IT Technical Architect at AVALIS
Real User
Offers high performance and fair pricing with excellent technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The high performance of the solution is its most valuable aspect. If you compare it to other storage solutions, it's much better."
  • "It would be helpful if there was a graphical user interface that could walk you through the deployment process. The instructions surrounding setup aren't the best. They need to be more step-by-step."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for a parallel file system. I have one big file system for a thousand or so users.

What is most valuable?

The high performance of the solution is its most valuable aspect. If you compare it to other storage solutions, it's much better.

The pricing is pretty good.

What needs improvement?

The solution would benefit from being simplified.

The scalability could be a bit better. It needs to be more flexible when it comes to expanding.

It would be helpful if there was a graphical user interface that could walk you through the deployment process. The instructions surrounding setup aren't the best. They need to be more step-by-step.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been working with the solution for a couple of years at this point.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is pretty scalable. I'd rate it a ten out of ten for scaling. 

How are customer service and support?

I've contacted technical support in the past. I've had a couple of cases that I've had to pass to them to assist with, and they were great. They are knowledgable and responsive.

They are also really helpful with a variety of things. I remember once I had to download some software to demo, IBM technical support gave me a demo without charging me. It was a very nice gesture.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty complex. It's not too straightforward. 

To deploy it, it takes about one week.

I'd rate the deployment process at a six out of ten. 

What about the implementation team?

I didn't need a consultant or reseller to assist in the initial setup. I handled the implementation myself.

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

The pricing isn't too expensive. It's reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

We're partners with IBM.

We use both on-premises and hybrid deployment models.

I'd rate the solution overall at eight out of ten.

I don't know too many other products, however, I'd recommend either IBM or NetApp to others to use if they need a similar solution for their company.

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: partner
PeerSpot user
it_user868272 - PeerSpot reviewer
Client Server Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Can operate multiple systems within the same file system
Pros and Cons
  • "We can have multiple systems within the same file system."
  • "Technical support has been very helpful. They provide us with pretty good solutions that we can implement moving forward."
  • "We do have some issues where Spectrum Scale does not work as expected. We have seen our Spectrum Scale servers go down unexpectedly, but because we have a cluster, it does not take out the entire organization."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for distributed file systems.

How has it helped my organization?

We use it primarily in our SAP organization. It allows us to have a centralized location where we can put our files and distribute them among different applications.

What is most valuable?

We can have multiple systems within the same file system. The performance right now on the file system is better than NAS.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, the stability is pretty good. We do have some issues where Spectrum Scale does not work as expected. We have seen our Spectrum Scale servers go down unexpectedly, but because we have a cluster, it does not take out the entire organization.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I do not think it is applicable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support has been very helpful. They provide us with pretty good solutions that we can implement moving forward.

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

We were not using anything before this solution.

How was the initial setup?

It was implemented before my time at the company.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also evaluated a NAS solution.

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.
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Updated: March 2024
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Download our free Software Defined Storage (SDS) Report and find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Red Hat, Nutanix, and more!