We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for virtualization with VMware products to host ESXi. We also use products such as vCenter and vSphere, and we are now in the process of moving towards the VCF solutions to do our SVDC infrastructure.
By implementing Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, we are looking to replace some of the old machines with more recent machines. We want to reduce energy consumption and also gain some space in our data rooms and our data centers. We are going to replace several machines with just one machine that is a more recent machine.
We have always had them. We have always worked with Dell PowerEdge servers. So, I have only known those servers. They have improved our organization in terms of productivity, continuity, and the quality of the service. They are quite robust. We are very happy with the malware incident-product resilience ratio.
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have improved a great deal in comparison to the older generations of servers when it comes to energy consumption. I do not have the figures because I am not part of the teams that measure our data centers, but we have easily had 20% or 30% energy savings.
To manage the evolving needs of high-performance workloads, the racks or the machines that we buy have a lot of storage space to add memory or disks if needed. In terms of storage, we are using the PowerEdge servers to make some VMware vSAN. With vSAN, there is a storage layer with disks, flash, etcetera for the cache. We have the option to stretch it by buying more disks for more storage, but we also have the possibility to easily stretch and add memory to our machines, which is good. In terms of evolution, this is very important for us because in the beginning or at the kickoff point of a new project, it can be a bit vague for us and we do not know how our needs will evolve. We might need more over time.
The machines that we have today are the oldest that I know of from the Dell PowerEdge series. For example, they might be 11G. We still have some of them, and they still work. They are robust, resilient, and durable. However, they no longer get any support. If we want any maintenance from them for this hardware, we have to pay for support extensions. This way we get help when we have a supply or hardware breakdown with these models. We must pay for the support because this kind of equipment came out a long time ago, and it has reached its end of life, so the support exists but at an extra cost. That could be an area for improvement, but from a commercial point of view, it is hard to maintain the support and storage for parts and keep a stock of parts for aging machines while knowing that they have been replaced by new-generation machines that are more efficient and less energy-consuming. It is debatable, but commercially, it is understandable. We just live with it.
For all of our Dell products, including PowerEdge servers, we have a ProSupport contract for the data center. We are very pleased with them because any breakdowns are very quickly resolved. We get a technician in less than 24 hours. We can also resolve certain breakdowns quickly because we can simply get connected to the machine. Even when we no longer have access or a connection to the machine, we always have an administration link that allows us to connect to iDRAC and reboot the machine. As a result, this feature is helpful.
We use the OpenManage console. It helps the team and saves a huge amount of time with the lifecycle management and updating BIOS and firmware. It is good for that. Without it, we cannot manage to keep our servers up to date, so it is a very significant gain. It is very important for us.
Using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers has affected the overall flexibility of our operations. We have gained productivity. To start with, we have gained in terms of performance at the writing level with IOs. In the past, our users used to complain a lot about the waiting time and the slowness. There was some congestion with IOs. Since we have been using the new generation servers, people are happier. We no longer get problems with the slow speed of the IOs writing, etc.
Nowadays, iDRAC is very important. It is one of the features that we use the most because we do not always have physical access to our machines. iDRAC is a tool that we use daily. If we did not have it, it would be very complicated to manage the machines. This is a great feature.
The pricing can be better. These are expensive machines. Especially since COVID-19, many organizations are trying to reduce costs in various directions, and they often end up challenging the IT services and IT teams to reduce the costs. As a result, the choice made today for IT machines is very much based on the price, especially for the hardware. We are currently working with Dell because when we do an RFP, we put several resellers in competition, and at the moment, Dell is able to produce competitive and interesting prices for our needs. So, the final decision is often based on the price. It is essentially the price that will influence the choice of the hardware.
We order vSAN Ready Nodes, but it can happen that between the moment we order our machines and the moment they get delivered, there are some updates or new versions that may have come out. As a result, when we receive our machines and switch them on, even though they are vSAN Ready Nodes, we still have to patch them and build them with a version to be able to integrate them in a cluster so that they are uniform and with the same version as the others servers. So, there is room for improvement with regard to getting the target version.
There can be a long time gap between the order, the manufacturing, and the delivery or receipt of the machines. After receiving them, we have a process of hardwiring. We still have tasks left, such as racking the machine and hardwiring, before using the machines. It can sometimes take several weeks before we are able to use them, and that is when we notice a difference between the production machines and the new machines. Although the new machines are vSAN Ready Nodes, they are not actually ready.
I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for seven years, but it has been longer for our organization.
We are very happy with their support because we benefit from ProSupport. It includes the intervention on the data center, the parts, and the technician in less than 24 hours. So, it is working well.
I would rate their support a nine out of ten because sometimes, there are issues. Sometimes, a part might not be available. When a part is not available, it can have an impact. They have several strategic points in France where the parts are stored, and the parts come from those points. When those parts are not in those areas, they widen the search for the parts, and that can be worldwide. As the parts can come from anywhere, they can take longer to get to us. Some service requests might also have gone over the SLAs, but we understand that it cannot be perfect.
In this organization, I have always worked with Dell servers, but in the past, I have worked with HPE. They are fairly similar. HPE has the iLO card, and Dell has the iDRAC card. I do not have enough insights into HPE servers because I have worked very little with them. I do not have that many elements for comparison. The only elements for comparison that I have are more or less the same.
I was involved with the new infrastructure. It was very simple because the new PowerEdge servers that we ordered were vSAN Ready Nodes. We get our own machines. We do the hardwiring. We switch them on, and we immediately have our ESXi installed. Only the configuration is left to do. We only need to integrate new nodes and new servers in the bay centers and ESXi in our clusters at the bay centers. We then do the configuration. That is the administration part, and then, we link VMware. So, the integration has been hugely simplified by the fact that we have some vSAN Ready Nodes.
We do the implementation ourselves.
Personally, I find them extremely expensive, but my colleague is a part of the buying team, so he would know better than me.
I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers an eight out of ten. I am not entirely satisfied to rate them a ten.