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Jul 31, 2018
Pros
EMC VNX
Multi-tiering positively affects the efficiency of the storage space. The replication feature provides another functionality to protect your data. The implementation of both block and file system storage in a single GUI provides is better situated than most other storages. From my point of view, the configuration that I can sell is restricted to the EMC best practices. It is hard to make a mistake in a solution. It means the configuration has good performance and scalability options. It is very stable even during multiple power failures. Integration with VMwareFAST (auto-tiering): Doesn't require configuration and is managed by the array itself. The most valuable feature is the tight VMware integration, due to the migration from bare metal to virtualized environments and then on to the cloud.
HPE 3PAR FLASH Storage:
Scalability, because our customer is fast growing and our solution should be able to start very small and grow very quickly. The chunklet technology is the main benefit out of 3PAR. The way it subdivides. It is using more logic to subdivide the drives into smaller pieces. With our 3PARs, we have never lost data. With the new flash arrays, 3PAR has improved our performance. The new StoreServ Management Console (SSMC) tool is more user-friendly.HPE can log in, fix things, alert us to things, and upgrade. We are there and aware, but we do not do the work. So, that is good.3PAR is easy to keep running and does not require too much effort. It has been very reliable, which is key. The scalability is good because it is easy to add to new disks. We just add them on the fly, and they are available for use.
Cons
If the VNX had embedded encryption, that would be great.
The scalability is average because the storage has some hardware limitations and, obviously, operating system limitations.
It would be very helpful to get an automated report that shows you the size of the checkpoints and get warnings when a checkpoint is reaching either maximum capacity per a file system or hitting the ceiling on the SavVol pool consumption. The administrative console (Navisphere/Unisphere) needs some improvement, especially on their Java-based GUI. The updated version of Java is not compatible.VNX can improve by offering flexible upgrade options. It's not possible to add a single HDD to a current array and there are fixed rules to make upgrades. EMC VNX needs to support bigger SSD and the Next Generation EMC Unity does this. Poor connection to FC.Intel Xeon processors with under 2 GHz processing speeds could be replaced with more recent ones.
Security is a mandatory feature because our customer needs to protect delicate information. I would like to see a faster Ethernet connection. Right now, it is 10G. If they could do multiple hundred gigs to speed up the transfer from the array to the servers, that would be good. We are trying to get away from Fibre Channel. We need additional enhancements to InfoSight, especially from a VM standpoint. Today, we can see in the Azure VM performance stats in 3PAR, but it is so huge, we can't just drill down on each and every VM and look at its performance. We are seeing that there are some enhancements which are required in the SSMC console. There are some features that we do not see in the dashboard. There are some weird things that we can't figure out. I would like to see the ability to be able to migrate to newer versions of the 3PAR without having to take any of our data offline and be able to upgrade on the fly. We would like to see better support for iSCSI.A lot of tasks, you have to manually set up. They need to already have them set up and working. Then, you can just go in and tweak them if you need to.
Pricing and Cost Advice
Reducing dependency on JavaServer Pages (JSP) could improve the administrative overhead. The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable, the yearly EMC is more expensive pricing is somewhat higher, especially in Zambia, perhaps due to the low sales volume. Over time, VNX has become pricier than its competitors, and we have turned enthusiastically to Unity. While EMC tends to be on the expensive side, the stability and support of their products are top-notch and I feel are worth the cost. Make sure you understand how the licensing works and that you are getting the right set of licenses if you need array-to-array replication. The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable. Yearly EMC is more expensive.
Making the decisions to buy it can be complex. Since the prices of the flash storage have gone down tremendously, I would definitely recommend going for the all-flash storage array or 3PAR. It is a bit expensive even now, but it will be the future of all industries. You can't get software maintenance from a third party. You have to do it from HPE, which is a letdown.3PAR was quite a bit less money than EMC, and that was one of the deciding factors. We had to go back and purchase iLO licenses and brocade switches for the flex fabric to have a complete solution. Cost-wise, it is a little bit on the higher side, but it is an awesome product. We are going to buy eight nodes this year and eight nodes next year. Eventually, we are not going to want to buy large storage devices and probably utilize just storage, but in a different manner going forward.
From my EMC point of view, I choose it by habit, greater renown, and advantages over the SCSI support and because I've worked more with EMC.
