I deal with data storages, and we were evaluating some products. I recently received one for POC evaluation scheduled for this month or next month. We work with multiple platforms, which makes it difficult to focus on just one platform. The overall experience has been positive. I rate NetApp E-Series an 8 out of 10.
We manage the tool only when we connect to the system’s interface. It is dedicated to SAN storage. It is enough for us if it is stable. NetApp’s market is growing in Turkey. They have a lot of space to grow in Turkey. The vendor must work more on their marketing in Turkey. Overall, I rate the product a ten out of ten.
I rate NetApp E-Series an eight out of ten. They need to improve automation and business continuity. They have a gateway with other products coming from ONTAP to use cloud storage in Azure and AWS, and so on. That's good for hybrid clouds. I would focus on automation and business continuity because, for products like NetApp Insight, there are a lot of tools to administer and follow the storage during its lifecycle. It's quite easy to use and has some information about the array of storage uses. This functionality is useful, especially on primary storage rather than backups, since customers always ask for business continuity.
I will not say that the NetApp E series is the best option because the best option depends on the customer's requirements. You always link the requirement with the option you choose. Even if the requirement does not fit the NetApp product line, NetApp will not best fit that particular requirement. If the customer wants a server with a normal disk drive installed in it and they wants cheap storage, essentially server-cum-storage, NetApp will not fit within that particular budget. However, that particular solution will not have better availability, scalability, and resilience based on the server storage solutions. But it will be cheaper. Suppose you have use cases that NetApp advertises on their website, like the media and entertainment, and the oil and gas sectors. In that case, NetApp offers the best storage within the requirements written within their product line. I rate NetApp an eight out of ten because this storage is built as a cost-effective solution for the customer. However, there are fewer features than the FAS series.