For installation, we are usually accompanied by a specialist, so we don't experience difficulties in that area.

We actually have partners who assist us with the installation process.

Generally, maintenance is easy. We have some challenges with backup right now. Currently, we talk a lot about ransomware protection. We want to secure ourselves against this. With our current model, the FAS2200, we cannot upgrade to get the latest security features because we have an older filer replicating it.

This blocks us from obtaining those new protections against ransomware. So, our only choice is to replace the hardware and buy a new filer. This is a difficulty for us at the moment.

We deploy systems on an as-needed basis. Our big clusters, ranging from about a petabyte to a petabyte and a half, can take a couple of months from receiving the equipment to completing the process. Most of that time is spent replicating data. However, if we're adding to an existing cluster, that's a more seamless process and can be done in around three weeks.

Our team handled the deployment. We have a group of four individuals responsible for handling these deployments.

There's occasional maintenance. An interesting aspect is that our Windows team conducts monthly patching. As for us, we mostly focus on code releases. 

NetApp has been providing around two code releases annually for many years. We tend to do a major code release once a year, which is quite significant given the numerous customers on our clusters. The actual upgrade process, handled by us, takes around three and a half hours for the largest setup with multiple virtuals.

The deployment took around three to four hours. I upgraded it, created and joined it to a cluster, and then configured it accordingly.

We do the maintenance for the implementation ourselves. We have an agreement with the facilities that we have with NetApp, such that it's not tied to the supplier and we can maintain it by ourselves. We have a team which is prepared for this scenario as the first line of maintenance, and if we need more than what we can afford, we open a call and it's very straightforward to solve the problem from there.

The deployment itself usually takes around two to three days. However, if there's data migration involved, it could take longer. 

On the first day, we would onboard the box and do a hit-run test. Then, on the second or third day, we would do the implementation. 

If there's data migration, that would add some time to the process. But overall, the installation and setup can be done within two to three days.

For deployment, a team of two to four people is usually sufficient. It depends on whether it's a large-scale or small-scale deployment. But two to three people are generally okay.

The resources needed depend on the scale of deployment. If I have many shells to configure, I will need people’s help. Otherwise, I can do everything myself. It is not difficult to maintain the tool.

We usually get a scope of work from the customer before deploying the solution. We then plan everything and design the storage according to the scope of work.

The deployment was handled by the partner from whom we made the purchase.

To deploy the solution, we need connectivity. The IP addresses should be available before we do the configuration. We need one engineer to deploy and maintain the tool.

We had a consultant come in and help us when we went from the non-clustered MetroCluster to the clustered MetroCluster for the different versions. That was a bit more than I wanted to tackle. I brought in the NetApp consultant to do that. I would say it was more complex than straightforward overall. The consultant even noted that when he was here that this is probably not something that, as a customer, he'd want to do on his own.

The consultant was excellent. He laid out a very clear roadmap of what we were going to do and broke it into three parts so that we didn't have too much on our plates and we could make adjustments in between each part. In the end, it was pretty smooth.

We deployed the product with the help of our in-house team.

Our policy for the initial setup is to get service with the vendor. This provides a warranty just in case we encounter issues. NetApp support is highly knowledgeable about their product and they are trained to do the initial setup perfectly as planned.

There was a NetApp SE on the site to help us.

We used our internal team with the help of the NetApp professional service team to complete the implementation.

We use a local vendor and integrator most of the time to implement this solution. Initially, the system always comes with about three years of support. I have very good vendors around, and it's great all around. They also come around to support, but first level support, I do it by myself. When it gets complex, I invite the integrator and sometimes the OEM.

Vendor team

We had in-house experience for implementation and deployment.

The first setup must be done by any partner or a NetApp field engineer.

I have experienced both in-house and vendor team implementations. Whenever it is done by the vendor, they are 10/10.

We have three or four people that do maintenance and support of NetApp FAS Series.

Initial setup is usually performed by NetApp or the third-party vendor from whom you purchased the devices. Our experience with third-party vendors isn't the best due to reasons stated above. All other configuration and administration is done in-house.

We used a mixed team of in-house and vendor personnel.

We used an integrator to help us with the deployment.

We used a vendor team, and they were excellent.

We are an integrator, and we also have an in house device that we run our test labs on.

The NetApp technical team is very supportive, and they can, in some complex and large projects, come and share the in-site implementation with their partner.

We used a vendor team who had strong expertise, and we are happy with the implementation. It’s important to have NetApp technicians implement the solution because it is helpful to have some experts.

We implemented it in-house, but we use a consulting company to help. Now, we run it on our own.

Vendor.

We use a technical team to do the implementation.

We did implemented it ourselves.

We used a third-party for setup.