Markus Kemppinen - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Specialist at Civilpoint Oy
Real User
Top 20
A good performing tool that is also scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's price is competitive and it is easy to use."
  • "The tool needs to improve its price."

What is our primary use case?

We have our internal servers allocated to the solution.

What is most valuable?

The tool's price is competitive and it is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The tool needs to improve its price.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for two years.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is scalable and I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used VMware before. We switched to the solution because we needed a system with more performance and scalability.

How was the initial setup?

I would rate the tool's setup an eight out of ten. The tool's deployment got completed in a few hours.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. The tool fulfills our needs.

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.
PeerSpot user
Senior Manager Information System Administration at Agro Tech Foods Limited
Real User
Don’t just buy a server, transform your infrastructure with more power with easy maintenance and less cost.
Pros and Cons
  • "VxRail is an agile solution with easily scalable, simplify operations with software driven automation and lower operational cost."
  • "The search feature isn't good."

What is our primary use case?

We were using VMWare and Dell products from long time. We wanted reliable technology partner who can provide technology, solution and support during migration. We use Microsoft technology.

What is most valuable?

We are not just purchased the server, we transformed our infrastructure into Powerful and Efficient, agile, flexible and scalable, polished and proven technology solution build with VMWare. New HCI - VxRail replaced with our existing 42U rack devices consists of BladeCenter, storage and other rack mountable servers into simple, more powerful 4 node VxRail device

which saves power and maintenance cost very drastically.

What needs improvement?

We are in the process of exploring more options which is bundle with this solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using VxRail for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product, deploy appliance with ease, update all software in single click, monitor using dashboards for health, events and physical views. And maintain with direct access to support, articles and community.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Whenever there are any technical or hardware issues, we contact Dell. They will attend to us immediately. On a scale of one to five, I would give them a five.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched to VxRail because our previous solution was at the end of service life. We had used it for more than six years. We wanted new technology with new scalability. power, technology and easy maintenance.


How was the initial setup?

We migrated from our older hardware consists of multiple servers, storage and switches to simple and more powerful HCI - 4 node VxRail device.

Studying current and future Business requirement, validating multiple solution which suits our requirement, which is agile, easily scalable and more power to suite our future plans.  It took almost six plus months to freeze the VxRail solution.  Post finalization, releasing the order and receiving to hardware it took almost 6 months to complete the migration to new setup.  Delay was due to lockdown, travel restrictions otherwise it would have been completed within three months.  Complete migration was very smooth and very minimal downtime without any Business impact.

What about the implementation team?

In-house team with OEM Support.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Identifying and freezing the solution by multiple tech discussions and negations. Finalizing solution with hardware is bundled with license. Closing the order with Five-year Support and migration support from OEM.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated couple of other solutions, also gone through Nutanix demo. Nutanix is a very good solution, but they don't have their own hardware, we have to depend on third party people like Dell, HP or IBM. We were long time Dell product user and preferred the Dell.


What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 10 out of 10.

Just buying the product is not important, along with solution on-time support is very crucial for Business-critical applications.  We are using Dell products, solutions and services from more than 10years.  From my experience with Dell, their technology, support and services which plays a critical role to select Dell as our products and solution vendor.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
VxRail
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about VxRail. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
771,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director of Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Simple and centralized application hosting and deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "First and foremost, I would advise people to purchase this solution mainly for the simplicity of the system. And it's all managed in one place, which is nice compared to Nutanix where you had to administrate multiple places. And, the support now is so good."
  • "It would be nice if the update process was shortened and that patching would be simpler."

What is our primary use case?

All of our servers run on this system and we are also able to use it for file servers, domain controllers, print servers, SQL servers, etc.

I have two teams - one in Copenhagen with about 400 people and one in New York with about 200 people. Their roles are mainly architects and administration.

What needs improvement?

It would be nice if the update process was shortened and that patching would be simpler.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for a year and a half.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's so reliable that we haven't had one breakdown since we got it. It's very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable. You can scale compute or storage or both. I am looking to expand my New York cluster this quarter.

How are customer service and support?

Initially, they had a lot of issues when I bought it as they were understaffed. So, it was a little bit hard to get support. But now, a year and a half later, it's so much better and very good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were originally using VMware and SAN. We switched so that it can be administered and managed in a centralized format.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It took about a week initially, plus three weeks to move all my VMs to the new system.

What about the implementation team?

I was able to perform this myself with the assistance of a consultant.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Fees vary by license type.

What other advice do I have?

First and foremost, I would advise people to purchase this solution mainly for the simplicity of the system. And it's all managed in one place, which is nice compared to Nutanix where you had to administrate multiple places. And, the support now is very good.

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.
PeerSpot user
Co-Founder and CEO at PT Eugenea Kreasi Utama
Real User
Powerful, user-friendly, and easy to manage
Pros and Cons
  • "Updating the product has been very easy."
  • "The cost is quite high. It's a very expensive solution to run."

What is our primary use case?

We're using three nodes appliance.

What is most valuable?

VxRail is a hyper-converged infrastructure that delivers a solution with full performance. It's scalable and easy to maintain. 

The replication capabilities have been great.

We find the solution easy to manage. 

The product is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

We have had zero problems so far with this product. It's quite reliable.

There is good support on offer. 

It's a very quick product.

Updating the product has been very easy. Often, they let us know that there is an update pending so we can expect it. 

The features are very powerful.

There are a lot of great features on offer. 

We've found the scalability to be very good.

The solution is stable. 

What needs improvement?

The cost is quite high. It's a very expensive solution to run.

For how long have I used the solution?

We purchased the solution originally in 2017. We've been using it for about four years or so at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the product is great. We have not had any issues whatsoever and find it to be very reliable. The performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VxRail is easy to scale out. That said, from 2017 until now we're using just three nodes. We haven't upgraded our VxRail to scale. Therefore, we haven't personally scaled. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Dell EMC support is very, very good. They offer lots of useful information and are very friendly. We find them to be helpful and supportive. We're quite satisfied with the level of service they provide. They offer very good after-sales support. YOu can even invest in premium support.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is very, very expensive, even when you are renewing. It's a problem for us as management is complaining about the price. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm a customer and an end-user.

I'd recommend this solution to others. It has a lot going for it in that the performance is good and it's reliable. They have great after-sales support and is generally easy to maintain. However, it is a very expensive option and a company needs to be prepared for the price tag.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten, however, if the pricing was a bit more reasonable, I would rate it higher. 

Overall, I'm very impressed with the product.

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.
PeerSpot user
Deputy Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Reseller
Easy to install, robust integrated solution, perfect fit for small and medium businesses
Pros and Cons
  • "I would recommend VxRail, it works for most of the use cases."
  • "The technical support is good but could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for provisioning the applications for customers. There are no specific sets of installations for using the solutions. We meet the customers' needs through their requests. 

What is most valuable?

It is easily scalable, easy to manage, and has rapid provisioning. 

What needs improvement?

In the future, they could provide faster performance. 

VxRail has many components integrated into one solution. Instead of integrating many components, having a single component with VMware as a solution; this could be useful.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for around three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is an easily scalable product. It is a perfect fit for use in small and medium businesses. For the larger enterprise, you can use it, but again it depends on the use case. If you have a specific use case that fuels for VxRail, definitely it can be used.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good but could be better.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have used other solutions in the past like Nutanix and SimpliVity but VxRail definitely has more advantages. Mainly it uses the VMware vSAN technology, and it is ever-evolving. It integrates with a large ecosystem of solutions. When you consider a large enterprise, these organizations require solutions that include security, scalability, and all the network components in place and integrated. VxRail is more capable of handling these complexities than any other product.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is very simple.

What about the implementation team?

We provided the deployment service and depending on if all the prerequisites are met, we can have it all completed in one day.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price would be in the middle to the expensive range. It is not cheap. There are different licensing models as well which can meet the requirements of the customer.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend VxRail, it works for most of the use cases. 

It is good to understand you can't have 100% of all the applications installed. It's never possible with a product like this. At the end of the day, it's a good solution. Whenever there is a need for IT infrastructure requirements, you can definitely consider VxRail. 

If there are very specific requirements or things that are very specific to traditional infrastructure, they can go with that, or for intensive cloud-native applications, they can go with cloud. VxRail comes in the middle. It can extend to use all the applications but do have a proper study to get the right solution for you. 

I rate VxRail 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: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Sourabh Madan - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution architect at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Real User
Top 5
A scalable and easy-to-use solution that can be used for running core applications
Pros and Cons
  • "With VxRail, we can manage the life cycle of a virtual machine."
  • "The support charges for VxRail should be optimized and made cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

We use VxRail for private cloud and running core applications.

What is most valuable?

VxRail is aligned with the VMware environment, and VMware is a stable product. Running a virtual machine on it is much easier and more accessible because it is a configured appliance. VxRail allows us to contain the sprawling of servers and provides visibility. With VxRail, we can manage the life cycle of a virtual machine.

What needs improvement?

The support charges for VxRail should be optimized and made cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VxRail for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VxRail is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, VMware or Dell says the solution can go up to 64 nodes in a single cluster. We have gone to almost 48 to 50 server nodes, and it is stable. Around 30 customers are using the solution.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward. The solution's implementation is straightforward and presents no challenges. However, upgrading the versions of the solution requires some time.

What about the implementation team?

The solution's deployment took 30 to 45 minutes per box.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a good return on investment with VxRail.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

VxRail has a subscription model usually tagged with the appliance box only.

What other advice do I have?

VxRail is a scalable and easy-to-use solution. Creating a private cloud helps us help our customers create a streamlined environment with fewer engineers. VxRail supports our virtual desktop infrastructure.

The initial setup of boxes is much cheaper than when we go for upgrades or add more nodes into the cluster. It is easy to manage VxRail.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine 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: Reseller
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PeerSpot user
Head of IT Infrastructure at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Low-maintenance and cost-effective solution with hyperscale features
Pros and Cons
  • "Low-maintenance solution with hyperscale feature so it has the ability to utilize the resources for the VMware cluster setup on which Citrix VDA runs."
  • "This solution needs to have the capability where even older versions of hardware can be seamlessly utilized and additional expansion becomes so much easier."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for implementing VDI solutions.

What is most valuable?

Hyperscale is the most valuable feature I found on this solution. It's the ability to utilize the resources for the VMware cluster setup on which Citrix VDA runs.

What needs improvement?

The only issue we've faced is with their Call Home Support Center. Any alert that has to be triggered, we're just currently working on to fix. Otherwise, it has been a pretty good system.

One problem we had was when we ordered the first node of cluster setup, and then we wanted to add two more nodes, we could not get the same configuration. We had to use a different configuration for the cluster setup.

Scalability becomes a problem when two or three years have passed because you don't get the same model. You get a better model and to make that model work, you need to have a different cluster setup. You tend to lose on the continuity or expansion. I would recommend having a capability where even your older versions of hardware can be seamlessly utilized and additional expansion becomes so much easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution since 2020.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of VxRail is good. We are content with its stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable. We purchased two additional units the following year.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support for this solution was very good, professional, and they had the skills to get it implemented.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used Nutanix. VxRail is more economical than Nutanix. It's more cost-effective so we prefer it over Nutanix.

We used so far three different solutions. The first was not a recommended solution. It was pushed down our throats to use that particular hardware. As I was involved in that setup, I knew the first time that implementation was on the wrong hardware, against the recommendation of the partner and the implementer. We definitely did not succeed. The second was a failure again, because of not following the recommendation of the implementer or the partner. The third one, lesson learned and we had no objections to that. We got a better recommendation from someone we trusted, so we were successful with our choice.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. The engineers asked for what is required and they came with the same initial set.

What about the implementation team?

We used a partner for the deployment. My experience with them was good. They fully supported us during the pandemic situation to get this up and running.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Nutanix.

What other advice do I have?

We're quite content with this solution for the purposes it was purchased.

Deployment was completed within two weeks.

Almost all of the people in the company used this solution since the pandemic. Now it's mostly used by the task workers.

For deployment and maintenance of this solution, we require four staff where some are admins who handle multiple storages in other systems as well. They don't do this full-time. They only spend one-third or less of their time managing deployment and maintenance.

I have no plans to increase VxRail usage in the future. The only problem with it is the usage of the cloud is being promoted to its peak, so the next expansion would be on the cloud.

The cloud has always been talked about and people have been asked to venture into it. On the cloud, you don't have to wait and implement or pay upfront for the whole hardware. For some of the cloud versions, you can pay as much as you use. You can start with 50 users and then grow. If it has to be on-prem though, I'll have to at least factor a box that can cater to 200 or 300 users. You need to pre-plan and the hardware delivery might take some time, so making it market-ready is a little time-consuming.

I'm rating this solution a ten out of ten. This is because of my previous experience with other solutions where I had three failed implementations on different hardware. They failed because of one particular reason: They're not low-maintenance. This solution, on the other hand, does not need heavy system maintenance. People prefer to use the system rather than the desktop, which makes it convenient for them to work from anywhere. There are a lot of benefits. You have your data saved on a data center. The availability is there which makes it flexible for users.

After the pandemic, when people returned to the office, we utilized this solution as an agile workspace, so people can sit and work on any desk. When they come to the office, they don't have to go to a particular desk. They can choose where they want to work, so this solution provides a lot of benefits for us.

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.
PeerSpot user
BT Area Champion/Trainer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Scalable, simple to use, and has good support
Pros and Cons
  • "The support has been excellent, especially if you compare it to IBM."
  • "The licensing is a bit too costly."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for hyper-converged infrastructure.

It's a four-node cluster that has internal storage and the solution has combined all four nodes via vSAN. vSAN is software, a software-defined storage software from which we can combine our four-node storage and other resources into one virtual storage tool. It's a software-defined model.

We are using it for surrounding applications, not for core applications. For core applications, we are using Power Systems and IBM Cloud Storage.

What is most valuable?

The product is a very good software-defined solution.

The product has been simplified so that it's very easy to use.

VxRail is a good product and since Dell acquired VMware and went hyper-converged infrastructure, it's been great. It's a very robust solution.

The main thing is that vSAN software is built-in, inside the hypervisor. It's an excellent way of doing things and it's common sense. If we are talking about other hypervisors, such as, let's say, Cisco HyperFlex, HP SimpliVity, and Nutanix, the difference is where vSAN is built on the VMware. You don't need to create a VM for vSAN. It's built-in, in its hypervisor.

When VMware was acquired by Dell, the hardware and software were combined together, which has been very good.

The support has been excellent, especially if you compare it to IBM.

The solution is very good for smaller entities, such as small or medium-sized organizations.

You can scale the solution quite well.

From a security point of view, the solution is pretty good.

What needs improvement?

The licensing is a bit too costly. They should work on lessening the overall price.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for the last two years or so. It hasn't been for that long.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very good for small and medium-sized organizations. 

The product can scale. When we go for an upgrade, all the upgraded software is combined in a one-bundle unit.

We've just extended our solution. We have four-node clusters, and recently we acquired more resources. We just extended this cluster to eight nodes. We are waiting for the delivery of the equipment. We already replaced some of it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've had a good experience with technical support.

The support mechanism of Dell EMC offers a very quick response. They give us the attention we need when we say there's an issue. The engineer will come online immediately and provide support. We've been quite satisfied with their level of service overall.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive and it could be a bit more reasonably priced for its customers. We hope it's something that will get worked on.

What other advice do I have?

VxRail is the product of Dell, with both hardware and software combined together. It's a very good product.

We bought this VxRail for our VMware-certified applications. Those applications only run on VMware-certified systems. That's why we procured VxRail. Otherwise, we have Hyper-V as well, Microsoft Hyper-V. Hyper-V is an American-based company, which always offers hyper-converged infrastructure solutions. On Edge we are using Hyper-V, It is also a software-defined box.

We have our own private Cloud as well for converged infrastructure. We have the Lenovo Blade series and the external storage is connected to the chassis which we are using for our surrounding applications. This is our private Cloud. It is also on Microsoft Hyper-V.

We aren't using the latest version of the solution. We are using the version before.

Overall, I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been very happy with it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Updated: April 2024
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