Dell PowerVault Reviews

Because of reliability and consistency of the product, the typical use case for Dell PowerVault is very strong.

The solution is easy to configure and reliable. The performance is very good.

Storage consolidation is quite easy to configure on it.

Dell PowerVault's interface is user-friendly.

I think expandability could be improved for Dell PowerVault. It should be easier to expand and get expansion on it.

I have worked on Dell PowerVault for more than seven to eight years.

It is a stable solution in my opinion.

It is a scalable solution, but there are few limitations. The scalability is present but it is a bit complex to scale to the desired level. When we needed to increase the performance, we faced some issues.

I would rate my experience with technical support as nine out of ten.

We had a partner, not an integrator, reseller, or consultant for the deployment.

The first time was a bit complicated as we were having difficulties adapting it within our system for the initial setup of Dell PowerVault. Once it was adapted, it has been performing quite well.

We had a partner, not an integrator, reseller, or consultant for the deployment.

Regarding the return on investment with Dell PowerVault, we have definitely seen cost savings.

The pricing is quite competitive in the market for the solution. When compared with HP and IBM, the price is quite competitive, though it could be better. We were getting other products at a cheaper price but we preferred Dell PowerVault as a partner because of the brand name.

The experience has been good with Dell PowerVault.

I am a customer and end user of Dell solutions.

I do not use Dell PowerVault's data protection mechanisms.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution an 8.

Dell PowerVault is our primary solution for providing out-of-band and out-of-reach backup capabilities. We utilize it to create a secure cyber vault backup where we maintain a mirror of our system. In the event of a critical incident such as ransomware or other compromise, we can spin up the system in a location that is not connected to the main network and cannot be infected or compromised in any other way. This air-tight environment allows us to spin up our hypervisor and then select restore points to effectively restore and move them to production.

We have established a certain window during the day when we open the connection between our cyber vault environment and the production environment. During this time, the entire set of data covering the last 24 hours is replicated within Dell PowerVault. As soon as the replication is completed, the connection is shut down. We only use single direction replication from production to Dell PowerVault, and until now, there has been no need to use bi-directional replication.

The security of the backup and the overall system that Dell PowerVault brings to the table is definitely the most valuable feature. We have a system running in the background as a mirror of our production system, yet that system is completely cut off. This mainly gives us time to react and provides us with peace of mind that if something happens, we can be up and running within a span of approximately 30 minutes.

Provisioning with Dell PowerVault is very easy, and replication can also be straightforward. Snapshots, when using Veeam, have a tendency to go haywire and we have had to go on site to clean up some snapshots that went stuck or jammed and start over.

Beyond that one issue where Veeam went haywire and we had to clear up a certain amount of snapshots and restart the replication job, nothing else has happened until today, and I hope it will remain that way.

I have only had one deployment of Dell PowerVault, which is bank-related, so I am not certain how much data I am allowed to share. This was a customer-related deployment with Dell PowerVault. However, I have played quite extensively with Dell PowerVault in our lab environment.

Until today, we have experienced no stability issues. Dell PowerVault is running on VMware, which is the underlying OS on the Dell PowerEdge servers. Everything has been smooth sailing until today.

We have not experienced any scalability issues. Until today, we did not have any need for the scalability of Dell PowerVault. I am not certain that we will in the future because Dell PowerVault is fairly simple software to maintain.

Dell PowerVault is very easy to set up as an environment. With either VMware or Linux operating on SUSE, you are ready to go within an hour or two. You can either utilize the OVA or deploy it in a containerized environment. At our client location, we are running Linux with Dell PowerVault and a Data Domain connected to it. On certain periods of the day, it establishes the connection with the on-production Data Domain, performs the replication, and then cuts the connection off. This effectively gives us backed up data that is out of the reach of the main network, which from our perspective is an extremely safe way to move forward.

The setup process is very straightforward. The only difference between Dell PowerVault and setting up the Data Domain within the production environment is that you have one extra OVA and one extra network connection.

From what I know, Dell PowerVault is fairly within the budget for our operations and for our client's operations.

I have never encountered a similar product to Dell PowerVault. There are products that provide a certain extent of secure backups or secure backup repositories, but not the type that Dell PowerVault offers.

I can discuss the user experience and the technology itself, as long as it is not related to any customer data.

We only worked with the in-built GUI of Dell PowerVault, so I am not certain which version it was. If you are using the in-built GUI of Dell PowerVault for the first time, there will be some learning curve, though any software has a steeper or less steep learning curve when used for the first time. For me as somebody with experience, the learning curve was not tremendous. It is easy to navigate around. However, if you are at a junior level, you might need certain adjustments.

For my use at this time, there is literally nothing missing in Dell PowerVault. The product, as it stands, is as perfect as it can get. I rate Dell PowerVault as a ten on a scale of one to ten.

We mostly provide the PowerEdge 760 series server along with implementing VXRail, and sometimes we offer backup solutions with Dell PowerVault and others.

Last year we set up a Dell server together with Dell PowerVault, and there is also a higher model that I forget the name of, but we provide Dell PowerVault for the backup solution.

We also use it for the production SAN storage at some other data centers, which makes managing comprehensive storage data management features such as snapshots, replication, and provisioning effective.

As for now, I don't work with Dell products much since we focus on Oracle products. We have another team that addresses networking products such as Dell and other solutions.

Dell PowerVault has two controllers, and I find that feature most valuable.

It is easy to configure.

Dell PowerVault is easy to integrate, especially with third-party solutions, as we use it inside Oracle VM and Oracle Linux virtualization along with a backup solution.

Dell PowerVault has contributed to staying within budget since it's an entry-level product that allows customers to decrease their budget.

As for now, I have no idea about any additional features I would like to see for Dell PowerVault in the future.

For the IT field, I have been working for over six years.

As far as I have been working with the product, I don't face many issues with Dell PowerVault's hardware, indicating good stability and reliability.

Mostly, at our customer sites, they are small-medium business networks, so I think they don't scale much with Dell PowerVault.

I would rate the technical support of Dell at a seven.

The technical support from Dell could be better.

Positive

I worked with something similar before Dell PowerVault.

It's easy to deploy and configure.

They can contact me if they have any questions about my review.

I believe Dell PowerVault is the best option on the market at the moment, especially for entry-level and budget solutions.

Dell PowerVault is an entry-level backup solution and storage. Dell PowerVault does provide an all-flash model.

It's well-known in our region. There are two partners of Dell that mostly do events, twice a month or so, and they demonstrate their hardware. If we ask them, they provide training, demonstrations, and good documentation.

We choose Power Vault when we need some basic storage, which would be deployed just behind the data call, for example, or just directly attached to a server. So it's regularly, it's not for a functional library. It's all basis needed process rate.

We like the simplicity of the environment and the stability of the platform.

The room for improvement lies in the responsiveness and real-time feedback of the web server setup. We could set up the installation through a web server, but it's not very reactive on the web server. For example, when you launch a task, and you don't know exactly if the task has begun or if the task is in progress, or if it's finished. You have to wait for three to five to ten minutes to be sure that the task is running or in progress or finished. So at that point, it's not very good. For the rest, we have a good organization for the platform. And it's working everywhere.

Another area of improvement is duplication. 

I have been working with this solution for 20 years.

The stability is quite good. Once you deploy all the equipment, it's very stable.

The stability also depends on the type of disk that is installed. But in general, this type of equipment is quite stable, and we have not had any problems with it.

You can extend your library. You can add some disks. But you have to rebuild your environment, so it's not very easy. And you can add some other libraries. You can add some cables to extend it, but it's not very easy to do. So it isn't very easy because the technique used to do that is not very easy. You have to work strictly to rebuild all the alignment. So, maybe this is an area of improvement.

There are around 10 to 15 customers using this solution.

The customer service and support are good.

The initial setup is quite easy. It is very intuitive. It is good.

The time taken for the deployment depends on the size of the storage. For a small storage, it could take half a day. For a large storage, the time to format and initialize the disks could take a while. So it could take one or two days.

We have a team of five engineers for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. 

The customers pay for the equipment, and it's not very expensive. There are no additional costs. 

You have to pay at the beginning for the equipment unless the equipment is not the right one. You have not chosen a good one, so you have to change, but you cannot improve some function of that equipment. You can improve the storage and the capacity, but you cannot improve the zone environment, the functional environment.

I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.

I would advise you to be sure that this type of equipment is the right one because if you want some advanced function, it's not a good one. So, to be sure that it's a good device for their environment. If not, you will not be very happy.

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.

PowerVault is a mid-range model geared toward small and medium-sized businesses, and it's used for billing systems. 

PowerVault comes with free software that performs functions like data deduplication and replication, which is cost-effective and delivers added value to the product.

PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN.

I have used PowerVault for nearly five years. 

I rate PowerVault nine out of 10 for stability. It's easy to deploy and manage. However, I don't give it 10 out of 10 because it doesn't have an active-active controller. It's active-passive. You need to buy two units to deploy it as active-active, but we always deploy one. You don't experience full controller failure every day, so it's stable enough.

PowerVault is scalable. 

Dell has 24/7 support for hardware replacement. In most regions, Dell EMC uses partners to deliver support. The partner will handle the tickets and the spare parts. Of course, the partner will not be the same quality as the vendor. The response times, hardware replacement, delivery, etc. are not as good as direct support from Dell. 

If you are investing in on-premise storage, it's best to keep some spare parts on hand to keep your system running. The general support for questions, concerns, and troubleshooting bugs or firmware issues is excellent. They respond quickly. 

Deploying PowerVault is straightforward and only takes a couple of hours.

I rate PowerVault eight out of 10 for affordability. It's a cost-effective storage solution with a lot of capabilities. You need to pay additional costs for the operating system license and servers to use some of PowerVault's features. At the same time, a small business doesn't need to invest in two sites for SAN and NAS storage or purchase an additional server. 

You can only compare PowerVault to products by other vendors with a similar product line. For example, it would be fair to compare it with HP's enterprise products, but you could look at other storage for small and medium-sized businesses. 

QNAP is another cost-effective solution for SMBs, but PowerVault has more features that customers want, such as tiering, data reduction, compression, and certification. If a customer doesn't need those features, they can go for cheaper options like QNAP.  

I rate Dell PowerVault eight out of 10. It's a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses, but it has performance limitations, and it's hard to integrate. Still, it's a cost-effective solution with great features. 

We use Dell PowerVault for the storage consolidation of SMBs. 

Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage. 

The product is generally stable, but there have been instances, to my knowledge, where we faced issues in the controller during software upgrades. The availability is not at the desired level during these upgrade processes, as we sometimes need to shut down both controllers. This could be an area for improvement.

I have been working with the product for 15 years. 

The product is sufficient for the SMB market. In terms of size, it caters well to SMB needs, providing full flash for production and backup storage with nearline SAS disk.

I haven't contacted technical support yet. However, my customers are less satisfied than before with support. 

I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten. 

The product is mostly for small and medium businesses. I rate it an eight out of ten. 

The solution is suited for small companies. It has a simple setup. If you want to virtualize something, then you buy two hosts.

The solution is stable. It is a simple and better vault solution than Synology.

Many features are coming up for Dell PowerVault. Most of these features are available on the Dell cloud IO platform. They include reporting and monitoring capabilities. While some customers may not need all these features, the platform performs very well for a particular region. It is a good solution with many possibilities for every type of customer. Customers who need more features than PowerVault offers can scale up to the next model, such as PowerStore, PowerScale, vPlex, or Extreme IO. The possibilities are endless.

There could be a starting model where you have a central storage solution for a pretty good price.

I have been using Dell PowerVault for one year.

The solution is a fairly good solution with built-in high availability.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is limited.

If you are limited in sizing, you can add four nodes to one PowerVault cluster. You will get around 82 to 100 terabytes of storage. If you are a company with five users, it would be fairly enough to work with. Still, if you are a company with 5000 users, you are making the wrong decision upfront by buying PowerVault, so don't buy it because it's not scalable for the solution.

The technical support could be better. The problem with Dell support is that you have to explain your case to multiple people, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.

The initial setup is simple. You have to plug into the power, connect to the control, and get started. The deployment of Dell PowerVault depends on the communication method. Different deployment approaches are employed for private channel communication, ISKG integration, or direct-attach storage scenarios.

We have to buy the box along with the support.

Dell PowerVault has an integration tool with Veeam Backup & Application. However, you can purchase Avamar from Dell if you want a more robust integration.

There are some good things about the Dell PowerVault. It is quick and easy to use. However, if you made the wrong decision in choosing your platform and have big expansions in your company, it may not be worth the money. It is reusable for other purposes, but you can combine it.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

We have been utilizing Dell PowerVault mainly as a backup solution, for data storage and file-sharing purposes.

Dell PowerVault is a reliable solution that offers good performance and affordability. 

I find this solution to be cost-effective in providing data storage for clients.

There have been situations when our customers requested professional support and the price of that feature is quite high. I believe that customizing the pricing or offering some sort of flexibility regarding professional support would be of great benefit.

We have been using this solution for over seven years. 

PowerVault offers scalable storage capacity for their client's needs. I would rate it very high. 

We are satisfied with the customer support system. They offer a wide range of support models for customers such as basic support that is budget-friendly, but they also provide a professional support solution that is a bit costly.  

Positive

There are many solutions that are available on the market. We have been working with NetApp, QNet, and HPE solutions. All of the mentioned solutions are similar in terms of operating and pricing, so the choice usually depends on a client's request and their preferences. 

The initial setup is really facilitated for the users. 

There is no need for licensing.

I find this product to be a good fit when serving its purpose for our company's needs. But, I believe that HPE is a slightly better solution in terms of performance.

I would rate Dell PowerVault an eight out of ten.