Dell NetWorker Reviews

We mostly use this solution for file-based backups. 

We are a global company. We use NetWorker and other backup products throughout the world. We have a very close and long-term relationship with the EMC Networker and we are not going anywhere. We have roughly 30 to 40 TB of data stored with them.

We use this solution daily.

We have scheduled backups, daily, weekly, and monthly and we use the dashboard as a monitoring tool; if there is a failure, we can reconnect all the operational activity.

I don't directly do the backups, my backup administrator coordinates with EMC regarding all configurations, upgrades, and operational needs.

Storage-wise, EMC is user-friendly.

The configuration is too complex. As a backup solution, it's not user-friendly.

I have been using EMC NetWorker since 2014.

Dell EMC NetWorker is stable. We don't have any issues scalability-wise, but configuring and upgrading are complex.

Scaling out is very easy. We have a capacity-based license so we have no issues with the scalability.

I personally don't deal with customer support but due to multiple unsuccessful attempts to upgrade, my administrator is not satisfied.

We are using Microsoft BPM in parallel; it's not an enterprise backup solution, but it is an alternate solution. EMC is a one-vendor solution — that's why we chose it, but it is not a good backup solution, it's a complex solution.

The initial setup is complex. Currently, my team is doing an upgrade and they are having a lot of trouble. They have attempted it multiple times but are still unable to complete the upgrade.

We are located in Pakistan, we have a vendor that supports and guides us. The configuration and upgrades are not simple compared to storage and other uses; it's much more complex.

We have our own team that takes care of all maintenance-related issues.

We're using a capacity-based license. My administrator can take backups as per we have the license. Our license includes support and maintenance. 

In my opinion, Networker is not a very good product. It's very complex compared to Veeam and other products. In short, we needed a single bundle solution, that's why we chose Networker. Overall, I think Veeam is better.

I don't recommend it because of its complexity and the updates, etc. We don't recommend that anyone uses Networker. We recommend looking into Veeam or another solution.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Networker a rating of five.

I am a business partner of Dell EMC. For POC purposes, we deploy and use it on-premises to get an overview of each and every feature of Dell EMC NetWorker.

We use Dell EMC NetWorker for physical workload as well as virtual workload. We have deployed it on-premises as well as on the cloud for our clients. We have deployed it for a number of projects, and we are completely satisfied with it.

The best feature of Dell EMC NetWorker is its wide spectrum of available plugins for each and every software that you can back up, such as SAP HANA, Oracle, AXI-based machines, or Dell-based machines. Whatever you want to back up, you can do it with Dell EMC NetWorker. It is a very solid backup software. It is the oldest backup software from EMC, and it comes from Dell EMC's legacy.

It is not easy to understand and deploy. It is complex in nature. Simplicity is not there. When we deploy it, the customer always needs some training from us. To make it user friendly, there should be one agent that can be used to back up every product. Dell EMC NetWorker uses so many user agents. In PowerProtect Data Manager, you can just install its VM, import that VM into vCenter, and you can start to do backups directly from vCenter. However, in Dell EMC NetWorker, you always need one server, and from that server, you need to initiate all backups. You must know the interface and the CLI. It is not user friendly.

It would be a great feature if we can deploy Dell EMC NetWorker on a virtual machine, like Avamar. The additional features that are required in Dell EMC NetWorker are already available in PowerProtect Data Manager and Avamar. Therefore, there is no need to enhance Dell EMC NetWorker. It would be better if they can just rename it to PowerProtect Data Manager or Avamar.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for more than six years.

It is stable.

It always provides you ethical backup. When you reach your maximum license capability, it never stops you from doing your backups. This is a caring feature of this solution that I always liked. 

When you get a license for one terabyte, you can back up 100 terabytes of data. They never stop you from doing that ethically. We always need to follow the ethics of any software. Customers in Pakistan are using over commercial licenses, and they are happy with this feature.

It is excellent from the pricing point of view. It is free with Data Protection Suite. Similarly, when you purchase Avamar, Dell EMC NetWorker is free with one terabyte license capacity. Its price is very competitive. 

We have deployed this solution for many companies and for every kind of company, such as banks, logistics companies. One of the biggest companies in Pakistan is using Dell EMC NetWorker since 2015, and they are very happy with it. Another company with a big data center is using this solution since 2016, and they are also happy. There is no challenge in adapting and having this solution in your environment.

Dell EMC NetWorker is a very good software for physical workloads and virtual workloads. It is known for certain features. PowerProtect Data Manager is a next-generation backup software. It also provides you the simplicity and ease of use. It is not complex. I always recommend using the latest backup software. I would first recommend PowerProtect Data Manager. Avamar would be number two, and Dell EMC NetWorker would be number three. 

I would rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten. 

We are service providers and provide NetWorker for our end-users, our customers.

For POC purposes, we use it on our premises. Also, to have an overview of each and every kind of NetWorker.

We have a number of projects that we supply Networker for and we are completely satisfied with it. We use NetWorker to serve both workload types; a physical workload, and a virtual workload.

Dell EMC NetWorker is a very solid Backup software. It is the oldest backup software from EMC. It comes from Dell EMC's legacy.

The most valuable feature of NetWorker is the wide spectrum of available plugins for each and every software you can back up. For example, SAP, SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, and AIX.

Networker is very good backup software. It always provides you with incremental backups.

When you reach out to your maximum license availability, or you exceed your license limit, NetWorker never stops doing your backups.

With one terabyte of a license, you can back up a hundred terabytes of data back up. They never stop doing that. We always need to follow a fixed software but some customers have an overcapacity license, and they are happy about this feature.

It has a rich set of features.

It is not easy to understand. 

It's not easy to deploy.

It's complex in nature.

When it's deployed, the customers always need to have training from us. In order to make it user-friendly, there is an agent that can be used to back up every product.

Networker users many agents, and just like Powerprotect Data Manager, you can install its VM to import the VM into vCenter, and from Center, you can start your backups.

With NetWorker, you always need to have one server, and from that server, you need to initiate all backups.

You will need to know the interface and NetWorker CLI.

It's not user-friendly.

If NetWorker could be deployed on a virtual machine, similar to Avamar, that would be a great feature.

The features that are required in NetWorker are available in PowerProtect and Avamar. There is no need to enhance Networker, they just need to rename it to PPDM or Avamar. That would be better.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for six years, since 2014.

This product is stable. Our customers have never experienced any issues.

Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable.

We have many different companies that we deal with, some are banks, using Networker. One of the largest companies in Pakistan has been using this solution since 2015. Another client with a big data center has been using it since 2016. We have many other vendors who are happy with this solution.

The NetWorker price point is excellent. When you purchase the Data Protection Suite, NetWorker is free with that suite. If you purchase Avamar, NetWorker is free with Avamar, for one terabyte license capacity.

NetWorker is very competitive.

NetWorker is a good product.

There is no challenge in having NetWorker in your environment.

Powerprotect Data manager is the next generation backup software. I would recommend using the latest backup software suite.

NetWorker is also a very good backup software, for physical or virtual workloads. People know the features that NetWorker is providing.

If I had to choose one, I would go with Powerprotect. It provides simplicity and ease of use. It is not complex. Second I would recommend Avamar, then it would be Networker.

I would rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten.

The primary use case is for system and data backup. I'm the area technical manager and we are resellers. 

This is a good solution and our clients are happy with it. There are no issues and it meets expectations. It's very user-friendly with a good interface. 

I'd like to see a faster recovery window. Having a better recovery system would make a big difference. 

We've been using this product for 20 years. 

The stability is great. 

The scalability is good, we currently have over 100 users. 

Customer support is very good and I rate it highly. 

Positive

The initial setup is very straightforward and usually takes a couple of hours. 

Licensing costs are a little high. Dell has different kinds of licenses including a traditional license and a capacity-based license.

I recommend this solution and rate it nine out of 10. 

This solution had multiple options like configure management, user data, and server and enterprise data. The solution is simple to understand. Some products only use storage media, but Dell NetWorker has multiple options.

The implementation process could be improved. It requires a skill set to set up. In addition, the product line should support all brands and solutions.

We have been using this solution for about a year, and it is deployed on-premises.

It is a stable solution. It has worked for a couple of years without any troubles or significant issues.

It is scalable after a specific limit. It is suitable for medium-sized enterprises. We have about 1,000 users.

We have used Dell technical support. I rate the technical support team a six out of ten.

Neutral

I rate the pricing a six out of ten, where ten is a good price, and one is a high price. The price could be lower.

I rate the solution a seven out of ten. Veeam Backup is a competitor in the market because it has a lot of utilization. It is easy for people to get a license with them, and they benefit from one solution. Regarding potential future improvements, they should look at IT and compare it to other products because things are becoming streamlined for all the product lines, new storage is readily available, and things are moving to the cloud.

NetWorker sometimes has issues with the backup not starting and with connecting to the Oracle servers.

I've been using NetWorker for around three months.

Dell's technical support are quite helpful with straightforward issues, though they can be slow. However, they don't have the deep knowledge to solve complex issues, so our time is wasted.

The initial setup was a little complex, but engineers should find it ok.

I would not recommend NetWorker to other users and would rate it seven out of ten.

We use it to record sites in the system.

The extensive information provided on tool properties has been very useful, specifically the information on databases.

The user interface of this solution could be improved. It is not user friendly and is difficult to understand for new users. New users struggle to understand the logic.

I have used this solution for five years. 

This is a stable solution. 

It is really scalable but the scaling process is not that easy. You have to find the documentation to support setting it up for scale.

The customer service and support is good, but at times I have wanted more involvement from the people that are giving support. 

Neutral

The initial set up is easy, but when you do it for the first time you will need videos and some information to support the process. Once you do it once, you can do it really quickly the next time.

We have a lot of clients who use NetWorker. Especially in government and big companies, they rely on the NetWorker to do their backups. Two or three people are needed for deployment. 

In order to use this solution, you need to rely on communication and information on how to do a proper setup. At the beginning, you have to understand how the process works to configure the devices data needs to be stored.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. 

We use Dell EMC NetWorker as our backup application and everything backs up to Dell EMC Data Domain, where we replicate it to another EMC Data Domain. The two solutions work combined to meet our use case. Both solutions are from the same vendor and work very well together.

I started off as a storage engineer and ended up owning Dell EMC Data Domain and Dell EMC NetWorker. I've not used any other backup solutions at this scale. Dell EMC NetWorker does what I need it to do, it's efficient.

The front end of the solution could improve. The user-friendliness is lacking.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for approximately eight years.

We have had limited downtime, the solution is highly reliable.

Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable.

When I need Dell EMC NetWorker support and there's a Dell EMC Data Domain issue, it's really easy to have support for both of them from one location. Support has always been there when we needed them.

We have a team of two that does the management of Dell EMC NetWorker and Dell EMC Data Domain.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a ten out of ten.