VxRail Reviews

We have VxRail for Hyperconverged infrastructure for our Windows and Linux VMs. We have the vRealize Suite which helps us with lifecycle management and forecasting our environments.

VxRail has high performance and has great efficiency. There is a single place for us to manage all of our virtual machines. The ability to right-size instead of overcommit VMs is a large benefit.

We do not use the storage part of VxRail, we use Pure Storage to map out the VxRail because the disk performance from Pure Storage was far better than the performance of the disk on the inside of VxRail.

I have found that Dell sales are the worst part of the organization or the blemish of their solutions. When they tell you, you are receiving something, and then down the road, you find out you actually have to buy something else in order to have the intended functionality it can be frustrating. We should have been told when purchasing this solution that we needed to purchase VMware Tanzu for private clouds.

I have used VxRail within the past 12 months.

VxRail is highly stable. I would rate VxRail a ten out of ten for stability.

The solution is scalable, it has the ability to scale up but if you go and you add clusters it can get a bit difficult. If you are adding everything new, you only add it, and then it becomes a part of a cluster, but if you started off with a small four-cluster and then you have a 12-node cluster then you want to move those machines, it can take some work.

The installation is straightforward we have never had a problem. They could improve on the process of adding clusters. For example, when you want to add a four-node cluster to a 12-node cluster, there is a whole lot of resetting we have to do on that cluster and put it back on. We do not understand why you can not add a cluster into the same management interface. This is something they should look into.

The only advice that I would give to those wanting to implement VxRail is to make sure that they look at what comes with the VxRail package. For example, Dell offers vRealize, which is not private cloud. They mistakenly will say that it is for private cloud but all vRealize offers are lifecycle management, the ability to do costing, and everything between public cloud and a private cloud. They will tell you that you have to buy VMware Tanzu in order to get the private cloud features. When they initially sell VxRail as hyper-converged infrastructure, they also sell it as your private cloud but there is no private cloud functionality. You have to build that on.

I rate VxRail a ten out of ten.

The general use case for VxRail was to deal with the obsolescence because the current infra was not adequate to deal with the licensing and the support as we were running on the older hardware and the ESX version, and being a manufacturing site we didn't have a good level of redundancy.

We have two server rooms there. But if we lose one server room, we will not be able to run all our workload from the existing server room. So we deployed the V Service cluster during this deployment, wherein we have four modes in total in each room, and in the corporate data center.

We also deployed a backup solution with the Data Domain application. Then even if we lose one server room we have all the backup data in the other server room. So now at least we have local redundancy.

So the main use case is redundancy, obsolescence, better architecture, better throughput, and better back up time. Pfizer was not very responsive after we did the VxRail with the vCenter architecture with the upgraded styles. So we got feedback that Pfizer was responding well. Their help was good.

Also the backup time is good. Pfizer has the 1.5 PV. It used to take five to six hours on the back up but now it takes almost half of the time. So we are saving back up time and throughput is good. After deploying we have been getting some good benefits. Even the local businesses are happy with this solution.

So we are now deploying VxRail to more manufacturing sites.

The feature that I have found most valuable with VxRail is its upgrade. Because if you talk about the normal ESX process you have to upgrade the firmware, the bios, and you have to manage the compatibility. You have to do a lot of things. But in the case of VxRail, it's a single upgrade, end to end. You simply upload the bundle, click next, it will do some pre-checks, if those pre-checks pass, it will update everything one by one. It will put one ESX in the maintenance and move other VM's to another mode. There is no downtime to the VM's.

It will upgrade end to end infra, including bios from there, your ESX host, everything. So this is a really good feature. Then in new mode feature, they only have to configure it from the network standpoint and it can listen on a second mode. If they see a new mode in the network, the cluster will automatically have that mode as a new member.

VxRail has helped us with the automation. So we are happy with that.

As I said, one place for improvement would be the automated update for VMware Tools. Additionally, better integration with ServiceNow because if there are some issues, we could directly get the notification through IPS and Tools, so that integration is missing.

Somehow they did it, but it was not a very smooth integration because we have to use email features since they are sending emails. We contacted someone at ServiceNow at our end and we sent emails to ServiceNow and they converted it to some incidents or something. If we could have some out of the box ideas in integration, I think that would be a great feature.

VxRail provides more automation. For example, the process going from VMware to Tools is still a manual process where we have to manually update the VMware Tools. There should might be an option to upgrade VMware Tools automatically. We know that we need some downtime, but still, there should be a possibility to do this as an automated process.

I have been using VxRail for about six months. We deployed it back in September and did the migration, so it's been three or four months in the company.

I think we're using version 4.7 because we had some limitations with respect to vCenter and Vserver costing because ESX was the older version. So we went with VxRail 4.7 rather than going with VxRail 7, which is the latest.

We are maintaining this solution ourselves. We have some level of support from Dell, as well, but they are not directly responsible for the support. We are the ones who are supporting it.

Initially, it had some issues. As I said, the version we deployed had some known issues. But the stability is pretty good. There were some issues here and there, but that was not due to ESX, but due to some network fluctuation we had.

VxRail is especially useful for a manufacturing site. I can't really know many end users are there, but I know that they are participating in the manufacturing process. This is a pharma company and for us, VxRail is critical in our process.

So far, looking at its specifications, it looks good. It's scalable.

In general cases, technical support is good. They're pretty responsive. But besides that, there have been some issues with the cluster. For example, the version that we deployed had some bug which was a known bug. Later on we were advised to get this upgraded. But that advice came to us after two or three reassignments within their own IT section because one person evaluated it and they collected multiple logs. Then he transferred the case to somebody else, then she then collected some further logs and did some analysis. I'm not saying they were not good. They were pretty good. They had some good technical skills. They did all the analysis. Then they assigned it back to the IT guy. But as soon as the IT guy came in, he saw the version. He immediately said we have to update it because this version is having some known issues.

I would say they are pretty good. I'm not complaining about them, but this is the feedback that I personally have - that technician should have come in the very first place by just looking into the VxRail version and told us there is a known bug in this version and we should upgrade it. But that took almost two or three weeks to identify.

But still, I'm happy with the Dell services. No complaints. But just constructive feedback. The rest are good.

They are always helpful. If we join the call, they are very polite and knowledgeable. They bring more people as required, so overall, it's good.

We did not have a complete HCI product, but we had storage-defined software, like Datacode and EqualLogic. Now we are replacing Datacode and EqualLogic with this VxRail because we are using it in vCenter.

In terms of the initial setup, only the network part was a little complex for us. Maybe because we were doing it for the very first time because there is a very strict firewall applied there, being a manufacturing site. We had multiple firewalls there, so we had to open each and everything one by one. That was the only thing.

Once the network part was done, everything was smooth and we had a product life support from Dell. It was Dell who basically deployed it from a remote session with our presence. We only give them some input around the infra set up and they actually did the end to end deployment.

It took one day for rack and stacks and then two days for its set up, installation, and configuration as per our department. Later on we did the migration on our own based on the downtime that we received because we had to update the VMware Tools. We had to configure the backup, et cetera. We did it slowly, one by one, three, four servers a day.

In terms of pricing, I would say it's reasonable, not cheap and not too costly. If you compare it with some other HCI solutions, for example, there were a lot of discussions around Cisco UCS for one of the manufacturing sites. The local ITP had a preference for Cisco UCS because they had some prior experience working on it. We had already successfully deployed VxRail in some of the manufacturing sites and we found that Cisco UCS is much too costly. 

In the deployment, all the softwares were included, only the vCenterv was excluded because we were using an external vCenter, so we had to manage an external vCenter license. All the rest was included.

Some licensing, like vRealize was not included, so we have not taken it.

I would definitely recommend VxRail. But again, it depends upon the use cases. If they have a big data center, then you have to look for some other version of VxRail, maybe VxBlock, but for normal sites, for a small manufacturing R&D site, or for remote sites, they may go with VxRail.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give VxRail a nine out of 10.

We are implementers of this solution. We have deployed this product in many Middle East regions. We are also customers and an IT service.

The last time I installed the solution, we were using version 4.7 and we are planning to upgrade to version 7. The solution is deployed on-prem.

We installed the upgrade and migrated from a traditional solution to the virtual machine.

It's a good product based on the features. You can upgrade the solution with only one click.

You cannot install another operating system such as Microsoft or Hyperflex or Nutanix. We have also had a hardware problem.

Hopefully, it can be installed with another stable solution, but I doubt that because it's based on VMware.

I have been using this solution within the past year.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is scalable.

For deployment, we used a consultant. We needed auto recovery because we faced a hardware problem. It was a board problem. That's why we engaged DNC to replace the board, and it was very easy to discover the node and deploy the process.

An organization can get ROI because the solution is scalable. It's cheaper to expand and add more resources than the traditional solution.

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

Before proceeding with any configuration and implementing the solution, you should prepare the prerequisite. Prepare the VLAN, the prerequisites, and the IP requirements before proceeding with any installation.

We leverage VxRail for its versatility, enabling us to consolidate a diverse range of IT infrastructure within its robust framework. This encompasses terminal servers, routers, and firewalls, all seamlessly integrated alongside customer servers operating within virtualized environments. Moreover, VxRail empowers us to migrate our legacy hardware servers, breathing new life into them by virtualizing their functionalities within the same platform.

In order to address the limitations imposed by our previous infrastructure's inability to scale effectively, we opted to leverage the capabilities of VxRail. This has empowered us to seamlessly integrate additional servers and implement streamlined configuration processes, fostering a remarkable ease of use for the entire team. Consequently, the need for extensive training has been completely eliminated, as intuitive procedures enable our personnel to grasp the necessary steps instinctively.

VxRail's enhanced resiliency has banished server failure anxieties! VMs now seamlessly migrate to redundant machines, eliminating downtime and the need for tedious maintenance windows. My independence from individual components has soared, leaving me unfazed by fleeting indicators.

It streamlines our VMware administration, transforming what could be a multi-paneled juggling act into a unified, effortless orchestration. Confined to a single, intuitive interface, managing our virtualized environment becomes a seamless, frictionless experience.

The overall energy footprint exhibits a favorable trend, allowing for granular comparisons between individual hardware components. This transparency enables me to discern precise hardware utilization and capacity allocation. Notably, the system's ability to dynamically distribute workload across all computers and servers simultaneously presents a distinct advantage, promoting uniform resource utilization and potentially optimizing energy consumption.

VxRail's implementation has significantly mitigated the frequency and impact of unplanned production disruptions. The introduction of a clustered environment has empowered virtual machines with the ability to autonomously migrate between physical hosts, effectively sidestepping localized hardware or software hiccups. This year, we only encountered two outages, one stemming from a hardware malfunction and the other attributable to an update issue. Excluding the aforementioned hardware failure, downtime was restricted to the brief shutdowns of a mere two or three virtual machines due to isolated component defects. In all other instances, VxRail seamlessly orchestrated the migration of affected workloads to alternate hosts, ensuring continued operational functionality and minimizing business disruptions. This newfound resilience has demonstrably enhanced our ability to weather unforeseen challenges and maintain operational continuity.

The flexibility of VxRail is truly exceptional. Scaling is an absolute breeze, regardless of the project scope. Take, for instance, an upcoming large-scale initiative involving numerous organizations. I can seamlessly integrate additional devices, establish the basic preliminary setup, and trust the system to autonomously adapt with remarkable alacrity.

VxRail aligns seamlessly with our commitment to sustainability. Its modular design and durable components facilitate responsible end-of-life management, allowing us to reintegrate the devices back into the circular economy through convenient recycling programs. Choosing the lease-purchase option further enhances this advantage, ensuring not only initial cost efficiency but also sustainable disposal or potential repurposing of the equipment down the line. This forward-thinking approach positions us favorably for future environmental regulations and demonstrates our unwavering dedication to responsible resource utilization.

The most compelling aspect of VxRail lies in its unwavering guarantee of sustained performance for my systems, regardless of their geographical distribution. This eliminates the need for any additional hardware or cumbersome configuration, ensuring a streamlined and worry-free experience.

While VxRail offers compatibility with AMD processors, its capabilities in this area could benefit from further development.

While my proficiency in English poses no issue, accessing Dell's German support, if necessary, proves slightly more convoluted, a lingering experience from past encounters. While not an insurmountable obstacle, the convenience of readily available German-speaking assistance would be undeniably pleasant. Having such support readily available, particularly during nocturnal hours, would foster a sense of complete coverage, alleviating any potential Sunday inconveniences. However, let me be clear, my present situation is perfectly manageable. Yet, experiencing the fluidity of communication during the aforementioned version eight upgrade, for instance, would undoubtedly have been delightful. Ultimately, though, this pertains more to a minor personal preference than a fundamental flaw with the support itself.

I have been using VxRail for one year.

Despite two separate hardware failures within the VxRail system, the overall operational stability remains remarkably high, earning it a solid nine out of ten rating. This impressive resilience stems from the system's clever design, where individual component breakdowns have minimal impact on overall functionality. While not absolutely foolproof, the vast majority of potential issues can be weathered without significant disruption.

VxRail's impressive scalability lies in its ability to seamlessly accommodate increasing workloads by effortlessly adding additional servers.

Dell's support operates with the precision of a well-oiled machine. The proactive insights gleaned from Cloud IQ equip their technicians with the foresight to anticipate and address potential issues before they even manifest. This proactive approach has been a game-changer for us. In the rare instance where hardware malfunctions, their rapid response is truly awe-inspiring. Having new equipment at our doorstep within three hours is a testament to their unwavering commitment to minimizing disruptions and maximizing our productivity.

Positive

Tackling the initial deployment single-handedly would have undoubtedly been a difficult task, rife with complexities and pitfalls. Thankfully, the Dell technician's expert guidance shed light on the intricacies of the process, transforming it into a surprisingly straightforward endeavor. Even now, post-deployment, tweaking and adjusting settings remains a breeze. The initial apprehension has given way to a newfound confidence and ease, a testament to the clarity and efficacy of the training provided.

Our phased implementation strategy endeavors to systematically migrate various functions towards automated execution, a process fraught with unforeseen challenges. While the strategic framework was readily established, translating it into tangible action proved significantly more arduous.

We had the invaluable assistance of a skilled technician from Dell throughout the intricate process of VxRail installation and configuration.

Securing a favorable agreement with Dell presents a distinct advantage. While one could argue, from a strictly corporate standpoint, that the cost of VxRail has been in the higher range, the true evaluation lies in the return on investment. Essentially, it boils down to a question of cost-effectiveness, not simply raw expense.

Given our established, positive relationship with Dell and our ongoing appreciation for their offerings, we opted to forgo exploring other potential solutions.

VxRail has truly exceeded my expectations. It's not just a ten out of ten, it's a game-changer. Once we overcome the initial learning curve, we'll be able to operate it with complete confidence, not just in terms of independent usage, but also knowing we have exceptional support readily available to assist with any configuration needs.

VxRail's intuitive design manifests in its remarkable ease of use. The intricate automation behind the scenes operates seamlessly, orchestrating a symphony of tasks with minimal user intervention. Whether we're integrating a new server, its arrival becomes a mere dance of effortless steps. Slide the server into its designated rack, meticulously connect the necessary cables, and with a single press of the designated button, we've summoned a powerful computing resource to life.

Foreign Language:(German)

Minimale Ausfallzeiten, problemlose Skalierung und erstklassiger Support 

Was ist unser Hauptanwendungsfall?

Wir nutzen VxRail aufgrund seiner Vielseitigkeit, die es uns ermöglicht, eine Vielzahl von IT-Infrastrukturen innerhalb seines robusten Rahmens zu konsolidieren. Dazu gehören Terminalserver, Router und Firewalls, die alle nahtlos neben den Kundenservern integriert sind, die in virtualisierten Umgebungen betrieben werden. Darüber hinaus können wir mit VxRail unsere Legacy-Hardware-Server migrieren und ihnen neues Leben durch Virtualisierung ihrer Funktionalitäten innerhalb derselben Plattform geben.

Um die Einschränkungen zu beseitigen, die sich aus der mangelnden Skalierbarkeit unserer bisherigen Infrastruktur ergaben, haben wir uns für die Nutzung der Funktionen von VxRail entschieden. Dies hat uns in die Lage versetzt, zusätzliche Servern nahtlos zu integrieren und optimierte Konfigurationsprozesse zu implementieren, was zu einer bemerkenswerten Benutzerfreundlichkeit für das gesamte Team geführt hat. Infolgedessen entfällt die Notwendigkeit umfangreicher Schulungen komplett, da unsere Mitarbeiter dank intuitiver Verfahren die erforderlichen Schritte instinktiv nachvollziehen können.

Wie hat es meiner Organisation geholfen?

Die verbesserte Ausfallsicherheit von VxRail hat die Angst vor Serverausfällen beseitigt! VMs werden jetzt nahtlos auf redundante Maschinen migriert, wodurch Ausfallzeiten und lästige Wartungszeiten entfallen. Ich bin jetzt unabhängiger von einzelnen Komponenten und kann mich von flüchtigen Indikatoren nicht mehr irritieren lassen.

VxRail vereinfacht unsere VMware-Verwaltung und sorgt für eine einheitliche, mühelose Steuerung, was sonst ein komplexer Vorgang ist. Durch die Beschränkung auf eine einzige, intuitive Oberfläche wird die Verwaltung unserer virtualisierten Umgebung zu einer nahtlosen, reibungslosen Erfahrung.

Der gesamte Energieverbrauch von VxRail zeigt einen positiven Verlauf und ermöglicht einen detaillierten Vergleich zwischen den einzelnen Hardwarekomponenten. Diese Transparenz ermöglicht es mir, die genaue Hardwareauslastung und Kapazitätszuweisung zu erkennen. Insbesondere die Fähigkeit des Systems, die Arbeitslast dynamisch auf alle Computer und Server gleichzeitig zu verteilen, ist ein deutlicher Vorteil, der eine einheitliche Ressourcennutzung fördert und den Energieverbrauch potenziell optimiert.

Die Implementierung von VxRail hat die Häufigkeit und die Auswirkungen von ungeplanten Ausfällen im Betrieb deutlich verringert. Durch die Einführung einer Cluster-Umgebung sind virtuelle Maschinen in der Lage, selbstständig zwischen physischen Hosts zu migrieren, wodurch lokale Hardware- oder Softwareprobleme effektiv umgangen werden. In diesem Jahr hatten wir nur zwei Ausfälle zu verzeichnen, von denen einer auf einen Hardwarefehler und der andere auf ein Update-Problem zurückzuführen war. Abgesehen von dem erwähnten Hardware-Ausfall beschränkten sich die Ausfallzeiten auf das kurzzeitige Herunterfahren von lediglich zwei oder drei virtuellen Maschinen aufgrund von isolierten Komponentendefekten. In allen anderen Fällen sorgte VxRail für eine nahtlose Migration der betroffenen Workloads auf alternative Hosts, so dass die Betriebsfunktionalität aufrechterhalten und Geschäftsunterbrechungen minimiert werden konnten. Diese neu gewonnene Widerstandsfähigkeit hat unsere Fähigkeit, unvorhergesehene Herausforderungen zu meistern und die Betriebskontinuität aufrechtzuerhalten, nachweislich verbessert.

Die Flexibilität von VxRail ist wirklich außergewöhnlich. Die Skalierung ist ein absolutes Kinderspiel, unabhängig vom Projektumfang. Zum Beispiel bei einer bevorstehenden umfangreichen Maßnahme, an der zahlreiche Stellen beteiligt sind. Ich kann nahtlos zusätzliche Geräte integrieren, die Grundeinstellungen vornehmen und darauf vertrauen, dass sich das System mit bemerkenswerter Schnelligkeit selbstständig anpasst.

VxRail fügt sich nahtlos in unser Engagement für Nachhaltigkeit ein. Das modulare Design und die langlebigen Komponenten erleichtern ein verantwortungsbewusstes End-of-Life-Management und ermöglichen es uns, die Geräte durch bequeme Recyclingprogramme wieder in die Kreislaufwirtschaft zu integrieren. Durch die Wahl der Option des Leasings und des Kaufs wird dieser Vorteil noch verstärkt, da so nicht nur die anfängliche Kosteneffizienz, sondern auch die nachhaltige Entsorgung oder die potenzielle Wiederverwendung der Geräte gewährleistet ist. Mit diesem weitsichtigen Ansatz sind wir für künftige Umweltvorschriften bestens vorbereitet und demonstrieren unser unermüdliches Engagement für eine verantwortungsvolle Ressourcennutzung.

Was ist am wertvollsten?

Der wichtigste Aspekt von VxRail ist die Garantie für eine gleichbleibende Leistung meiner Systeme, unabhängig von deren geografischer Lage. Dies macht zusätzliche Hardware oder umständliche Konfigurationen überflüssig und sorgt für eine optimierte und sorgenfreie Erfahrung.

Was muss verbessert werden?

Obwohl VxRail Kompatibilität mit AMD-Prozessoren bietet, könnten seine Fähigkeiten in diesem Bereich von einer weiteren Entwicklung profitieren.

Obwohl ich Englisch gut beherrsche, ist der Zugang zum deutschen Support von Dell etwas komplizierter, was ich aus vorherigen Fällen noch gut in Erinnerung habe. Auch wenn dies kein großes Problem ist, wäre es doch sehr angenehm, wenn ein deutschsprachiger Support zur Verfügung stehen würde. Die Verfügbarkeit einer solchen Unterstützung, insbesondere während der Nacht, würde das Gefühl einer vollständigen Abdeckung fördern und mögliche Unannehmlichkeiten am Sonntag mildern. Ich möchte jedoch betonen, dass ich mit meiner derzeitigen Situation vollkommen zurechtkomme. Dennoch wäre es zweifellos schön gewesen, wenn die Kommunikation zum Beispiel während des oben erwähnten Upgrades auf Version acht so reibungslos funktioniert hätte. Letztlich handelt es sich aber eher um eine kleine persönliche Präferenz als um ein grundsätzliches Mängel am Support selbst.

Wie lange nutze ich die Lösung schon?

Ich nutze VxRail schon seit einem Jahr.

Was halte ich von der Stabilität der Lösung?

Trotz zweier separater Hardwareausfälle innerhalb des VxRail-Systems ist die Betriebsstabilität insgesamt bemerkenswert hoch, was ihm eine solide Bewertung von neun von zehn Punkten einbrachte. Diese beeindruckende Widerstandsfähigkeit ist auf das clevere Design des Systems zurückzuführen, bei dem Ausfälle einzelner Komponenten nur minimale Auswirkungen auf die Gesamtfunktionalität haben. Es ist zwar nicht absolut sicher, aber die meisten potenziellen Probleme können ohne wesentliche Ausfälle behoben werden.

Was denke ich über die Skalierbarkeit der Lösung?

Die beeindruckende Skalierbarkeit von VxRail liegt in der Fähigkeit, steigende Workloads durch das einfache Einsetzen von zusätzlichen Servern nahtlos zu erfüllen.

Wie sind Kundenservice und Support?

Der Support von Dell läuft wie eine gut geölte Maschine. Die proaktiven Erkenntnisse aus Cloud IQ geben den Technikern den nötigen Weitblick, um potenzielle Probleme zu erkennen und zu lösen, bevor sie überhaupt auftreten. Dieser proaktive Ansatz hat für uns den entscheidenden Vorteil gebracht. In den seltenen Fällen, in denen es zu Hardware-Fehlfunktionen kommt, ist ihre schnelle Reaktion wirklich beeindruckend. Dass wir innerhalb von drei Stunden neue Geräte erhalten haben, ist ein Beweis für ihr ständiges Bestreben, Störungen zu minimieren und unsere Produktivität zu maximieren.

Wie bewerten Sie den Kundenservice und -support?

Positiv

Wie war die Ersteinrichtung?

Die Ersteinrichtung im Alleingang durchzuführen, wäre zweifellos eine schwierige Aufgabe gewesen, die mit vielen Komplexitäten und Schwierigkeiten behaftet gewesen wäre. Glücklicherweise hat die professionelle Unterstützung durch den Dell-Techniker die Feinheiten des Prozesses aufgeklärt und ihn in ein überraschend einfaches Verfahren umgewandelt. Selbst jetzt, nach der Installation, ist das Optimieren und Anpassen der Einstellungen ein Kinderspiel. Die anfängliche Skepsis ist einer neuen Sicherheit und Einfachheit gewachsen, was ein Beweis für die Klarheit und Wirksamkeit der Schulung ist.

Unsere schrittweise Implementierungsstrategie ist darauf ausgerichtet, verschiedene Funktionen systematisch auf eine automatisierte Ausführung umzustellen, ein Prozess, der mit unvorhergesehenen Herausforderungen verbunden ist. Während der strategische Rahmen schnell festgelegt war, erwies sich die Umwandlung in konkrete Maßnahmen als deutlich mühsamer.

Wie sieht es mit dem Implementierungsteam aus?

Während des komplizierten Prozesses der VxRail-Installation und -Konfiguration hatten wir die unschätzbare Unterstützung eines erfahrenen Technikers von Dell.

Welche Erfahrungen habe ich mit den Preisen, den Implementierungskosten und der Lizenzierung gemacht?

Die Sicherung einer günstigen Vereinbarung mit Dell stellt einen deutlichen Vorteil dar. Auch wenn man vom rein geschäftlichen Standpunkt aus argumentieren könnte, dass die Kosten für VxRail im höheren Bereich liegen, liegt die wahre Bewertung in der Investitionsrendite. Im Grunde genommen ist es eine Frage der Kosteneffizienz und nicht nur der reinen Kosten.

Welche anderen Lösungen habe ich bewertet?

Angesichts unserer etablierten, positiven Beziehung zu Dell und unserer anhaltenden Wertschätzung für ihre Angebote haben wir uns entschieden, keine anderen potenziellen Lösungen zu erforschen.

Welche anderen Ratschläge kann ich geben?

VxRail hat wirklich meine Vorstellungen mehr als erfüllt. Es ist nicht nur eine Zehn von Zehn, es ist ein Game-Changer. Wenn wir erst einmal die anfängliche Lernphase hinter uns gebracht haben, werden wir in der Lage sein, es mit vollem Vertrauen zu betreiben, nicht nur in Bezug auf die unabhängige Nutzung, sondern auch in dem Wissen, dass wir einen außergewöhnlichen Support haben, der uns bei allen Konfigurationsanforderungen unterstützt.

Das intuitive Design von VxRail manifestiert sich in seiner bemerkenswerten Benutzerfreundlichkeit. Die komplizierte Automatisierung im Hintergrund funktioniert nahtlos und führt mit minimalen Benutzereingriffen eine Reihe von Tasks durch. Ob wir einen neuen Server integrieren oder nicht, dessen Installation erfolgt mühelos in wenigen Schritten. Schieben Sie den Server in das dafür vorgesehene Rack, schließen Sie die erforderlichen Kabel sorgfältig an, und mit einem einzigen Tastendruck erwecken wir eine leistungsstarke Rechenressource zum Leben.

Welches Modell nutzen Sie für die Entwicklung dieser Lösung?

Im Hause.

We use VxRail to manage capacity issues. It is very scalable and solved a lot of our challenges. We are an international company and provide services and platforms to customers based in South America, Latin America, and North America.

It improved from an operations standpoint as we reduced failures compared to a previous vendor. The hardware that we previously used had a lot of issues with components failing regularly.

This solution is very scalable and you can add extra nodes to the cluster and bring it online without any interruption to production systems.

When it comes to maintenance, it takes 16 hours to upgrade a 12-node VxRail plus. This could be improved in the system. 

We have used this solution for two and a half years.

The customer support team for this solution are very good at responding to cases. I would rate them a nine out of ten. 

Positive

The initial setup was a little lengthy but straightforward. To deploy a 12 node plus it took two months.

We partnered with Dell Technologies and they helped us implement the solution. We provided the required data for networking and firewall rules for them to roll out the solution. Four senior engineers were involved in the deployment.

We have seen a return on investment. It reduced the need for manpower in keeping our hardware up and running.

The pricing for this solution is on the high end but we do get good value for money based on performance.

I would advise those considering this solution to take a closer look at their workload and design clusters needed to meet that workload. Typically it is easy to deploy large clusters and it becomes tedious to maintain a large cluster. Scaling back on the number and nodes in the cluster is something I would recommend considering during implementation.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

I use VxRail with VMware VCF. The requirement is to have a private cloud to provide services for users.

VxRail has improved the way we function because everything is centralized. There is no need to be going to many different places. it's all in one pane of glass, making it easier to manage.

The most valuable features are ease of management and ease of applying updates. It provides centralized management.

In the version that I was working with, the integrations are in need of improvement.

The technical support is in slight need of improvement.

I have been using VxRail for several years, and am just starting a brand new project with it. This will be a fresh deployment.

VxRail is pretty robust and steady.

VxRail is very easy to scale. It is simple to add nodes, scale-out, or scale-up. We have more than 2,000 users. There are many different people in people in many different departments, going from regular day to day administration, helpdesk, cybersecurity operations, forensics, virtualization administrators, VDI administrators, and so forth.

I have been in contact with technical support and they are excellent. I would rate them a nine out of ten on support because there is always room for improvement, but they do a good job.

Sometimes, when passing on tickets to other techs because people leave on vacation or for other reasons, they don't follow up quickly enough in my opinion. I have found that sometimes, I've had tickets open and two days later, I don't hear anything and it's because the person was out and nobody else took over the ticket. Other than that, they are on point.

In my previous organization, we were using a regular blade chassis. We were not using HCI solutions. Rather, it was just the normal virtualization environment deployment using fabric switches. We were also using Dell servers, only it was M540s and 840s on a Dell M1000M chassis.

It was different, and HCI is something that I like.

The initial setup is pretty easy and straightforward.

At about $200,000, this solution is a little bit pricey but it is more economical than others such as Nutanix or Cisco Hyperflex. Dell is more economical.

In my previous deployment, there were a couple of things that I identified as needing improvement. I believe they were addressed on the new version of their software because, in the previous deployment, I wasn't using the latest version. Apparently, VMware came out with VCF 4.1, and Dell came out with a newer iteration. At this point, I'm hoping that the stuff is fixed. Once I start working with the newest version, I'll see what new features I would like to see in the next one.

My advice for anybody looking into implementing VxRail is to read the documentation and do the virtual labs that they have. Repeat them over and over before deploy it on the actual system that they are going to deploy to avoid having to take everything down and redo it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Normally customers are looking to move to data centers that are modern. We have a request for upgrades from old storage and media to something new. We consolidate old solutions and simplify the way the client manages their data center. 

We have a customer, for example, that has a factory. Before they used the VxRail solution, tasks would take hours. With VxRail, a comport starts working in 30 minutes. It saves so much time. It's a competitive gain for the organization.

The solution allows a user to plan how they will be able to organize their data over the course of many months.

It's very easy to upgrade.

Simplifying network configurations is very easy.

The policies are very good.

The licensing needs to be improved upon.

For example, when we need to move your Oracle databases to VxRail solutions, we need to license the processor core and the solutions. This comes at a high cost to customers.

There needs to be better integrations with other products.

I've been working with a variety of Dell products for a while.

The stability is excellent. We don't have any issues with reliability. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's not buggy and we don't have to deal with glitches. We're happy with it.

We haven't had any issues with scalability so far. It should be pretty easy for a company to expand it out if they need to. We haven't received any feedback to make us assume otherwise. You can scale up on many things, including processors, discs, and nodes.

We don't sell to many large companies. typically we deal with small and medium-sized organizations.

Their technical support on offer is better than other products on the market.

As resellers, we don't just deal with Dell. We also resell products from HP, Nutanix, and Lenovo, for example.

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

In terms of deployment, it typically takes less than a week, in some cases. Of course, it depends of the customers, however, in many cases it takes about a week.

The solution is pretty reasonably priced. It's not too expensive, and often less than the competition.

We're a reseller of the product.

We work with different versions including CEs, PCEs, FCEs.  What we use depends on the customer's needs. In most cases, we have sold VxRail to clients as it is cheaper than other options on the market and it's also a good way to consolidate support to one vendor.

I'd advise that those considering the solution make sure they size everything appropriately. 

We've been quite pleased with the product. On a scale from one to ten, I'd give it a perfect ten.

It is used for consolidation, modernization of infrastructure, and simplification. That's what most customers are looking for with this solution.

I am using its latest release.

Our clients value being able to upgrade with one click or a few clicks. 

The ability to manage everything from a single console is one of the key advantages that our clients see. They don't have to worry about how to manage the storage, how to manage the servers, and how to manage the virtualization layer. Everything comes in a single platform. As a result, IT teams are shrinking, and very often, the budgets are no longer for people. They're more for automation.

They're getting better with their one-click upgrade. The success factor is now between 85% to 87% with the latest release. They should just continuously improve on that one-click factor and make it more seamless.

It has been about a year, but previously, I have worked on the Fujitsu equivalent for many years.

It is very reliable.

Scalability is a misunderstood notion in the hyper-converged environment. Very often, people misunderstand what and how things are being scaled within a hyper-converged environment, and this is applicable to every solution out there. So, from a scalability point of view, in terms of the technology itself, it is fairly easy, but in terms of dollars and what it means, very often, people are a little bit surprised about it. If you want to upgrade your storage, you don't necessarily upgrade just one hard drive. If you're in all-flash storage, every node has to be upgraded. There are rules around disk groups and things of that nature, so it becomes a bit of a challenge, and sometimes, it is at a price that customers do not expect. The pricing and how things are evolving over a period of time are very often misunderstood by customers.

I don't deal with them. I am more on the presales and delivery side. I'm sure there are challenges around that, but I'm not aware of any concerns at this point.

It is very straightforward.

It varies. It could be $100,000 at the smaller end and millions and millions of dollars at the higher end. 

It is a very reliable and simplified solution. If you're looking for simplification of operations, this is a great solution to implement.

I would rate it an eight out of 10.