I have actually done end-to-end deployments with my customers along with guiding them. I find it very straightforward. After I go through a few sessions with my customers, they are on board, get up to speed very fast and become very knowledgeable.

Normally, we use the documentation. We follow that guide, except for the FlexPod integration guide, and follow it from end to end for our system as well. So, it means that we do it manually.

Deployment is not exactly easy, but a different team handles it, and the technical team seems experienced. So they can get the job done.

At least they have some clear visuals in the system. That makes design easier, and FlexPod documents are better. It's good, not great. 

Sometimes, they miss clinical terms, which isn't ideal for long-term system stability.

We are an integrator. We can do the deployment on our own.

During the pre-sale phase, I was involved. The engineering was done by my partners.

The consultant helped us with the deployment. They first delivered the equipment and a specialist did the connections and equipment assembly. 

On the Vblock side, they use VCE, but I don't know who they use on the FlexPod side.

Regarding maintenance, our fabric interconnects have been running smoothly, with minimal issues. Occasionally, we face challenges during firmware upgrades for the B200-M5 blades due to the older hardware, but overall, the deployment has been stable and effective.

We are using one of our partners, with whom we have been working with for many years. It's a German company, and we are getting really good support from them. Not only when it comes to integration and deployment, but also consulting and design.

We did the deployment, but we did use our WWT. With WWT, we have them set up the basic configurations on everything. For the storage solution, they set up by the IPs and made sure everything is connected correctly. They don't get into the deep dive into the software or deployment. That is something we do.

They get it so when it's at the site, it gets plugged in. The network guy gets the ports plugged in and gets support set up. Then, we can get onto the storage and UCS, provision VMs, etc. Once that's setup, we can start working.

We had consultants from EBT assist us with this solution, and our experience with them was good.

We used a vendor and had a very good experience with them.

I highly recommend if you're deploying this, do not deploy this on your own. Definitely work with partners. That is my number one recommendation.

When it was bought, it was through a reseller (CDW). We go through them for a lot of stuff, and they are great. They are in touch with all of the vendors. We can go to them, then they can reach out and put us in touch with the vendors. They're a fantastic middleman.

We use a NetApp reseller, who has great technical experts if we have any issues.

We did involve a reseller. I can't mention them by name but they are a very well-known company. The process was great. They set up everything, and they are still helping us with the architecture and the new features, and so on so forth. As a matter of fact, they would be helping us updating firmware on the fabric interconnects in the next few months.

We did it ourselves.

We have deployed two different systems. The first one was by CDW, which went perfectly well. The second one was by Precidia, which also went perfectly well. Both of these resellers knew what they were doing and everything went smoothly.

Initially, for our Epic environment, we used OST. Our VAR, PEAK Resources, also specializes in converged infrastructure. It went fairly well. It was a little bit rocky at the start, but that's why we picked our VAR. Their experience and the level of investment that they make in NetApp are fantastic. They helped us a lot.

We used an integrator and the process was seamless. They took all of our requirements and from there it was straightforward. 90% of the process was done at the factory. We only had 10% to do and it was done within hours. 

We leveraged NetApp services to come and install the solution in this case. It went very well.

Initially, we had somebody to provide us assistance with this solution. 

We used a reseller to assist with our implementation. They made it easy.

We are the integrator and do the deployments of the solution.

We used NTS in Austria.

We have some skills to do some of the tasks, but for implementations, we usually go for integrators. The experience with the integrator was great, and the time was basically within an acceptable timeline. The project timeline did not extend, and from that perspective, the implementation was straightforward. You can have some expectations for start and finish.

We integrated through Sigma Solutions as a reseller and consultant. They were excellent. We enjoy working with them. They worked with us on the first installation and then again when we redeployed our data centers and helped us get the FlexPod solution. They actually took us and brought us to California and we actually went to the EMC shop and we went to the NetApp shop there in California. We toured the main offices and looked at the solutions there and where we ultimately went for the next NetApp FlexPod instead of the EMC FlexPod version.

We used a VAR for some of it and then just for the purchasing. After the first couple of rollouts, we just use them for the purchasing piece and we started doing all our own integration. 

They were a bit slow. They were taking two to three weeks to roll out a pod and we were doing it in a couple of days.

We did the setup ourselves. It was piece by piece and it was built by us and then validated.

We had a reseller for the setup. I'm fairly new at the company. I wasn't there for the setup. From what I have heard, the experience was very good. They have dedicated account managers that work with us directly. It was a good experience.

We use a qualified reseller for all our Cisco procurements.

We do the implementations.

We used ACS, who was good and knowledgeable.

NetApp helped us with the setup.

Relax, as it will not be that hard to implement.

We used InterVision, who is a VAR, for the deployment. They were excellent.

Occasionally, we utilize support for upgrades. They do the prechecks, make sure the firmware is up-to-date, and run our baselines through to ensure everything is good. 

One of the NetApp consultants, Patrick Rodrigue, has always come out and helped us.

We used a consultant for the deployment. They walked us through it very nicely.

Regarding the architecture, the connectivity involving switches, servers, and other components is quite straightforward

We used NetApp and our team for the deployment. 

The validate designs are great because they made it easier to the deploy solution. Instead of about one week to install everything, with the validate\ solutions, it took us about two to three days.

We do the deployment for our customers. We also do the implementation for other resellers.

We used a consultant, but did the deployment ourselves.

We had a reseller assist us with the deployment, eight years ago. Because this was new for us, NetApp was involved to make sure that it was successful.

We use Insight, formerly Datalink, to assist us with the maintenance of this solution. They are excellent. They helped with our implementation and they help us to deploy all of the solutions. If we have any questions about designs, where we are going in terms of the roadmap, etc, then between Insight and NetApp they are invaluable when helping us to make decisions.

We had assistance with our deployment from WWT, and our experience was good.

We brought in a company called MCPc to help us deploy initially. Interestingly, the technician from MCPc who helped us with the deployment ended up becoming our NetApp sales engineer, so I still work with him to this day. I knew nothing about NetApp at the time, so he got me up to speed initially. Then I went to a couple of NetApp Insights and took a couple of certification courses, and I am very comfortable with it now.

We used a reseller to assist us with our original implementation.

Since that time, we have done half of the work ourselves.

We implemented through Paramount.

I've seen all three examples; resellers, consultants, and integrators.

We had Professional Services from one of our partners. Our experience with them was great. They had Cisco Certified Engineers to assist with everything.

We had a company come in and help us set everything up. After they turned it over to us, it was very straightforward and easy to use, as much as you can expect from a system that large.

We used an integrator. That experience was not as good as it could have been. There is room for improvement the second or the third time around.

We used a reseller, World Wide Technology. I love them.

We used some of the professional services that were tied to the bundled packages.  We also obtain our hardware and resources through a third-party called WWT, and everything is great with them.

We do our own installations as we are the ones who install for clients.

NetApp does some of our installations on some products, like SolidFire. However, they pass the data on to us, and we have to do the configuration.

We use an integrator for deployments. Our experience with them has been solid. They deliver what they say they will deliver. They get the northbound network connectivity correct. 

A lot of times with converged or hyperconverged platforms, one of the hardest parts is the networking. When you hire a consultant or an integrator, you expect them to know the unwritten rules of implementing. Sometimes, those are battle-tested; things you learn in the field. That's what I'd expect from a consultant or an integrator.

We used Plan B Technologies out of Maryland, and we also used NetApp. We had a good experience with the install. It was all-new moving parts for us, since FlexPod was brand new at the time. We spent a fair amount of time whiteboarding the solution with them. We visited Raleigh-Durham to go on campus to see some of the hardware to get a better understanding of what we were going to be buying.

For the deployment of UCS, we uses an integrator and fellow reseller. Our experience with them was very good. Everything works.

We work with Cisco and NetApp for the deployment. The guides are absolutely intuitive. You go from start to finish, deploying it all in one. In terms of time, we have used them to reference different aspects of how we should set it up if there are custom requirements, because not all deployments are put it in and deploy it as we go. We have had some custom requirements over time, but the initial one was just straight in and cable. It was quite intuitive for us, which was good. We didn't need for anyone to come out and install it.

We purchased our system through a reseller, CDW. However, there wasn't any special value added. They created a bill of materials.

For installation, we used CDW's professional services. It was a learning experience for all of us. We actually helped them install it, so it was actually our first iteration FlexPod and it helped us actually get up to speed on it.

For deployment, we used NetApp personnel and a reseller. The experiences with them were good.

We are a system integrator, so we use our in-house team.

We used NetApp and Cisco for the deployment. Our experience with them was good. NetApp install all our storage center apps and Cisco handled the computer environment, which is stable.

We work with NEC, who was good.

It takes a maximum of two or three people to deploy the solution, e.g., someone to do the physical work and another person to configure everything. 

Once the physical work is done, the configuration part comes in. That is when your switches and UCS integrate with each other. I have done the configuration on Nexus and UCS parts, where I definitely needed help.

We used an integrator who was great.

We have a partner through NetApp who does consulting for us. They came in and helped us configure it. The experience of working with them was good.

We handled the implementation in-house.

We used a consultant who was good. They helped us initially with all the FlexPod deployments.

We are the integrator. We have five or six people to implement it. In our company, we are segmented, like networking, server, storage, etc.

We used an integrator for our implementation, and we found their service to be extremely good.

We deal directly with NetApp, and our experience has been good. They are productive because we normally discuss our blueprints with them as a partner. We discuss everything and it gets deployed smoothly.

At the time of installation, we used Varo. However, they no longer exist. 

During the initial deployment, the head of the department worked with a partner and the support of the reseller that provides us with the solution. They are very good. The partner's name was SouthGate.

I deployed through Cisco. We had a positive experience with them.

We used a consultant for the implementation. That was Bedrock and they are okay at what they do.

We bring in support to set up, so we used a vendor team to help deploy.

We had technical support help us with the implementation.

I am the vendor, so I do the delivery of the FlexPod and installation and configuration. My advice for implementation is to have a qualified, knowledgable vendor either do the installation, or assist. I am not saying this from a business standpoint, but from personal knowledge of the product. It is something that can be done by anyone, but it would take less time and be setup with best practices in mind if you get someone who knows what they are doing.

We do the consultations, so I set it up myself.

We performed the implementation in-house.

I set it up myself.

We had a managed project team which did the installation.

We used a reseller for the integration. 

We used a consultancy company for the implementation. 

In the United States, we use IRONBRICK. Internationally, EMEA and Asia PAC, we use Computacenter. Our experience with both of them so far has been good.

I was also in the installation phase, which was easy.

We did not use a consultant. We do it all by ourselves.

I just did it myself.

We contracted through a third party to do the initial setup.

We hand built our FlexPod environment. It is composed of a Cisco UCS 6332-16UP FI, NetApp AFF A700, and an NDS.

It was easy to build. We had an old FlexPod built by someone else and I built the new one. We're in the process of migrating all the workloads over.

We do it ourselves when it is straightforward. When it is a complex installation, we bring their technical person onboard. 

Our vendor did it for us.

We did the installation with a core internal team. We had some NetApp help for the storage guys, but for the network portion, it was more self-explanatory.

We worked with a vendor and had a successful implementation.

We're using a vendor team.

We used World Wide Technology and DataBank for the deployment.

For our setup and deployment we put together a solution using all three components, and then they came out with the reference architecture so we standardized the system.