"Updates are very easy to do when the customer is connected to the internet."
"HPE does not have suffficient storage."
What needs improvement?
Competitors, such as Dell EMC, make use of NVMe storage. They also use the STM storage module. Primera only has a maximum of eight. In contrast, HPE Nimble Storage does not use NVMe and this makes it challenging for us to convince the customer, who is sometimes aware of this technology, to go with it.
HPE does not have sufficient storage. Overall, the customers in need of the solution have sufficient network data storage. There is also SAN storage in one solution, in a single product. I have made three requests that the storage be capable of being samples in a single bundle. We have the protocol as an example when it comes to the product. Yet, if the customer needs to configure NAS storage, this necessitates the purchase of separate software. As the competitors have already launched the solution with NVMe or STM storage, we have also done so with Primera. The same holds true in respect of Dell EMC. In Indonesia we encounter customers who are knowledgeable about the storage and infrastructure and enquire about the solution as it concerns HPE storage.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with HPE Nimble Storage for two years, since the time of its release. With HPE Primera we have been working for at least one year.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good. Their responses are interactive and they work with us. We try to keep open communication with our customers and I know that in internal support the issue has arisen of how long it takes to be escalated from L2 to L3 support.
I feel that it takes too long. When it comes to performing integration with InfoSight, it is helpful that we can then segment the issue or possibly check the connection.
How was the initial setup?
Updates are very easy to do when the customer is connected to the internet. This is also the case with InfoSight if the customer is connected.
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What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
HPE Nimble Storage has a simple management end-user. The customer will generally provide us with feedback about performance upon installation of the solution, including in respect of VMware. Our customers are helpful when our performance involves configuring integration such as that of vCenter with InfoSight. I am aware of the tech problem we encounter. The VM we have with high-class latency is, surprisingly, very helpful to manage.
What other advice do I have?
I'm working with one of the distributors here in Indonesia, Helios Informatika Nusantara. Mainly I'm involved with managing the SMB company.
I rate HPE Nimble Storage as a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller
Remote replication for disaster recovery is the primary use of the array.
What is most valuable?
Remote replication for disaster recovery is the primary use of the array. As we get further along in our implementation and are more familiar with the product, we intend to use the cloning features to create development and test environments.
How has it helped my organization?
In the past, our virtual servers had been deployed to on-board storage. By using an array, we are able to more easily manage and increase our storage capacities. In the future, we intend to use zero-copy cloning to reduce the time to deploy test environments.
What needs improvement?
So far, the only area I have noticed that requires improvement is the ability to console directly to the device. The device is supplied with a special adapter that requires a female-to-female serial cable. If standard cables (preferably USB) cannot be used, then complete solutions should be provided with the device.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the storage array in production for about six months. We are in the process of migrating all our virtual servers to the array and configuring replication to the DR site.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not encountered any no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not encountered any scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support has been fantastic. Questions have been answered accurately and in a timely manner.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
At one point, we used NetApp. We found it expensive, especially with the storage overhead required. The Nimble product was significantly less expensive and management was simpler.
How was the initial setup?
We used sub-contractors for the initial setup but saw that the process was relatively simple. As with all technologies, there are many different ways of configuring the devices depending on intended usage. We found that we changed some things as we progressed through the implementation. Overall, the implementation has been relatively painless.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate alternatives.
What other advice do I have?
If you have the budget; go for it. As with any storage, don't under-buy, you'll always need more.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Stable and user-friendly but lacking active clusters
Pros and Cons
"HPE Nimble Storage is very stable and performs well."
"HPE Nimble Storage could be improved with some critical application or servers."
What is most valuable?
HPE Nimble Storage's best features are that it's stable and user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
HPE Nimble Storage could be improved with some critical application or servers. Currently, we have to compensate for this by using flash storage. In the next release, HPE Nimble Storage should include active clusters and a hybrid file service.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using HPE Nimble Storage for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
HPE Nimble Storage is very stable and performs well.
How are customer service and support?
HPE's technical support could be improved, but their response time is quite good, and their remote troubleshooting is quite helpful.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Compellent, but HPE Nimble Storage's performance is far better and faster. We also use Pure Storage in addition to HPE Nimble Storage as it provides more stable, faster performance and active storage on two different sides.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and took about two weeks to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We used an SI to implement HPE Nimble Storage.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
HPE Nimble Storage's price is moderate - I would rate it at three out of five.
What other advice do I have?
I would give HPE Nimble Storage a rating of seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
"Even if one control fails, it automatically turns on the other controller and everything moves from one to the second instantaneously without any issues."
"If they could reduce the cost, that would be ideal."
What is most valuable?
In general, the solution works great. We haven't had any issues with it.
It's very reliable. Even if one control fails, it automatically turns on the other controller and everything moves from one to the second instantaneously without any issues.
The product is quite robust.
What needs improvement?
Nimble is costlier than EqualLogic, for example. If they could reduce the cost, that would be ideal.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with the solution for the last three years. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been very stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have dealt with technical support, and we haven't had any issues with them. We are satisfied with the level of support on offer.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm also familiar with EqualLogic.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is a little high, although the performance is very good.
What other advice do I have?
We are resellers.
We are using the most up-to-date version of the solution, however, I cannot speak to the exact version number.
I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We haven't had any issues.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Ease-of-use: You don't have to be a storage expert to navigate and set up the product.
Reliability: If there are any issues with the product, their support team calls me before I even notice that there is an issue. They're very proactive.
How has it helped my organization?
With our previous storage product, I would probably spend 2-4 hours a week managing it, logging, checking on things, and fixing issues. Since we've switched to Nimble, I probably spend an hour a month doing various maintenance tests. It has greatly reduced the amount of handling that our storage requires.
What needs improvement?
Third-party integrations: A lot of products tend to come out and support NetApp, EMC, and various other storage managers. Nimble tends to be lagging behind in that space, and it's not completely their fault, but I think they could do a better job pushing for those integrations with various third-party products.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have used the solution for a little over two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not encountered any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not encountered any scalability issues, as it's very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The level of technical support is 10/10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were on NetApp previously. It was too cumbersome to manage. Their support was atrocious, and they were really expensive.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was the easiest thing I've ever done in my life. We had it unboxed, uncrated, racked, and connected to VMware in probably two hours, tops.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Their pricing window was more straightforward than in traditional storage. They have basically guaranteed maintenance pricing. In years four, five, six, and beyond, they don't force you to upgrade like some of the other vendors.
The license is straightforward and it's all inclusive. There's no need to buy different license keys to get access to certain features. What you pay for, and you pay one price, you get it all.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked at everybody on the market.
What other advice do I have?
Don't be hesitant, and trust their technology, because it works. Just because they don't have the market share of NetApp and EMC, isn't a reason to overlook them.
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Nimble has finally launched its new All Flash Array: Predictive Flash Array. It took too long but, now that it’s out, it can’t be said they didn’t get it right!
All-Flash, finally
Nimble-Storage-AFA-4up-rackAll-Flash is table stake now. Don’t have it? …well then, you can’t play!
That’s the real problem. All-Flash still counts for a relatively small percentage of overall primary storage sales but, again, it is an option that customers want to have in every new project.
It is true that prices are continuing to fall, and somewhere down the line your next primary storage system could most likely be an AFA, and that goes for smaller enterprises too.
Nimble has been pressured a lot lately because of the absence of such a product in its lineup. But at least now they have a good array… ready to compete with all other AFAs, with interesting features and some good news coming for existing users of hybrid systems too.
Why it’s right
Pressdeck2The product looks very dense compared to the competition. Nimble has also adopted an interesting disk tray design that can host both 2,5″ and 3,5″ drives and the performance output positions them in the right spot in terms of balancing between performance and capacity (we are talking about 2PB usable capacity and 300K IOPS for the single system, up to 8.2PB and 1.2M IOPS for a scale-out cluster of 4 nodes and 16RU). I actually don’t have an independent benchmark, but one of their customers who has been included in Nimble’s beta program, told me that the numbers measured in the field are aligned to what Nimble says in its slides.
It’s interesting to note that the NimlbeOS remains exactly the same for both hybrid and AFA systems. And new features introduced today (like Deduplication for example) will be available on old (hybrid) systems too. And this is probably one of the reasons why it took so long to bring the AFA to the market.
Another characteristic of Nimble’s new array that I really loved today is the scale-out capability of the product. Nothing new really, and not because of scale-out itself, but because you can mix different system types in the same cluster. It doesn’t mean that it is safe to span data volumes between different types of arrays, but it will be of help for transparent data migrations (especially if you have no success with functionalities like VMware storage vMotion). To be fair, this feature is not unique to Nimble in the market but again, it could be very useful in some environments.
PressdeckNimble’s offer is also aligned with the competition when it comes to support, with a 7-year warranty on Flash Drives and other good support program characteristics. Again, not unique but great for end users.
But flash is just flash
From my POV, a primary storage vendor must have an All-flash array today (and not only), but this is not the differentiator. Not anymore!
Again, if we go through any single spec of this system and compare it to others in the market, I’m sure we will find that some could be better, others could be worse… the differentiation lies elsewhere.
Looking at Nimble now, as far as I’m concerned the differentiator is in its Cloud-based analytics tool: InfoSight. This tool, thanks to the great amount of sensors continuously collected and the big data applications at the backend, puts the end user in the position of knowing what’s really going on with his/her storage system at any time, suggesting actions and helping the sys admin in his/her day to day job.
This kind of help could contribute to driving down TCO while increasing system uptime, especially for small and mid-size organizations where resources are often constrained and sysadmins are forced to cover every aspect of infrastructure support. Nimble is investing a lot in this area, InfoSight is being continuously improved and the company is also looking at how to implement new features aimed at taking a deeper look at all infrastructure components and up in the stack, into the applications!
Closing the circle
The message is quite simple here: Congratulations Nimble for finally introducing your AFA to the market… and thank you for doing it in the right way (without disrupting compatibility with other products and by adding more and more features to InfoSight and for your existing hybrid customers). But that’s it, Flash is no longer the differentiator and even more important, basic specs don’t make a huge difference either. You simply have to have an AFA to play and start a conversation with end users today (even if the project will probably end up with the implementation of hybrid arrays…)
All the good now happens in the upper layers: software, efficiency, sophisticated data services, QoS, integration, analytics and so on (which is not a cotracticion to what I wrote above!). I also think that all primary vendors should look much more carefully at secondary storage and cloud integration. Something that is still not happening… but that will be the next differentiator.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I was invited to this press event by Nimble and they paid for travel and accommodation, as well as for a lot of food! I have not been compensated for my time and am not obliged to blog. Furthermore, the content does not get reviewed, approved or edited by anyone other than the Juku team. Juku was commissioned by Nimble in 2015 to write a paper.
It dynamically understands what data is being stored on it and where to store it
Pros and Cons
"Their remote management and understanding when things are starting to go wrong and their ability to fix them before the customer even knows, this has been a big positive when a customer makes the decision to go with Nimble"
"We have found the advantage of it is the easy, rapid setup, but also that it is very easy to manage."
"It dynamically understands what data is being stored on it and where to store it, because they have got a flash array at the front, then obviously the standard style of storage at the back."
"Their tech support is very professional, know their products, know what they do, and they are very informative in terms of keeping the customer updated."
"The backup solution that they are using now probably has not been deduped."
How has it helped my organization?
The biggest thing from when they have replaced the old storage is that they have not had to touch it. That once it is set up it, it dynamically understands what data is being stored on it and where to store it, because they have got a flash array at the front, then obviously the standard style of storage at the back. There was not a lot of configuration needed to make it understand what their business was about and how it worked. It was just a big plus that once it was in, they more or less could forget about it.
It allowed them to concentrate on other projects that were obviously important for growing their business rather than having to worry about managing the storage, which is what they used to do with all their old storage.
What is most valuable?
Before HPE bought Nimble, we had a couple of customers that use it quite extensively, not just for storage of data, but also as their backup solution as well. So, we have found the advantage of it is the easy, rapid setup, but also that it is very easy to manage.
Their remote management and understanding when things are starting to go wrong and their ability to fix them before the customer even knows, this has been a big positive when a customer makes the decision to go with Nimble.
What needs improvement?
The backup solution that they are using now probably has not been deduped. I think this is probably sort of one area that the customer is a little bit concerned about. It is a timing issue for them, though it is still working at the moment. It is just not giving them enough header space that they thought they would have because the dedupe does not seem to be working as well as it could. So, it is something that needs to be reviewed and to make sure the customer has not clicked a certain feature.
I know for a fact that once they get in touch with HPE or Nimble, they will obviously look at the box remotely, see where there are potentially fine tunings, and if it is just a question of the customer having time to allow them to come online and review it, hopefully it will get solved.
Apart from that, everything else has been positive.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The occasional disk here and there goes. However, they turn up and swap the disk before you even know it. So, stability has been very good in that sense.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have added a couple of shelves over the years to the product already. We still have capacity to add one more shelf to it, but obviously the product changes and develops all the time and allows the expansion, then you still have the ability to pull out the main engines and replace the controller cards on the actual box itself. You know you have a growth area forward in the product. It is not as if you have to throw it away and start again, when you hit the capacity. That was another advantage, it was easy to upgrade.
How is customer service and technical support?
I can only really sort of comment when it was Nimble, because obviously HPE has only owned them for a few months now. From both a pre-sales and post-sales, I have always found them really good. They are very professional, know their products, know what they do, and very informative in terms of keeping the customer updated. For me, it is always just been a positive, which would be why I would always recommend them on to other clients, because of that.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Our customers have been looking at 3PAR, but:
It is too expensive.
It was not automated enough, in the way that Nimble is.
It is sort of one of those decisions that it is quite easy to make in terms of the Nimble solution for money for storage size regarding which is more cost effective. Also, the ability to set it up and more or less leave it alone to run itself. It is a big positive.
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Ease of management, speed, and price are the most valuable features. There is no licensing cost.
What is most valuable?
Easy management (and easy management during the lifetime of the product) translates into savings. Therefore, it’s important for us.
Speed and price: Nimble Storage is simply the most speed and space for the least price. No other product comes close.
How has it helped my organization?
We now need fewer hands to manage storage. Nimble has incredible speed and stability.
What needs improvement?
It’s just perfect the way it is!
Nonetheless, it would be nice to have:
I need a real API (REST), and Nimble Storage made a REST for me (and all the other customers), so the product is perfect for me! Most of the other roadmap features do not interest me.
It would be nice to have a ”virtual Nimble Storage box” in the cloud, so that I can replicate data to the cloud (and clone VMs and spin them up). This is in the roadmap.
I also want replicated snapshots on CHEAP space in the cloud (like Amazon Glacier).
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for more than 3 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have encountered no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have encountered no scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is the best support that I ever had, and it's free!
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used NetApp. Nimble Storage is a better block storage than NetApp on every single parameter.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is very straightforward. Nimble helped us install the first array during the PoC and we installed the rest of the system.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is no licensing, only an up-front price (and service and support) and the price is cheap for the speed and volume.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Violin, and it was much too expensive and not that much faster.
What other advice do I have?
Buy Nimble Storage!
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Great review. We are Nimble customers and I may now start looking in to the AFAs for future projects.